World Travel Guide

Archive for the ‘Medical Travel’ Category

By Peter Propp

Medical Tourism from the USA is a trend that is growing every year. By some estimates, US consumers are already spending as much as One Billion ($1B) USD on Medical Tourism. Why are consumers adopting this seemingly radical idea in such extreme numbers? Consumers get very resourceful when they know they need medical care but for any number of reasons are being denied access to care. Here are a couple of stories that put the need for medical travel in better detail:

Who Decides What Procedures are Necessary? A construction worker falls on the jobsite and injures his knee. After the swelling subsides, he learns that he has torn his MCL. He can still walk, but his knee feels unsteady. While he has insurance, the insurance company will not pay for MCL reconstruction, saying that it is not necessary surgery. But for this construction worker, a fully functioning knee is a priority and after arguing for a while with the insurance company, he decides to explore his options. Like many people in the USA, he considers Medical Tourism. After doing his research, he travels with his wife to Costa Rica to have his MCL repaired, receives world-class treatment from world class surgeons and receives excellent pre and post-surgery care at a recovery resort with 24-hour nursing and an in-house physical therapy center.

* At the end of his week in Costa Rica, he a repaired knee at half of what it would have cost him in the US and he and his wife are very relaxed. He can’t wait to get back to climbing ladders and building houses.

We Know Our Bodies!! One woman was discovering lumps in her breasts on a regular basis. And the protocol as defined by her insurance company was to get a lumpectomy. But after several lump discoveries and several painful lumpectomies, she knew that because of her personal and family medical history, she was at high risk for a more serious diagnosis. She decided that the best way to minimize this risk and stop the seemingly unending, painful lumpectomies was a bilateral mastectomy, and then get reconstructive surgery to replace the removed breast mass. It is common to have an insurance company deny this type of a claim, and her insurance company did just that. Instead of waiting for the next lumpectomy this client did her research and chose our client decided to consider Medical Tourism from the USA as the optimal option Working with a Medical Travel facilitator, she was able to help her get the services that she needed.

According to Jeff Carter, the CEO of HealthGlobe, medical travel and medical tourism are trends that are based on the basic human need to get well when we are sick. “At HealthGlobe we have an international network and a domestic network of health care providers. Traveling for medical care is a means to an end, it really is about getting the highest quality care for you at what is almost always a very aggressive cost discount from what you might find in your home area. That is true whether you travel domestically or internationally. It just really is about getting the best care with a physician focused on meeting your needs.”

By Peter Propp

The country of Korea has developed into a modern, industrialized and technologically advanced economy that exports its products to consumers across the world. Medical care in Korea has developed alongside the other high-tech industries here and currently the medical establishment provides care that is among the best in the world. As a natural extension of the export-driven economy and the outcome-oriented medical care industries that exist here today, people from around the globe have begun to travel to Korea for quality, affordable care and this is a prime example of a new trend taking hold in developed and developing nations around the world.

The government of Korea, specifically the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), has taken a leading role in creating a global awareness of Korea’s standing in the medical community. They have completed several initiatives that, taken together, create a platform for international customer satisfaction in the medical industry and a delivery framework within which medical providers must work. This has created a standardized offering of great medical care whose message has begun to resonate with consumers in the US.

As the Medical Travel industry has matured over the past several years, many experts agree that we are on the cusp of a large scale adoption of medical travel by corporations in the form of modified or expanded employee benefit options. In this article we will explore the self-funded group health plan model, the increasing trend of adoption of medical travel benefits by group health plans and what differentiates an association plan model from a standalone plan design.

It is important to point out that the plan designs discussed in this article have been adopted by several employers already, including large multinational corporations, and are in the process of being implemented by several more self-funded groups at this time. This experience in the industry has resulted in an offering that has been developed and then iteratively refined over time to enhance its relevance to the corporate buyer. The ongoing work with employers from many different industry groups continues to bring innovative change to this platform creating an evolving offering that is ultimately designed by the consumer, not the supplier.

