Know who you'll go to for a 2nd opinion

According to Michael Douglas, his physicians missed what eventually was diagnosed as stage IV throat cancer (Source: 9/2/10 Miami Herald post reporting on David Letterman Show). 

In a frank interview on the Dave Letterman Show last night, Douglas disclosed having gone to the doctor with persistent sore throat and ear pain.  Tests failed to reveal a cause and he went on to summer vacation with his family.  Upon returning, his doctor decided to perform a biopsy and the high risk diagnosis was discovered.

“This is a good example of how the 2^nd opinion service we offer to expats is just as valuable to people who live in their home country,” said Shai Gold, CEO of International Triage, whose clients include the international audiences of popular websites such as escapeartist.com and traveling4health.com. 

“Even celebrities who have access to the BEST health care money can buy, are not immune from mis-diagnosis,” said Gold, “Your personal doctor may be ‘too close’ to you, therefore more unable to render an objective course of action, discovery and diagnosis.”

According to Gold, “An Independent opinion is more likely to ‘pick up’ on anomalies because the doctor is more focused on subjective evaluation of symptoms and not preoccupied with a personal relationship with the patient. 

In this case, Douglas’ status as a celebrity may have actually hurt Mr. Douglas who apparently did not benefit from full and complete objective evaluation of the symptoms.  Other examples where celebrity may have actually hurt the patient include Michael Jackson,  Anna Nicole Smith, and the famous Marilyn Monroe. 

“While Michael has a high chance of survival, can we even begin to imagine the damage amounts that will be awarded in mal practice law suits if he is disabled, or if he passes away due to late diagnosis”, Said Gold.

“Whether you are rich, or just a working Joe, follow your gut feeling and get a 2nd opinion when in doubt,” concluded Gold. 

The challenge for most people is not knowing where to turn for a second opinion.  Ask yourself, “What would I do in this situation?  Do you know who to turn to”? 

Says Gold:  “Our 2^nd opinion notable medical providers include Johns Hopkins Medicine, (Ranked # 1 Hospital in the USA for the last 20 years by US News and World Report’s “Best Hospitals Report”).  The University of Miami Health System; Jackson Memorial Hospital (Miami); Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson Hospital, Alfred DuPont Children’s Hospital and others.

The writer of this article believes strongly in patient rights and a 2^nd opinion.  I have had personal experiences that lead me to whole heartedly recommend that people not shy away from challenging their original diagnosis by seeking a 2^nd opinion.   I’m sure in this instance Mr. and Mrs. Douglas would support me in this. 

Continue reading:  2^ndMedical Opinion . . . peace of mind  – it’s not just for expats

Mexico To Compete for Marketshare of Global Medical Tourism Industry

A show of support at the First Global Medical Tourism Congress & Expo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in August, 2010.

Mexico has so much to offer U.S. medical tourists – and never more so than in the coming years.

What follows is a report on the First Global Medical Tourism Congress & Expo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico by speaker Roy Ramthun of HSA Consulting Services.  Ramthun was a senior health policy advisor to President George W. Bush

Health Care Reform and Medical Tourism

“A lot of people in the U.S. are going to end up losing their health insurance because of changes in the health care reform law,” says Ramthun, “They are going to be paying for their medical procedures by themselves – and the cost savings of traveling to Mexico for procedures is substantial.”

Mexico has a lot to offer their neighbors to the north – and a lot to gain by going after this market!  We’re rooting for you, Mexico!!  We U.S. citizens wish our neighbors to the south the prosperity that will come to their institutions and indigenous population by competing in the global health care market.

“My impression of the conference was that it was mostly an opportunity for people from Mexico to come together to publicly agree on the need to support medical tourism in Mexico,” said Ramthun, “I think it has been happening on an ad-hoc basis for a long time but this is one of the first times where government, medical providers, travel services, etc. have come together in support of a more concerted effort to bring patients to Mexico and meet their needs.

According to Ramthun, “a conference was planned a year ago in Monterrey, Mexico but was cancelled due to concerns about attendance when the H1N1 virus was just a scarier proposition.”

