Is medical tourism a blessing or call for healthcare reform?

Traveling internationally for healthcare can
be safe--and significantly less expensive.

High-quality care is available at many hospitals around the world that are centers of excellence with quality outcomes and standards of service equaling or surpassing those in the U.S. 

Medical travel--the process of seeking medical care outside the U.S.--is a growing trend predominantly driven by the rising costs of healthcare in the U.S., growing demand for consumer choice and recognition that quality medical care is available internationally.

Medical tourism, however, raises a red flag for green living. Certainly, if a loved one was suffering from a complicated or rare condition, you would try to go where help could be found---particularly if the destination offered both competent treatment and significantly lower overall cost.

However, immediately you must tack on the huge carbon footprint of the flight--for the patient and family member, a stay in a hotel, restaurant food, etc. While it may immediately seem that medical tourism is a privilege enjoyed onlyby the rich, on the contrary, companies such as Satori World Medical offer medical tourism facilitators to help employers as well as individuals make an informed choice from the range of hospitals promoting their services to overseas patients. But how would you feel if your workplace agreed to pay for your surgery--provided you had it someplace overseas?

The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions reports that two in five survey respondents said they would be interested in pursuing treatment abroad if quality was comparable and the savings were 50% or more, and they predict the number of Americans traveling for medical care to increase to six million by 2010. That statistic should be impetus enough for healthcare reform in this country. 

How can you be assured of the quality of global healthcare?

The new AMA Guidelines on Medical Tourism support pluralism and patient choice, are intended to inform and advise patients, employers, insurers, and those coordinating international healthcare about how to ensure the quality and safety of patient care internationally. One recommendation is that patients should only be referred for medical care to institutions that have been accredited by recognized international accrediting bodies, such as the Joint Commission International (JCI), which accredits all U.S. healthcare facilities and is the recognized world leader in evaluating healthcare quality and patient safety. 

Over 50 countries have identified medical tourism as a national industry. Many JCI-accredited international hospitals have affiliations with prestigious U.S. medical universities and hospitals, such as Johns Hopkins, Harvard Medical and the Cleveland Clinic. Many of the doctors practising in the best of these international hospitals are U.S./U.K. or equivalently trained and Board Certified, as well as experts in their specialty.

Other AMA guidelines address follow-up care, legal rights, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines, and travel risks.

Dr. Ronald Johnson, Chief Medical Officer of Satori World Medical, explains the role of the medical travel facilitator:

When evaluating international medical organizations, it is important for individuals, employers and insurance payors to look for these key components:

• A full-time Chief Medical Officer and Medical Quality Advisory Board to lead the quality program, set guidelines, evaluate facilities including site visits, and review performance measures and outcomes
• Meet or exceed  the AMA Guidelines for medical travel
• A careful evaluation of quality standards and audits of network hospitals in order to be recognized as International Centers of Excellence
• Surgically-trained Registered Nurses and travel/customer service representatives to guide patients through the entire process from the first phone call to follow-up, which includes scheduling their post-operative appointment back in the U.S. before even leaving the country for surgery.
• Other components include facilitating medical records transfer, communications with the insurer, U.S. physician, international physician and patient, and scheduling all travel arrangements.
• Transparency in quality and pricing.
• Service includes transportation and accommodations for a companion to accompany the patient.
• Allows employers and employees to share in the significant economic savings of global healthcare.