Going Abroad for Medical Care? Concerns & Countermeasures
Going Abroad for Medical Care? Concerns & Countermeasures
Many patients are willing of traveling abroad for receiving medical care but they have some concerns. Are there any solutions and countermeasures to these concerns?
It is estimated that millions of patients travel abroad on demand for healthcare services. Many factors influence the decision to seek cross-border medical care. Some people travel to receive a procedure or therapy not available in their country or because they found a higher level of therapy abroad, while others want to avoid long waiting lists. For others the main motive for traveling abroad for a certain procedure is the reduced cost that they found or the lack of insurance coverage in the home country. The combination of treatment and vacations is also a choice factor especially in cases like cosmetic surgery and dental treatment.
The most common procedures that people undergo on medical tourism trips include:
- Cosmetic/plastic surgery,
- Bariatric surgery
- Orthopedic surgery (hip replacement, knee replacement, meniscus repair) and rehabilitation
- Fertility/reproductive treatment (IVF)
- Dentistry
- Eye surgery (LASER, refractive surgery, cataract)
- Cardiac surgery (heart valve replacement, by-pass)
- Check-up, wellness, spa and thermal treatments
- Organ transplantation.
Medical Tourism Concerns
The most common concerns that the medical tourists have are focusing to the country/hospital/doctor that they have to choose to perform the procedure and the more serious the procedure is the more grave the concerns are.
Some questions, that the patients have, are:
- How should I communicate? Does the doctor/nurse/staff speaks my language or a chance of misunderstanding may arise?
- Would I found my medication in the country of service? Do drugs have the same name as I know them in my home country?
- Is there any hidden cost on the price that the doctor asked for the procedure?
- How many days should I have to stay in the country of service before returning home?
- How my family doctor would be informed about my treatment that I ‘ll have abroad?
What You Can Do
- Make sure that any current medical conditions you have are well controlled.
- Check the qualifications of the health care providers who will be doing the procedure and the credentials of the facility where the procedure will be done.
- Make sure that you have a written agreement with the healthcare provider or the medical tourism coordinator arranging your health travel, defining what’s covered by the cost agreed.
- If you go to a country where you do not speak the language, determine ahead of time how you will communicate with the doctor and other caring staff.
- Ask your doctor or your medical tourism coordinator any questions you may have even if you think that some questions may be consider “stupid”. Keep in mind that there are no “stupid questions” in such matters like health problems. There are only “stupid answers”.
- Take with you copies of your medical records that include the lab and other studies done related to the condition for which you are obtaining care and any allergies you may have. There is no need to carry papers and x-rays, etc. It is better the copies to be scanned and carried as electronical records (pdf, jpg, etc).
- Bring copies of all your prescriptions and a list of all the medicines you take, including their brand names, generic names, manufacturers, and dosages. Better more, send the generic names to the doctor (or the medical tourism coordinator) prior to leaving home, a couple of weeks before the procedure. Thus, you’ll be sure that the medicines are available and their brand name in the country of service.
- Before planning vacation activities, such as sunbathing, scuba diving, drinking alcohol, swimming, or taking long tours, find out if those activities are permitted after surgery.
- Get copies of all your medical records before you return home.
It is natural to have concerns about a medical travel. The right countermeasure is to have a proper communication with the doctor or the medical tourism coordinator, to ask any questions you may have, to discuss any concerns and to be prepared. Thus, you will gain the right result that you want and a stress-free healthcare experience.
Epameinondas Christopoulos, MD, MTEC
