As health care costs continue to rise, more and more Americans are looking at their options for elective and non-emergency medical and dental procedures. One option quickly growing in popularity is medical tourism – seeking medical treatment outside the United States. However, cost is only one of the reasons why people travel outside their home country for health care, and it should not be the only consideration when making such important decisions.
For most people, there are multiple pros and cons for scheduling medical travel outside their home country. Some of those pros include:
- This is a big one, especially for U.S. residents who are looking to save money on health care. For patients who want to have procedures performed that aren’t covered by insurance, traveling to another country can mean the difference between getting the care they need or not. For example, a hip replacement in the U.S. that cost $47,000 would cost about $9,000 in India. A heart bypass procedure that would cost $113,000 in the United States will cost less than $10,000 in Malaysia. The financial savings are so great that some companies in the United States are encouraging their employees to travel outside the U.S. for specific procedures.
- Quality of care. A survey by McKinsey & Company found that quality of care and access to the latest technology are the greatest driver for medical tourists who come to the United States from other countries for medical care. These travelers often seek care at world-renowned facilities within the United States.
- Availability and access to care. As a group, medical tourists are willing to travel to other countries for treatments that aren’t yet approved in their home country. For people in this group, access to the procedures they want, when they want them, is a big driver for their decisions.
- Getting to visit another country. For people who are having elective procedures, such as cosmetic surgery, the opportunity to visit another country is a draw. These medical tourists sometimes build in time before or after their scheduled procedure for sightseeing and other typical tourist activities.
Of course, there are also cons, or disadvantages, to medical tourism, and they shouldn’t be taken lightly. People who travel for medical tourism need to look beyond the cost benefit of the procedure to consider these potential risks:
- Quality of equipment and technology. In some countries, the lack of health care regulation may mean that doctors are using outdated equipment, including for popular bariatric procedures.
- Exposure to viruses and infections. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a report on infectious bacteria that have been traced to U.S. residents who underwent cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic. These rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) are difficult to diagnose and treat. According to the CDC, RGM “illustrates potential risks for medical tourists.”
- No recourse if things go wrong. Many countries do not have strict medical malpractice laws, and many doctors in those countries do not carry the same level of malpractice insurance as those in the United States. Although medical malpractice insurance is available for medical tourists, it usually only covers credentialed doctors and accredited facilities.
- Language differences. Language differences can make it difficult for patients or their family members to relay critical information to medical providers before and after procedures.
- Post-procedure care. In some cases, post-procedure care is provided in a medical center; in others, patients are expected to recover on their own in hotel rooms.
Arranging Transportation after Medical Tourism
Anyone who is thinking about traveling for medical tourism must consider how well his or her body will recover after a procedure. Just as in the United States, the recovery period and risk of complications and risk of infection can vary depending on the patient.
SentinelMED provides medical transportation, medical repatriation, and medical escort services to medical tourists and others who require assistance to return to their hometowns in safety and comfort. In many cases, patients travel on commercial airlines with a SentinelMED escort who is an ICU- or emergency-medicine professional. This service is a cost-effective alternative to an air ambulance.
The SentinelMED team understands the complexity of delivering exceptional care to patients who need assistance during travel. Please contact us to learn more about the services that SentinelMED offers or its staff.