When an employer or other group that provides health care coverage to its members (union, government, etc.) evaluates its alternatives for funding that health care, they have several options. In a very general sense, the two ends of the spectrum are a “fully insured” health care plan and a self-funded plan. Using a fully insured plan design means that the employer pays a fixed premium to an insurance company to cover their group and that any claims made against the group are paid by the insurance company. Electing a self-funded plan design, for all intents and purposes, means that the employer will assume the role of the insurance company and will pay any claims made against the group. This is a spectrum so there a theoretically infinite number of ways of designing a plan that uses some aspects of both of the above, and a wide range of commercial products that use partial insurance and partial self-funding to optimize cost containment for the employer.

While insurance products are subject to state-by-state regulation, when employers elect a self-funded plan design they are subject to the federal regulations known as ERISA. This alone can make a good argument for self-funding for employers with facilities or employees located in many different states because it enables them to create a single plan to cover all of their US employees without needing to stay up-to-date, or pay a national insurance company to stay up-to-date, with the regulations of each state in which they operate. Using a self-funded platform for providing employee benefits also allows the employer a far greater degree of control over what benefits are offered and exactly how they are offered, as well as the ability to change the availability and coverage levels of specific benefits within the plan at any time they see fit. It is for these reasons and many more that most large employers (those with more than 1000 employees) choose to self-fund their health benefit plans. In fact, some groups as small as 30 members can comfortably self-fund their benefit plans so long as the demographics and claim history of the group make it financially attractive.

With an entire spectrum of plan designs available to employers, the development of the Korea Medical Travel Benefit Option needed to create a flexible, component-based product that was capable of being integrated into any funding platform in order to create a deliverable that would be appealing to the largest possible number of employers.

By Paulo Yberri

After having surgery in Mexico, the last thing a patient should be worrying about is the logistics of your recovery. The key to successful health travel is planning. The patient needs to know exactly where he or she will be every step of the way before ever getting on the plane. Post-operation logistics, hotel or hospital stay arrangements should all be taken care of. But with a little bit of planning, the entire trip can be stress-free, allowing the patient to focus on healing.

After Mexico Medical Procedures

Whether the patient is having a minor procedure or something more major, he or she might not have considered what will happen afterward. If the patient is only scheduled for a simple procedure such as dental work, there might be no need to plan anything after the initial appointment. The dentist might be able to send the patient home the same day without any concerns.

However, most people who choose medical travel are looking to have more major procedures performed. For many of these procedures, patients need to stay in the area to be monitored for several days after, and some of them may even require patients to be in the hospital for monitoring. All patients should check with their physician before the procedure, and make sure they know how long they’ll need to stay in the country afterward.

If the patient is planning a trip without the aid of a company, hotel fare can be steep. A good health travel coordinator can get significant discounts, allowing patients to stay in the area at a much lower cost. Nonetheless, medical travel is still much cheaper than domestic procedures, even if patients end up paying full price for hotel accommodations. Obviously, if the patient is going to be staying in a hospital, he or she will have to discuss the rate in combination with other individual procedures. Patients should be careful to choose a good hospital – it is vital to get good care before, during, and after each procedure. Again, a good medical travel company can help here, because they will know what the best hospitals are without having to do extra research.

Heading Home After Medical Travel

The most important thing to consider after health travel is the state of a patient’s medical records. If the procedure has been at all major, the patient will need to get a full record of the procedure to the doctor who will be following up care at home. If the patient worked with a company thus far, it is very likely that they will be helping to establish care during your time at home, and they will almost certainly be able to facilitate the prompt and thorough transfer of all relevant medical records. If a patient is not working with a company, it is often wise to set up a record transfer before ever going in for the procedure. Especially if a patient expects to be traveling alone, without family or friends able to interface with the hospital during the recovery period, planning as much in advance as possible is a tremendous help.

The Importance of Aftercare

Once the patient have returned home and given all medical records to the local physician, he or she should make sure that all instructions given by the surgeon are followed as closely as possible. Patients should never hesitate to ask any questions they might have, and should absolutely contact their regular doctor or the surgeons who performed the Mexico medical procedures in question if any parts of the instructions are unclear. Almost every surgery available through health travel requires certain careful steps after the work is completed, from avoiding certain situations to changing lifestyle to taking certain medications. If the patient doesn’t follow these steps exactly, it can seriously undermine the healing process.

