| The IPBN is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland under the ESP Grant programme |
When you’re in a foreign country, it’s likely you’ll need a helping hand to navigate the healthcare system and understand how it works so that you are prepared going in. If you speak to the wrong person, attempt to access the wrong service or simply leave an important document at home, it could set you back weeks within the system. And if you have a chronic or acute illness, that can be even more of a danger.
To explain it in simple words, all ex-pats coming to Portugal, relocating for whatever purpose are aware that they must have solutions in place to address their healthcare needs, whether they have international insurance or not. International insurance can be an essential tool to help you finance your healthcare, but it doesn’t really do enough for you other than offsetting the cost associated with accessing private healthcare providers. And even if you are a local Portuguese with local insurance, you're likely aware that a missing document or cancelled clinical analysis could set you back precious weeks to get a formal diagnosis. That’s why Serenity Portugal has created a Medical Case Management system called Pulso (pulse) that can put you on the fast track and make your access to healthcare, physicians, tests, and prescriptions, one less thing you have to worry about. Having peace of mind is, after all, a healthy state to be in.
CEO and Managing Partner of Serenity Portugal Michael Averbukh told the IPBN, “Imagine you have a complicated mission to complete in a foreign city and you have a driver to take you around to various points in order to get it done. Insurance is the fuel you will need to get you to the places that you need to go, but how will you be sure you get to those places in the right order if you don’t know the area? If the driver doesn’t know where to go, you’ll burn all your fuel and you won’t get where you need to go.”
As an ex-pat, you can pay a monthly fee of up to 100€ for decent medical insurance. For an extra 5€ each month, you can use the fuel correctly as you can gain access to professional, personalized medical advocacy, guidance, and escort assistance from the moment of your first symptom and until the full resolution of the medical situation, be it a common cold or a serious health condition.
Serenity’s Pulso Medical Case Management system allows you to call your a trained medical caseworker in your native language (currently serving Portuguese, English, and French speakers), ask for whatever advice you need, and get both assurance that your problem is being taken care of and insurance that your healthcare needs will be met by the right people in the right order, but that’s not all.
These case managers are certified to analyze the clinical side of the problem. After a doctor’s visit, you can contact them with the results and they can tell you whether they think it is the correct prognosis or if you might want to get a second opinion. If it’s the latter, they can advise next steps, recommend options, and even schedule the appointment for you. They can provide prescriptions in advance of doctor’s visits, and even advise you what documents or test results to bring to your appointment, or what specialists you should ask your doctor about.
It’s hard to believe it, but one phone call can get you off hold permanently. To get started you will need to chat with a Serenity representative so they can get your data into the system, create a profile for you, and assign you a nurse liaison. The days of waiting and wasting time with your health are finally over.
| The IPBN is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland under the ESP Grant programme |
