Job Discussion Forums

[megraham]

i am moving to chile in like 2 weeks and i am hoping someone can tell me if prescriptions are widely available in santiago, chile. i use birth control and synthroid(a very common thyroid medication) and will need to have access or figure out how to get a large amount here. also, any over-the-counter drugs you would recommend bringing?

any information would be MUCH appreciated

thanks

meredith

[AlwaysExploring]

Hey, Meredith. I haven't tried to get a prescription, but there are pharmacies everywhere here in Santiago. Hopefully someone more informed will respond soon. You may not be able to find the exact same prescriptions as you have at home. My completely ignorant belief is that you will not have any problem finding what you need here, or something similar to it.

[anda1619]

Hey there,

Birth control is available without a prescription, but it's best to bring the drug insert information since they generally don't carry all the same names you find at home, but they will find you the same drug combination. As for your thyroid medication, probably very likely they have it or something very similar.

[Dia]

I would agree with the person above and have gone through the process. You should have no problem finding a very similar product with the same active ingredients, over the counter and for wayyy cheaper than in the US at least. I brought in a list of the active ingredients and asked a pharmacist to help me find one the first time, and after that just brought the box back in to show them each month.

In general quality control is decent in chile for meds (according to my pharmacists here and program coordinators that originally helped me find pills)

One thing to consider if you have very specific needs is that even though the active ingredients may be the same, some of the minor ones may vary. I'm not sure what implications this has (allergies? just a guess) but that was one thing pointed out to me to be aware of.