Finally, the patient should ensure that his or her family, friends, and coworkers are prepared for an absence. If having major Mexico medical procedures performed, there is a potential for a long recovery time simply because of the complexity of the surgery. No matter whether the patient chose to have the surgery locally or chose to have it done in Mexico, he or she would still be out for a while, and close associates need to know that. Most employers will be understanding and work with patients to plan time off, allowing for the time needed to truly heal.

Many patients find that family and friends may be more difficult to schedule, as some of them may want to come visit, and may have difficulty imagining being able to visit if the patient is abroad. But with proper planning and a little attention to logistics, everything can be arranged before the patient leaves, assuring a calm and relaxing recovery period that will maximize each individual’s ability to heal and get the most benefit from surgery.

By Peter Propp

Medical Travel is already considered to be an industry with revenues of more than $1 Billion USD from the US alone. Many consumers in California, Texas and Florida already rely on medical travel for dental, bariatric and other procedures that they cannot afford in the US. For those of us who don’t live near the border, getting used to the idea of traveling out of the country can be a bit daunting. Here are 3 critical steps that can help you have a more positive medical travel experience.

1) Make sure your doctor agrees with the procedure. Getting agreement from your physician or dentist that you will benefit from the procedure you are seeking will make everything go more smoothly, especially because any reputable clinic will require your medical records so they can review your case and agree to the course of action before you travel. This may not apply for cosmetic dental work like teeth whitening.

2) Select a great doctor. There are amazing doctors around the world who have been trained in the US and at other great medical schools. But you need to find those great doctors and evaluate them against each other. In the US, consumers always ask their friends before they switch Dentists, OB-GYNs Pediatricians. But who can you ask when you are trying to find the best doctor overseas?

3) Get very comfortable with your provider. There are great clinics around the world whose level of care and personal attention in many cases will exceed the care you might receive in the US. Hard to believe, but it is true. However, you need to make sure that you have every step of your medical travel experience mapped out, from flights, to ground transportation, lodging, meals, clinic appointment times, etc. Please note that many of the online services that claim to take care of every aspect of travel in clinics around the world, actually will only send patients to one country like India.

Not all medical travel facilitators are the same. Some providers have been created to take the stress out of medical travel while still providing services at the lowest possible cost. Some providers have trained patient advocates who already send patients around the world for great care. A great medical facilitator will know the best clinics, the best doctors and they are focused on creating the best possible outcome based on the needs of each individual patient.

By Nikhil Lamba

Medical travel has been a rapidly growing trend in the healthcare industry. With the ever increasing cost of medical treatment and the long waiting time in the developed nations, more and more people are willing to cross the borders to get treated.

Some of the major factors influencing the growth of medical tourism are:

1. Lower cost of treatment
2. Highly skilled doctors
3. No wait time
4. State of the art technology
5. Modern facilities

Even though there are many advantages to medical tourism, there are some concerns as well. In this article, I will discuss some basic points that medical tourists should keep in mind before finalizing their trip, to prevent from getting scammed.

The most important thing to begin with, when considering medical travel, is “RESEARCH”. Here are some of the things to check online or with your known ones who have gone through this process.

1. Reputation of your medical tourism company – Many medical tourists take assistance from medical travel companies. Though this turns out a bit more expensive then going at it alone, it does saves you from a lot of hassles.

Hiring the right medical travel agency is key, and for that you should do a through check on the company. The Internet is a good place to see what people are saying about a particular company. Read reviews, if possible email people who have hired them earlier and get their feedback. Understand what you should be looking out for and learn from experience.

Do not choose a medical tourism company just on the bases of price. Reputation is what’s important.

2. Reputation of the Doctor and Hospital – Don’t leave this decision for the medical tourism company to make. Medical tourism companies are affiliated with some and not all the doctors and hospitals in the country of your interest. Do through research on doctors and choose the one that best suites your needs.

If you leave this decision for the medical travel companies, they just might choose a doctor that best suites their needs and not yours.

