Dominican Medicine Great? Umm no.......
I lived in the DR for over 10 years growing up. I can tell you many stories about how your praise for Dominican medical care is misinformed........
1. I broke my leg in Casa de Campo when I was 11 years old. We hit the local La Romana facilities to get X-Rays, unfortunately the electricity was out so no X-Ray (2 hour ride back to Sto Dgo on bumpy roads with broken leg). Back in Sto Dgo, I went to the supposed best doctor in the DR for treatment (a Dr. Rafael Albuquerque oddly enough.....if it's the same Doc running for VP now that explains a lot), got an x-ray done, cast set and a 5 week healing diagnosis. Anyways, after 2 follow up visits and 4 weeks my leg was still killing me. My parents flew up to Duke Med Center to get things checked, and it turns out my bone wasn't even set after being broken! Duke Med Center had to saw my bone, and start the whole process over again and add 16 screws and 2 metal plates in my leg to remedy the situation and ensure I could walk without a limp the rest of my life. Keep in mind I was X-Rayed MULTIPLE times in the DR, by Dr. Albuquerque and his 3 assistants.
2. One of my better friends as a kid was an Israeli whose mother was a Dr. in Santo Domingo helping the poor. She told me stories you would not believe. How the supposed best docs in the country were 20-30 years behind, and prescribing medicines which were incorrect, performing surgeries which were life threatening, and how electricity would go out mid surgery and threaten the lives of people on the operating table.
3. My mother had a vein severed by a doctor in a hospital who was just taking her blood. They were able to fix things up decently enough, but it still required surgery in the states to fix things up.
4. If you have dental problems......don't get them worked on in the DR. My wife had her wisdom teeth taken out in the DR when she was 13 (keep in mind she is from a wealthy family and went to one of the best docs down there for surgery). She told me it was extremely painful, and vividly remembers them HAMMERING on her teeth. I can still see the scars inside her mouth today when she points them out. She was in bed for TWO WEEKS after the surgery. About 1 year ago she had to have an additional wisdom tooth removed here in the US, it was done in about 1 hour with laser surgery, and all swelling and pain was gone in 3 days, and no scarring at all.
5. I have a good friend here in the US who attended medical school at INTEC before coming to the US for his residency. He has told me that he as cutting up cadavers in his SECOND WEEK of school at INTEC in unsanitary environment, and his ENTIRE education (including medical school) was 3 years. He has admitted to being woefully unprepared for practicing medicine here in the US upon arrival.
6. My wife's father attended Medical School in Santo Domingo in the 70s, and has now lived in NY for the past 15 years. He admits medical schools in the DR are laughable and he would never go to a Dominican doctor. Keep in ind this is being said by a highly educated, well off DOMINICAN man.
Don't be fooled into thinking Dominican doctors fast acting prescriptions and recommendations come from some sort of amazing medical vision, a lot of times they just want to get you out of there and get back to their drink and cigarettes.
Which reminds me of seeing my girlfriend in 11th grade getting her blood taken at her family doctor, while the doctor's wife smoked a cigarette just about 5 steps away in what looked like someone's den. Not exactly a sanitary environment. I could go on and on if I thought about it.......but I won't. For every "miracle" story you read, there are thousands of medical tragedies in the DR you won't hear about.