The emergency room in Costa Rica: what to expect
Where to go, who will see you, what it costs and how to make sure the right specialist is on the case within hours — from an emergency physician who works in these departments.
- Call 911 for life-threatening situations; ambulances are run by the Costa Rican Red Cross.
- Private emergency departments in San José operate 24/7 with specialists on call and ICU on site.
- One treating physician of record avoids repeated histories, duplicated tests and lost time with the insurer.
911 and the Red Cross
Costa Rica's single emergency number is 911. Ambulance response is provided mainly by the Cruz Roja Costarricense, with private ambulance companies available in the metropolitan area and in tourist regions. Tell the operator your exact location — hotel name, kilometre marker, closest landmark — because rural addresses are descriptive rather than numbered.
A 911 ambulance will normally take a patient to the nearest public hospital. If you are insured or prefer private care, say so: in many cases the crew can go to a private hospital, and Relevium can arrange a private transfer once the patient is stable.
Public versus private emergency departments
Public emergency rooms (Hospital México, San Juan de Dios, Calderón Guardia in San José; regional hospitals elsewhere) handle enormous volumes and triage strictly by severity. A visitor with a non-critical problem may wait many hours. Private emergency departments — Hospital Clínica Bíblica, Hospital Internacional La Católica, CIMA, Hospital Metropolitano — are smaller, faster, and can admit directly to a private room, ICU or operating room.
Relevium works at Clínica Bíblica (central San José and Aleste) and La Católica (Guadalupe). We notify the emergency department that the patient is coming, so the team is ready on arrival.
What happens when you arrive
Triage, registration (passport and insurance details), then evaluation. Laboratory and imaging are on site; results typically return within the hour. The decision that matters most is made at this point: discharge with treatment, observation, or admission. With Relevium, that decision is made by an Emergency Medicine specialist who already knows the case from your first message.
If a specialist is needed — orthopedics for a fracture, cardiology for chest pain, surgery for an acute abdomen — we call them directly. Specialist evaluation is typically available in under six hours.
What it costs and who pays
A private ER consultation with a specialist runs roughly US$100–250 before studies; a CT scan or ultrasound adds a few hundred; admission is billed per day plus procedures. Insured patients rarely pay out of pocket beyond a deductible: we open the guarantee of payment with the insurer while treatment is under way. Uninsured patients receive a written estimate before any non-urgent step and can pay by card.
After the emergency
Every Relevium case ends with a structured medical report in English — diagnosis, treatment, results, discharge medication and follow-up — and, if you are flying home, a fit-to-fly assessment. Your insurer receives the same report so the claim is processed once.
This guide is general information, not medical advice for a specific person. In an emergency call 911 or message our 24/7 line.
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Questions
Emergency room — frequently asked questions
If life is in danger, go or call 911. Otherwise message first: a physician will tell you whether you need the ER, an outpatient visit, or can be managed with advice and a prescription — and which hospital to go to.