In Search of Superior Health Care Overseas

Expanding the discussion of traveling for surgery

Medical Tourism Report – Health Articles – Health Travel

Overseas medical travel

An article dated 12/16/11 by Fran Golden for MSNBC addresses many of the “why on earth would I do that” questions, quite nicely, albeit incompletely.   (Source:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45702566/ns/travel-news/t/medical-tourismis-it-worth-it/).

Beyond an error in reporting that the organization that accredits international hospitals is the same organization that accredits U.S. health care facilities, I found the article useful in terms of opening up topics for discussion.

I will expand on each of Golden’s talking points, and add the practical wisdom expressed by medical professionals queried in hundreds of interviews compiled in the book How to Plan a Successful Medical Tourism Trip.

If you wouldn’t drink the water in some foreign countries, why would you consider going overseas for a risky procedure—with a doctor you’ve never even met?

Golden’s answer was, “In general, it isn’t all that hard to find a doctor overseas who follows U.S. standards, and if you’d prefer, who was trained at a medical school in the U.S.”

Reality check: Medical care in the U.S. is so compartmentalized that it is rare that one can expect a doctor “you know” to be your surgeon, especially for a risky procedure.

Both here, and abroad, in most cases you have “met” the doctor doing the procedure, but beyond that, surgeons practicing overseas who cater to international patients are far more likely to give the patient more personal attention and follow-up than doctors in the States.  Follow-up in the States is more likely to be in the form of a report or a phone call from someone other than the surgeon.

Face it, the concept of a “personal doctor”, seems mainly to apply to the general practitioner to whom to go with your colds and annual checkups.  Anything beyond that and Wham … you are being treated by complete strangers.

It still seems like a risk. So why do it?

Golden’s answer:  The savings can be staggering.

Reality check: You should not travel for medical care based on savings alone.  I wouldn’t even start there.  I’d start with finding the best doctor, and the most advanced technology.  I would consider my health when contemplating a long airplane flight.  And finally, after completing my own due diligence, I would be better prepared to have an intelligent conversation with a medical travel company who can take the guess work out of the whole process.

Hint: If you’re comfortable with a medical tourism facilitator whose clients have recommended them, then go that route.  But for complex surgery, and for better over-all case management, I would personally choose to book with International-Triage, LLC, a medical-travel, case-management company that handles the medical quality-control of international patients for insurance companies.  Oh, and the savings will still be staggering.  But you will have mitigated the risk factor to be negligible.

Will my insurance still pay for medical work done overseas?

As Golden says, “Elective procedures aren’t typically covered anyway, so that doesn’t change. But some corporations are starting to encourage their employees to go abroad for surgeries that are covered by insurance because it saves them money.”  As an example, the article states an incentive from Blue Lake Casino in California, “If an employee needs a $50,000 hip replacement, for example, then by going to Thailand, where the cost is only $7,879, he would not only have his deductible fee waived, but he’d also get to pocket $4,212—or 10 percent of the $42,121 saved.”

Reality check:

What I would question here is not the savings, but the advisability of sitting in an airplane for 20 hours on the return trip from Thailand to the U.S.  Do you think that might be a little difficult following hip surgery?  However, there are medical centers of excellence abroad where the flight-time from the U.S. is less than 5 hours; and still the savings are substantial.

How do you plan a trip like this? Can you do it on your own, or are there tours for this kind of “vacation,” too?

Golden quotes Renée-Marie Stephano, president of the MTA, “Some hospitals have international-patient coordinators,” Stephano says. “You can call the facility, get options, and organize the trip on your own.”

Reality check: Have you ever had a poor experience booking your own medical procedure at your local hospital or surgical center?  Were you surprised by the bills for services you didn’t even know you were being charged for?  What if there are complications?  What if your check-out time is delayed?  How’s that going to affect your overall time/money budget?  Did you feel you had any control at all over the costs?

Hint: When Insurance companies send people overseas, they use case-management companies to control the costs as well as the standard of care.  You can actually plan a budget and benefit from the same controls as an insurance company, by booking your procedure through International-Triage, LLC, a company recommended for their case management by T4H members.

Otherwise, you’re on your own – much like you are in the U.S.  And by that I mean the compartmentalization of care in most U.S. hospitals often results in added costs and even dangerously contradictory treatment plans.

Says Golden, “There’s also a fringe benefit to overseas health care: the trip itself.  You can fly to San José, have the procedure, rest up in a hotel, and then head off on a weeklong cruise to spot monkeys and see the jungle.”

Reality check:

Suggesting that you have the procedure done first, and then trot off on a vacation tour is naïve; a concept promoted by the tourism industry but not by most medical professionals.  The time required for healing is not an exact science.  In fact, it can be highly subjective.  For example, you may not feel “up to” your usual energy level or be comfortable going out in public in your post-op days.

Hint: Take the vacation first, before the procedure;  That’s a no-brainer.

What about recovery and follow-up care?

Ah yes, what about recovery and follow-up care?

Reality check:  I seriously recommend you read “How to Plan a Successful Medical Tourism Trip” to make sure you don’t make the common mistakes of choosing a recovery retreat for it scenic appeal, only to risk infection due to exposure to animals, environment, etc. that might otherwise be fine for a healthy person.  And that’s just one example.

Hint: Proximity to clinic, hospital, or other treatment location is crucial to your safe recovery.  Your recovery “retreat” should be within 15 minutes of your treatment location.  This is to reduce post-op stress and to make it easy and low stress to do pre and post op doctor visits.