My first run-in with Italian healthcare and an emergency room

To be honest the worst part was the symptoms of nearly fainting, rather than the wound itself.

Went to the emergency room for the first time in my life here in Italy in Alba ( pop ~ 30K). I had punctured my hand between thumb and forefinger. Although the cut was not actually very big - i had no idea how deep plus my hand was twanging as if my fingers were plugged into a socket and I had no feeling in part of my index finger. OK so triage-wise I was not a code red, but anyway off we drove to Alba. ( I spent many minutes at the house sitting outside in the cold air trying not to faint between the time of injury and time of driving to Alba.)

The clerk at the emergency room (pronto soccorso) asked for basic identifying information to register me ( insurance info was not asked for). I was in the emergency waiting room with a few others at 5 pm on a Thursday. Two elderly people came in by ambulance while I was waiting. I wanted perhaps 20 minutes then was seen.

The visit was fairly routine, the doctor (or nurse not sure which ) looked at the wound, cleaned it, asked to put in a stitch - which I refused as not necessary (did not want more fainting symptoms), and then they consulted, by phone, an orthopaedic specialist about the lack of feeling in my finger. The visit cost 30 Euro. Had I been an official resident or Italian citizen it would have been free. If I had seen specialist it would have been 60 Euro.

To follow-up with a specialist about my finger is pretty much like the US timewise unless I want to pay a private clinic ( probably three times the cost for me as if I used the specialists at the public hospital). It takes months to get an appointment. I found this to be the same in the US when I was following up with a specialist for my wrist - about two months to get an appointment.

That's it for now!

JT