Ramthun said:  “There was a lot of discussion about Joint Commission accreditation and its importance for Mexican hospitals.  Only 9 are JCI accredited now.  The government says it adopted standards equal to JCI for all Mexican hospitals in 2008 so they don’t believe JCI accreditation is necessary any more.”

“I’m not sure the debate is over yet, “Ramthun admits, “but it is good to see that efforts are underway to address concerns that some have about whether the quality of hospital care in Mexico is equal to that in the U.S.”

“I think the conference provided a good deal of consensus building and support from government behind private efforts to promote medical tourism,” said Ramthun, “An official medical tourism association was announced at the conference.

According to Ramthun, “Previously, there was no recognized association in Mexico (like there is in Costa Rica).  Many people expressed concern that Mexico is behind other countries in promoting medical tourism, but I told them their natural advantages have allowed them to be way ahead of other countries in terms of volume of patients traveling here for medical procedures.”

“Next, it will be important for Mexicans to determine their priorities and develop a plan of action for pursuing them,” said Ramthun.

The development of the medical infrastructure that serves medical tourism also benefits the local citizens.  The demand for skills to service medical tourism automatically will be met by the universities training the young men and women for good-paying jobs and careers as well as be a boon for tourism.

Watch as Laura Gelezunas of PVPulse.com

Juy Plotz Brannigan, owner of Specialty Consulting International

Insurance agents who really know their stuff are coming up with creative ideas to reduce health care costs for employed seniors in a way that also benefits the employer.

One method is for an employer to offer the option of providing Medicare-eligible employees cash for opting out of the employer group plan.

A senior can get equal if not better coverage on Medicare plus a “same as cash” visa card funded by the employer to reduce if not totally eliminate all out-of-pocket medical expense.

This cost-reducing strategy is also saving employers a mint!

Here’s how this information relates to medical tourism. Anytime an employee gets free cash for medical expenses they can then parlay the purchasing power by an average of 75% if they chose to shop for the best value either domestically or at alternative treatment destinations abroad.

We’re talking about a LOT OF MONEY. How you chose to spend the money, locally or internationally, is up to you. Medical tourism is both an option and many times the best solution when you can’t get done locally what you require for the money you can afford to pay.

A Heart for Seniors

Judy Plotz Brannigan, owner of Specialty Consulting International, an employee benefit and medical marketing firm in Hawaii claims to be one of the two people in Hawaii licensed to do Medicare counseling with Kaiser, HMSA, CMS and AARP.

“The reason I ended up working with seniors is that first of all I’m ‘getting up there’ myself,” she said, “and second of all it’s becoming more and more complicated because a lot of employers are keeping people of retirement age working 20 hours on their payroll which in Hawaii means they get full benefits.” (more…)

Bill Buiten and his wife, Bernice, travel to Costa Rica for Bill's much needed hip surgery

On June 30^th, an eighty old year man denied a hip replacement in the U.S. got the surgery he needed in Costa Rica.

That’s the story you’re hearing here from Bill Buiten, a Biscayne Bay, FL. Resident who sought surgical relief for hip pain he had suffered for 25 years as a result of falling off a ladder in 1985.

He claims he was turned down by more than 10 orthopedic surgeons.

Why?  Buiten says he can only guess at why, and “I certainly can’t prove it, but it became pretty clear to me that:

1.  Part of the reason, depending upon which surgeon you were talking about, they didn’t want to do any surgery on me is because I was a Medicare patient and surgeons don’t get paid very well by Medicare;  and so they just push off the Medicare patients with various excuses.

2.  My age was used as an excuse not to do the surgery, and

3.  My case was atypical.  The x-rays don’t quite look the way they want to see it; so they’ve got another excuse for not doing it.”

“It wasn’t a bone on bone situation they like to see in an X ray”, he explained, “I had synovitis and the orthopedic surgeons have such a narrow focus that they don’t want to hear or see anything that’s unusual.  And if it is unusual they don’t want to mess with it.”

This is harsh condemnation, but nevertheless I think when you listen to the podcast of this interview you will hear Buiten’s sincerity and won’t dismiss him as someone who just has an axe to grind.

To hear the recorded interview click on this link: Buiten podcast (more…)