Our first doctor's office visit goes well

We reached another milestone today, our first doctor’s appointment under the Italian health care system. I enrolled us in the system a few weeks ago, but since we had no need at the time for a doctor, we didn’t ask for an appointment. But last week, Lucy came down with a cold and sore throat, and it worsened on Sunday, so much so that we canceled a planned lunch with some friends from church.

She rested all day Sunday, and by Monday morning, she had improved slightly, but we wanted to make sure that we were taking the right steps for continued improvement. I went to the doctor’s office in the morning, and the secretary told me to bring Lucy between 1 and 2 p.m. and get in line to see our assigned physician, Dr. Fulceri. We arrived seven minutes early, and at 1 p.m., Dr. Fulceri came out of his office and called several names. Apparently, about three people ahead of us actually had official appointments, and the rest of us would have to wait in the order that we had arrived. I’m not sure why the secretary hadn’t given us an official appointment, but we would be the first in line after the other appointments. Interestingly, a sign on the secretary’s desk said that her afternoon hours were from 3-7 p.m., so the doctor was operating with no secretary, no nurse, indeed no aides of any kind.

Dottor Fulceri

We had to wait about 40 minutes before the doctor came out and asked for the next case. Lucy and I went in together, and we were happy to find that Dr. Fulceri speaks a bit of English. Basically, we could describe Lucy’s issues in English and be understood, and likewise he could explain himself in Italian and we understood. He first looked us up on his laptop computer and saw that we were registered with him as new patients. After listening to Lucy’s lungs and looking in her throat, he concluded that the infection was limited to the area around her vocal cords. Since her symptoms had improved since yesterday, he recommended taking ibuprofen twice a day to reduce the swelling. He also looked at her Achilles heel, which has been bothering her since she strained it in August. He confirmed that it felt swollen and recommended an ultrasound to see if it is healing normally. However, since this is our last week in Italy, that will have to wait until we return to Gig Harbor.

Office hours for our medico

Overall, we felt reassured that our basic medical needs will be in good hands during the months we spend in Italy. Yes, the waiting room and doctor’s office were old and a bit shabby by American medical standards. There were no nurses or physician’s assistants, and only one part-time secretary. But our wait was not particularly long, and the doctor took his time, listened carefully and seemed knowledgeable, polite and compassionate. There was no fee, no request for our insurance information, and we had no paperwork to fill out, although the doctor did ask Lucy to bring in a list of her medications and doses the next time she visits. I can see why most Italians are quite satisfied with their medical system.