Moscow Medical Exams - 2010

[visaveteran 1]

Meditsina was taken off the list back in October because the Embassy did not renew their certification. Word was that they would reapply some time this year. I'd email the Embassy and inquire; the Embassy isn't always that swift to update their website. They are the best with nice lobby with piano player; like at Bloomingdales!!!

From what I remember from when Alla and Leonid did their medicals last year (Alla got in under the wire at Meditsina) is that Filatov is only doing children (may have changed by now) and IOM was the last resort. Read some of the medical report that can be found around the October - December timeframe last year as there were a few reports from IOM (lots of walking from building to building but not too bad).

Good info about AOM, Baron.

It's been 7 months since they lost certification. I wonder why the delay? Of course, it could be more about the slow embassy than AOM. But it does seem odd that only AOM has certification issues. The longer it takes, the more likely something is wrong at the clinic...or they just didn't make enough money with the interview exams.

[Cixelsyd 1]

I will advise Olga about the spectrum of opinions, and welcome any discussions that follow. Right now, Olga is having fun with some of the "opinions" about life in the US. For about a week, I had her convinced that she would be a "Soccer Mom", and there was a rule that Soccer Moms were required to drive mini-vans. My brother quashed that, when we were having a chat on Skype.

When my wife was in the US, I tried to get away with convincing her of some crazy social habits of the American people that I made up. She believed me only once maybe. Now when I tell her anything, I just get the "you're full of #######" look.

Nice to see I'm not the only one with a warped sense of humor though

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

When my wife was in the US, I tried to get away with convincing her of some crazy social habits of the American people that I made up. She believed me only once maybe. Now when I tell her anything, I just get the "you're full of #######" look.

Nice to see I'm not the only one with a warped sense of humor though

he he .. My sense of humor is helping with her English. Now, when I try something like this, I add a new word or two of vocabulary, and I can hear the flipping of the dictionary pages before I hear, "Нет!"

[visaveteran 1]

he he .. My sense of humor is helping with her English. Now, when I try something like this, I add a new word or two of vocabulary, and I can hear the flipping of the dictionary pages before I hear, "Нет!"

My wife uses one of those small electronic translators. She's been here almost two years (just submitted the Removal of Conditions as a matter of fact) and I still can't keep batteries in it. I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't

"loose" it to take away the crutch...especially for her English classes.

BTW, as far as forums for the ladies go, my wife does enjoy some popular website to find old classmates and childhood friends, etc. from Russia. She has connected with a lot of her old friends and also crosses paths with people she talks to regularly, so it must be a good social networking site. If anyone is interested, I'll get the URL.

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

My wife uses one of those small electronic translators. She's been here almost two years (just submitted the Removal of Conditions as a matter of fact) and I still can't keep batteries in it. I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't

"loose" it to take away the crutch...especially for her English classes.

BTW, as far as forums for the ladies go, my wife does enjoy some popular website to find old classmates and childhood friends, etc. from Russia. She has connected with a lot of her old friends and also crosses paths with people she talks to regularly, so it must be a good social networking site. If anyone is interested, I'll get the URL.

Yes, please. The URL would be welcome.

I got an iTravl electronic translator for me to learn Russian. It works OK for a dictionary, but is a disaster for the speaking part. Twice in just over one year, the sound system fried. They replaced it the first time under warranty, but want me to do a trade in to remedy the second failure. The device helped me with travel in Russian speaking countries, and it was a good way to pass the time on long flights. But I would not recommend the iTravl series of translators, because they are still selling the same flawed hardware design. When Olga and I are together, we use a pocket sized Lagenscheidt's dictionary, and it is adequate.

A couple of times each week, we use theOxford Picture Dictionary for lessons. We have two copies, and just work the pages together. This helps with her English. My Russian still sounds like I am from Mars!

[slim 1,514]

Sounds like odnoklassniki.ru

My wife spends some time on there to reconnect with old friends.

[visaveteran 1]

Sounds like odnoklassniki.ru

My wife spends some time on there to reconnect with old friends.

Yes, that's the one. Very popular.

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

Sounds like odnoklassniki.ru

My wife spends some time on there to reconnect with old friends.

Thank you. I am sure Olga will be happy to receive this information.

[mendeleev 67]

Its a pity that AOMedisina lost their certification and, one would hope, they get it back soon.

My wife is unusual inasmuch as we did both a K1 and a K3, so she had two medical exams. MOM was terrible. It was several years ago and hopefully the offending doctors have been dismissed. I don't read that MOM continues to have the pattern of abuse they did 3-5 years ago. (And if you experienced that sort of abuse, it would make you pretty negative about them, too.)