3. Before leaving the country, understand what is being offered to you and have that in writing and not promises. Understand everything from hotel stay to travel arrangements. Factor everything in and make sure there aren’t any additional costs or taxes that you will have to make payments for. Understand what kind of arrangements will be made during an emergency or if anything untoward happens.

If you are going to be traveling within the country, make sure that the price you are paying for the entire package includes travel and lodging for that too.

4. Price for treatment – By checking a few local websites of doctors, you can get a really good idea of how much locals are charged for a particular treatment. Many a times medical tourists are charged a premium as their willingness to pay is higher. You can negotiate on price, if high, and know that quality will not be hampered.

In short, have a clear understanding of all the aspects of traveling for your medical treatment. Do through research and learn from others mistakes. Make up your own mind as to what you need and prevent from getting influenced.

With millions of people traveling to get operated for procedures like dental treatment, plastic surgery, orthopaedics, IVF treatment etc. medical travel has become safe and acceptable. But still, be cautious and do your research before taking a final decision.

By Peter Propp

Medical Travel from the USA and Medical Tourism from the USA are growing fields as more and more consumers realize that they can get great medical care from highly trained physicians who work in countries outside the borders of the United States of America. Many corporations who self insure are also taking a closer look at the opportunity to save a great deal of money by offering a medical travel benefit to their employees. Many US corporations self-insure and are exempt from many of the obligations of the new US Healthcare bill.

But assuming you are interested in getting medical care from a clinic in another country, you still have a wide variety of options. There are already dozens of websites that offer medical travel services. Their websites are very attractive and come up high in Google search results. If you are a savvy consumer you already know that many of the sites that are claiming to provide services are actually lead generation sites that have been tuned to get a lot of traffic and distribute leads and are sending all of their leads directly to clinics out of country.

Most consumers are still hesitant about taking advantage of the benefits of medical travel from the USA. For them, dealing with a trained medical travel facilitator who is based in the United States will be an important way to make them comfortable with the many details that go into preparing for a medical travel or medical tourism procedure.

1. One Facilitator, or Many? If you are talking to multiple call center people in the process of setting up your trip, you might want to ask them about their background and how long they have been in the medical field.
2. Case Manager, or appointment setting? You are trying to make a change that will impact your future health. It is an important decision. Make sure the facilitator you are dealing with is focused on matching your needs with the right clinic. If they only offer procedures in one country, you might want to reconsider.
3. Expert or Call Center? Finally, you are right to expect that your medical travel facilitator will know a great deal about medical procedures and that if they don’t know, they will research the info and get back to you. If you are not getting the information you need, look elsewhere for your help.
   

By T Hale

There is a very high demand for temporary health care professionals nowadays. Different places in the United States, Europe, and other countries in the world have a demand for health care professionals. So these countries are willing to hire temporary health care workers from out of the country in order to meet the health care needs of their local community.

Because of this, a new type of career option has emerged for health care workers everywhere. This is the travel health care industry and it has been booming recently.

Hospitals and clinics are in dire need of qualified professionals in highly specialized medical fields. The solution to their shortage of qualified health care professionals is to have short-term staffing implemented in their institutions. People in medically related profession are now able to travel and work in different places for a contracted amount of time.

However, the demand for the medical travel workers may fluctuate. The main reason for this fluctuation is the varying population depending on the season. A cities population may shrink or increase dramatically based on whether it is spring, summer, fall or winter. In some places, it is a matter of dates of festivals and community activities.

Hiring personnel permanently may not be practical for some companies because they do not need help for months at a time. To prevent lay-off and business losses, these companies will offer non-committal positions during the busier seasons when the population peaks.

A lot of young medical professionals are very fortunate because they have a viable option to travel and work anywhere they choose and when they are not working they can travel and explore. In the meantime you can sharpen their skills in their profession.

Dealing with different kinds of people in different places will offer a lot of one of a kind experiences. Eventually, when these medical workers decide to settle on a permanent job, they can easily get hired because of their substantial travel working experience.

There are a lot of benefits to a travel job in the medical profession. Aside from the obvious, the pay can be hefty if you are working with a good medical staffing agency. Benefits include the ability to save for retirement in a qualified plan such as a 401K.

