Healthcare in Azerbaijan

Always get a second opinion.....all they think about is money, not to help you...i have had some good doctors here in baku.20 % of them are.private sector is better...Turkish doctors are very good....ambulance service isnt free and u might die stuck in traffic,so dont get sick.

I have had the unique experience of seeing a dentist, a doctor <for food poisoning> and a prenatal doctor for my pregnant wife.   The health care system is in Azerbaijan is not reliable.   We had a variety of tests done for my pregnant wife (sonogram, pre diabetes check and other check ups) and when we showed the test results to our doctor in Canada the Canadian doctor said these tests were outdated and that Canada has not used these kind of tests since the 80's. 

The system is not efficient with us waiting in 12 different lines before being seen.   This is the questions and lines we experienced
1)  English?   Go over there  (line 1)
2)  You have health insurance? (line 2)
3)  Health insurance no work here - you pay cash?  (line 3)
4)  Need receipt to pay cash - why do you need to see a doctor? (line 4)
5)  Need receipt of what is being done?  (line 5)
6)  Cannot have this done with out physical first - go get new receipt with total cash amount (line 6)
7)  Pay cash?  Have receipt? (line 7)
8)  Wait in this line to get blood pressure (line 8)
9) Wait in this line to get blood taken (line 9)
10)  Wait in this line to see prenatal doctor (line 10)
11) Wait in this line to get receipt (line 11)  No receipt today - must come back 3 days later to get Russian Receipt and must come back in 5 days.   I ask if I can get a receipt in English.......answer is NO. 

The efficiency of their health care system it truly lacking and outdated with doctors that have the equivalent of a registered nurses degree in a first world country <at best>.  An Azerbaijan idea of a sterile hospital environment is having everyone who enters a hospital put on plastic blue booties - which is a total laugh.  After visiting the hospital 4 times for my wife's general birth check ups, we decided there is no possible way we would have our baby in Azerbaijan.   We decided to have our baby in Canada and now have a healthy 6 week old baby.     From our experience, please avoid the Azerbaijan hospital at all costs............unless it is an emergency.    The doctors always try to talk you into an overnight stay for further tests - it is a way for the hospital to generate revenue.