Private Practice Still Option

If a Costa Rican is not satisfied with care provided by the state, he or she can visit one of the psychiatrists in private practice around the country.

One such psychiatrist is Christian Lachner, M.D. His office is located in Hospital CIMA. It is a sleek, modern facility located in San Jose, the capital, and is affiliated with Baylor University College of Medicine in Houston.

One reason that he likes being in private practice, Lachner told Psychiatric News, is that “there are no insurance companies, no managed care—people pay everything out of pocket.” Another reason, he said, is that “patients who seek private care are usually invested in their treatment and adhere to it, as they are directly assuming the costs.”

Still a third reason, he said, is that patients in the private sector have access to most of the psychiatric medications available in the United States. He acknowledged, however, that unlike his facility, many private hospitals in Costa Rica still have no psychiatric unit.