Most assignments that are provided have free quality housing perks and in some cases medical workers are fortunate enough to take part in high profile medical researches and breakthroughs. Some may work in environments with remarkable facilities. Others can get informal training they will be advantageous to future career plans.

Getting into the travel health care industry is not difficult if you are already a medical professional or health care staff member. All you need to do is to find a reputable agency that can provide you with the information and assignments. These agencies may provide advice and training if needed. Many of these agencies are found online. It is up to you to find the agency and the assignment of your liking.

In conclusion, young medical professionals should grab this opportunity because they are opening lots of doors in their chosen field. The pay is great and the experience is priceless.

By Chris A. Harmen

Medical costs in the United States have become astronomical and the wait required to receive treatment has proven fatal in some cases. Instead of wasting time and money on overpriced medical services in the United States, many Americans are now taking advantage of the opportunities provided through medical travel.

Long wait times are eliminated with the use of medical travel and many procedures that are simply unavailable or only recently used in the U.S. are commonplace in other countries. Weight loss surgery in Mexico, cardiac and orthopedic care, dental care, and many other medical procedures can be obtained abroad for a fraction of the cost than the same procedure in the U.S.

Weight Loss Surgery & Cosmetic Surgery

The two most common types of medical travel procedures are weight loss surgery and cosmetic surgery. While many American medical insurance companies do not cover these procedures, traveling abroad can be a viable option for those who wish to improve their appearance and their life.

Board certified surgeons perform weight-loss surgery for 30 to 75 percent less than what it would cost in the United States. Medical travelers opting to have weight-loss surgery in Mexico are not limited in their choice of procedure as Gastric Band, Gastric Sleeve, Gastric Bypass and Intragastric Balloon procedures are all offered in Mexico hospitals.

Cosmetic surgery and reconstructive surgeries performed in Mexico are done so on a flat fee basis. This fee includes all surgical, hospital, lab, and medical fees, as well as ground transportation to and from the airport, hospital, and hotel. All you need to do is make arrangements for health travel for procedures such as breast augmentation or reduction, liposuction, ear lobe reduction, face, brow, and neck lifts, or rhinoplasty and everything else is handled for you at a fraction of the cost.

Medical Travel Often Costs Less Than American Co-Pays

American medical insurance often requires co-payments that are greater than what the entire medical procedure would cost in Mexico. This is especially true for cardiac and orthopedic treatments, making health travel a viable option for families on limited budgets.

Heart monitoring, echocardiography, electrocardiograms, stress tests, and pacemaker implantation are just a few of the cardiac treatments available. Peripheral angiography procedures are also available.

Orthopedic services, such as joint and hip replacement or resurfacing, are available through medical travel, as are podiatry services. The doctors abroad are frequently trained in the U.S. and England and possess all of the certifications and experience one would expect from American doctors but at a fraction of the cost.

Unavailable In America But Common Abroad

Health travel allows Americans to take advantage of proven medical procedures that have only recently been performed or are unavailable in the United States, such as lumbar dynamic stabilization. Instead of suffering lower back pain or risking spinal fusion, medical travel makes this proven procedure that uses flexible materials to stabilize the lower back, reducing pain and the risk of future injury available to everyone. Lumbar dynamic stabilization is a reversible procedure developed by Mexico’s Dr. Juan Dipp. This procedure is far less invasive and costs much less than medical options available in the U.S.

Health travel makes procedures such as PresbyLASIK available. This surgery, also known as multi-focal LASIK is currently in clinical trials in the U.S. but hasn’t yet received FDA approval. The advanced technique allows vision-impaired patients with presbyopia to regain optimum vision at all distances, whereas the traditional LASIK made one eye near-sighted and one far-sighted. The PresbyLASIK technique is widely accepted as the superior treatment for presbyopia and allows medical travelers to get the most up-to-date treatment available while it’s still currently unavailable in the U.S.

Lower costs, faster scheduling and cutting-edge surgeries make medical travel the perfect solution for Americans seeking world-class weight loss surgery, cosmetic surgery, cardiac care, orthopedic care, and dental care.