By Clarke Bowling

Cold and flu season may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean those sniffles and coughs we’ve picked up since our arrival in Prague won’t. With only a bit more than a month left to our stay in Prague, you might be begging your immune system to hold out in order to forgo a trip to a strange doctor who might not speak English. The fact is, however, that making a trip to the doctor’s office here in Prague is simple.

Canadian Medical Care is a private medical clinic in Prague that was established in 1995 in order to serve foreigners living in or visiting Prague. To make an appointment, simply call the location nearest your dorm (phone numbers available at http://www.cmcpraha.cz/en/contact/). Same day appointments are often available (I called at 2 p.m. and was with a doctor by 4 p.m.). However, setting up insurance payment can be difficult. While CMC does accept HTH Worldwide, to ensure payment either contact HTH before your appointment (via customerservice@hthworldwide.com) with your plan number and the fax number of the Canadian Medical Care center or plan to pay up front (a same-day sick visit cost around CZK 2500) and submit a claim form to HTH afterwards for reimbursement.

At the facility I visited (the location in Prague 4), I was greeted pleasantly by fluent English speakers at the reception desk, had a very short wait time, and met with a great doctor who also spoke fantastic English. The center was clean and modern, but bring your own reading material for the waiting room—all that was available when I visited was a Czech Airlines in-flight magazine written half in English, half in Czech.

Canadian Medical Care has two locations—one in Prague 6 and one in Prague 4. The Prague 6 location is accessible via the Dejvicka A (green) line Metro stop with a transfer to either the 20 or 26 trams to Nádraží Veleslavín (7 stops from Dejvicka). The Prague 4 location is a short walk from the Chodov C (red) line Metro stop (walk toward the Sony building).

So, if you are sick, stop putting off going to the doctor’s. CMC makes the whole process easy, not to mention you already have the HTH insurance, so it’s covered. And, perhaps most obviously, why waste your time in Prague not feeling 100 percent? Go get a check-up.