AOMeditsina, which is run by a Swiss firm, was quite efficient and business-like. They did give my wife a rubella vaccine that, strictly speaking, wasn't required since she was over 50 at the time. So they may have been interested in racking up fees, much like some American physicians. But overall she had a much better experience with AOMedisina than MOM.

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

Its a pity that AOMedisina lost their certification and, one would hope, they get it back soon.

My wife is unusual inasmuch as we did both a K1 and a K3, so she had two medical exams. MOM was terrible. It was several years ago and hopefully the offending doctors have been dismissed. I don't read that MOM continues to have the pattern of abuse they did 3-5 years ago. (And if you experienced that sort of abuse, it would make you pretty negative about them, too.)

AOMeditsina, which is run by a Swiss firm, was quite efficient and business-like. They did give my wife a rubella vaccine that, strictly speaking, wasn't required since she was over 50 at the time. So they may have been interested in racking up fees, much like some American physicians. But overall she had a much better experience with AOMedisina than MOM.

Thank you for the information. Yesterday, Olga spoke with the IOM (MOM) clinic, to verify fees and appointment availability. The person answering the phone was rather "busy" and rushed Olga off of the phone. Interestingly, the rate quoted for children, under the age of 14, was higher than what was posted on the Embassy web site. I sent an FYI email to the Embassy about the apparent discrepancy.

Tim

44 days, and counting down to the interview!

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

Olga and her son had their medical exams today at Moscow IOM.

They arrived at 8:45 AM. The clinic begins work at 9:00 AM.

It was necessary for them to wait until 11:00 AM to submit their completed documents. Then, they were directed to go to the medical clinic for the actual medical examination.

The medical clinic was a bit of a commute from IOM. From the clinic, this involved a five minute walk from IOM to the nearest Metro Station, three stops on one Metro line, a change of train and then two stops on the next line. The medical clinic was about a five minute walk from the Lenin Library Metro Station (near Red Square). So, it was about twenty minutes from IOM to the Medical clinic.

The medical exams required about three hours to complete. There was a long wait for Olga's chest X-ray. Based upon Olga's description, the medical exam was OK. Blood was drawn from her, and not from her nine year old son. There was the usual looking in ears, eyes and listening to heart and lungs. Review of vaccination records was cursory. A physician interviewed Olga about the medical histories of she and her son; this was also brief. The entire process process lasted from about 11:20 AM until 2:40 PM. Olga was advised that the results would be ready after 4:00 PM. She returned to the clinic at 3:15 PM (She is compulsively early: This is going to kill me, as I am a procrastinator!), and the envelope for the embassy was ready. Two people at the medical clinic told Olga that her blood work was OK. This gave her sigh of relief.

The fees charged by IOM matched the rates on the US Embassy web site: $160 for adults; $120 for children. There was an extra charge of $20 to have the vaccination record for the child translated into English, and put on a card that is acceptable for US school systems.

Olga inquired about purchasing a copy of the medical exam results. I thought this would be a good starting point for the family Doctor in the US. It would also eliminate the need to repeat the blood work over here. The clinic advised that this was possible until October of 2009. At that time, someone from the Embassy advised the clinic that copies of the test results were NOT to be made available. I will send an email to the Embassy and inquire about this. Based upon the current push in the US to eliminate duplicate medical procedures, this seems like a questionable policy. It seems there may have been an 'incident' last October that induced the change in policy. I will pass along any reply from the Embassy.

In summary, the medical examination process through IOM was "routine"; however, it did consume most of one day. Fees were in line with the Embassy web site, and results were available the same day. Your other half should probably bring a good book, as there will be considerable waiting time.

Edited June 8, 2010 by Tim & Olga

[mendeleev 67]

Good review. Glad to hear that MOM was businesslike for your fiance.

And odnaklassiki.ru is a good networking site my wife uses a lot, too.

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

Good review. Glad to hear that MOM was businesslike for your fiance.

And odnaklassiki.ru is a good networking site my wife uses a lot, too.

Well. MOM wasn't like Mom, but they were certainly businesslike.

Thank you for the referral of odnaklassiki.ru. I will pass this onto Olga.

[SMR 368]

Well. MOM wasn't like Mom, but they were certainly businesslike.

Thank you for the referral of odnaklassiki.ru. I will pass this onto Olga.

vkontakte.ru is also decent. It's pretty much a direct copy of the old facebook before the upgrade.

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

vkontakte.ru is also decent. It's pretty much a direct copy of the old facebook before the upgrade.

Thank you. I can see that the Princess will be busy surfing the internet after returning from Moscow!

Olga's son, Kirill, has been very good during all of the waiting, prodding and poking, so tomorrow she will take him to Gorky Park as a little reward. He thoroughly enjoys the rides.