Five Things To Consider Before Planning Medical Travel And Tourism

5 Things To Consider Before Planning medical travel And Tourism..

 In recent years, some people have taken rather drastic steps to deal with the high cost of health care in some countries such as the United States by considering medical travel and tourism. Some have traveled to other countries to obtain medical treatment at a lower cost. This practice is referred to as medical travel or medical tourism. In other cases, people in poorer countries will practice medical tourism to a richer country to get treatment that is not available in their home country. The third reason for medical tourism is to go from a country with long waits for some treatments as happens sometimes with national health care to one with less waiting. Following are five things you should consider before planning medical travel and tourism.

First of all, residents of high medical-cost countries, the United States in particular, really can save a lot of money with medical travel and tourism. Surgery in India or Thailand is much cheaper than in the United States, and the same is true of many other countries. The savings can be quite significant, especially for procedures that aren’t covered by insurance, or for people who are not insured.

Number 2, it is becoming common for insurance companies or employers who are trying to cut health care costs to motivate their customers or employees to practice medical tourism. They can save a lot of money this way. They may pay partial refunds, or at least cover transportation and housing.

Third, if you are concerned about the quality of care in a foreign country, there is some help available. Several agencies, including the Joint Commission International, study health care facilities and hospitals around the world. They will grant accreditation when it is deserved. Quality of care is a very complicated issue and may vary a lot within a country or between countries. Accreditation provides at least some comfort in knowing there is a lower bound on the quality of an accredited facility.

Fourth, be aware that it may be difficult or impossible to get compensation for malpractice in some countries. Sometimes malpractice claims are not allowed or very limited. In other cases, a malpractice suit may be possible, but it may be very difficult to collect if you win. Malpractice should be pretty rare, but it is good to realize that the protections one has at home may not exist abroad.

And finally, fifth, medical tourism introduces some risks of its own. You may encounter diseases that are rarely if ever-present at home. Contagious disease during recuperation from surgery or other treatments is a dangerous thing. The good news is that health care workers in the area you are visiting are probably familiar with the diseases you could catch while there.

There are even risks from the travel. The term economy class syndrome refers to the risk of developing blood clots in the legs due to being seated and inactive during a long plane flight. Traveling while recuperating from surgery raises the risk of this. This is yet another factor to consider when thinking about medical tourism.

Medical travel and tourism may be a good choice for many people, for non-emergency treatments of course. It is frequently used for joint replacement or cosmetic surgery. Dental treatment is another possibility. There are medical tourism providers who could help you sort things out. They can inform you about the options available in many countries. These medical travel and tourism providers can even function much like a travel agency and set everything up for you, almost like a guided tour.