Refund Policy
The principle
You are paying for the physician's time and judgement, not for an outcome.
That cuts both ways, and the second half is the part worth reading. If the assessment concludes that no medicine should be prescribed, that is a completed service and the fee stands. You received exactly what you paid for: a qualified opinion about your own measurements.
A clinic that refunded the fee when it declined to prescribe would have a financial reason to prescribe. We would rather be plain about the arrangement than build in that incentive.
Before your consultation
- More than 24 hours' notice — full refund, or we move the appointment at no charge.
- Less than 24 hours — we would rather reschedule than charge you. If it becomes a pattern we will say so.
- You do not attend and do not tell us — the fee is not refunded. The slot was held and could have gone to someone else.
Illness, a family emergency, a flight cancelled, a connection that will not work from where you are — tell us and we will reschedule. Life happens, and we are not interested in profiting from it.
If we cancel
Full refund or a rescheduled appointment, whichever you prefer. This includes the case where a physician becomes unavailable at short notice.
If the video connection fails and cannot be recovered by telephone, the consultation is rescheduled at no additional charge. That is also what Decree No. 44363‑S requires of us.
After the consultation has happened
The service has been delivered and the fee is not generally refundable. Two exceptions:
- We could not deliver what was agreed — for example the consultation was cut so short by a failure on our side that no useful assessment took place.
- You were charged incorrectly — wrong amount, charged twice, charged for something you did not receive. Tell us and we will correct it.
What we do not refund, and why
- An assessment that concluded no treatment is needed. As above. That is a result, not a failure.
- Laboratory tests. You pay the laboratory directly and we never take a margin on them. Once a sample is drawn and run, that cost is theirs and real. Their refund terms are theirs.
- Medicines already dispensed. Pharmacies generally cannot accept returns of dispensed medicine, which is a safety rule rather than a commercial one. Where a medicine requires refrigeration this is absolute.
- A treatment that did not produce the result you hoped for. Response varies between people, which is why we do not promise outcomes.
- A decision to stop treatment. You may stop at any time, and we will help you do it safely. Consultations already given are not refunded.
Medical tourists
If you are travelling here for care, read this before you book flights.
We refund our own fees under the terms above. We cannot refund flights, accommodation or anything else connected to your trip, under any circumstances, including when we cancel.
Book a changeable fare if the trip exists for the appointment. Metabolic care also does not usually require travel at all — remote consultation is lawful and regulated here, and in most cases the assessment and the follow-up can both be done by video.
How a refund is made
To the same method you paid by, which is a rule of the payment networks rather than ours. Timing depends on your bank — card refunds commonly take several business days to appear, and international cards can take longer.
Refunds are made in the currency you were charged in. Where a currency conversion occurred, exchange rate movement between payment and refund is outside our control and we cannot compensate for it.
If you are unhappy
Write to us first. Most of what gets escalated is a misunderstanding we could have fixed in a message, and we would rather hear it directly than read it in a review.
If we cannot resolve it, you may complain to the Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos about professional conduct, or to the Ministry of Health. A card dispute is also open to you, though we would ask you to talk to us first.
Changes
If these terms change, the version that applies to you is the one in force when you booked.
Last updated 19 October 2026. Cura Vida Clinics Costa Rica LLC Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada.