The medical tourism has created a new wave of patient empowerment in the developed countries and under developed countries alike. The advances and affordability of the electronic communications have furthered its cause. Despite the popularity in the medical tourism, there still have been many myths about medical tourism. We want to address these issues in the most objective manner to provide the much needed information for the patients.The medical tourism is only for the patients who don’t have medical insurance!

While this is argument has some validity, it is not always true. In fact most of the sought after procedures in the medical tourism are utilized by the patients who have good insurance. Many procedures that the patients consider important for their overall quality of life are often not covered by the traditional insurance plans. Furthermore, some of the procedures that have the life saving potential might not have yet been approved by their home country regulatory agencies. (FDA for example in United States) Some patients in countries that have national health care like in Canada are frustrated with the waiting in the long line for their surgery.

The medical tourism is a relatively new trend!

This argument cannot be farther from truth. Though, it sounds like a new concept, it in fact has been in practice for thousands of years. In ancient times,patients have travelled as far as Greece, Rome, India and even Japan in search of their cures. For most part of the 20th century, elite patients from many developing nations came to United States and Europe for the advanced treatments and medical procedures.

These hospitals are sub standard compared to USA and Europe!

Many premier hospitals that cater to the medical tourism patients are very well established facilities with very high accreditations like JCI (joint commission International), Trent accreditation or ISO or their equivalents. The JCI is the American accreditation for international hospitals. As a matter of fact some hospitals have direct affiliations with premier institutions like Cleveland Clinic, Hopkins Hospital and Harvard.

The economic development in Asia has resulted in their domestic pool of patients and need to create high quality hospitals. This is further aided by expansions in infrastructure and quality. Most of these hospitals have dedicated international patient services departments and are very professionally managed. Many patients say that they are even better than American Hospitals.

The doctors there are not as good as in America and Europe!

This is simply another myth. Many of these doctors have worked abroad and have advanced training. They speak fluent English, and some doctors can even speak some other foreign languages. Also, these locations have a good supply of qualified translators for most foreign languages. It is worth noting that these surgeons have extensive on hands experience compared to their peers in developed countries. It is also worth noting that they typically deal with most complicated cases in their home country and abroad. For example consider the typical UN insured patient making a last ditch frantic trip overseas for that much delayed surgery. They are certainly among the elite physicians. Or why would these hospitals risk their reputation in the hands of an in experienced doctor?

You don’t need a Medical Tourism facilitator! You can do it yourself!!

In theory- Yes! You can.. But just consider the reality. You are just going by the information you see in the internet. The information provided in the internet is just as good as the motives behind the person posting it. Just face it... You don’t know the country. You don’t know the reputation of the hospital. Just few good reviews in the internet do not really mean anything. Then you really don’t know the safe locations in the country. You need to partner with somebody, who in fact know that area and have some contacts in the area you are planning your health tourism activities.

On the other hand, you also need to set your expectations high for a medical tourism facilitator. Ideally, he or she should have a sound background in medical field. Many companies advertise that your case manager is a Registered Nurse. Good luck with that claim. Unfortunately most companies are just managed by just marketing people. (Just go to LinkedIn and see it yourself!) You would need your medical tourism facilitator to be ethical, understanding your needs, balanced and with vast international experience. Also, you won’t pay more by going through a facilitator. They get paid a small referral fee by the hospital.

Lower cost means lower quality treatment!

Again, this is a myth, although it depends on how low you want to go. With established JCI hospitals and medical tourism company managed by health care professionals, this is simply not the case. The quality is on par but the savings are 75-90% compared to American hospitals. Cheap surgery need not necessarily mean compromised medical care.

But again, you need to know what a UN acceptable risk is. This is where a good medical tourism facilitator adds value. You need to get good price, but don’t let that blind your eyes. There is a fine line between thrift and greed. You need to realize that a 700 bed JCI accredited hospital in India is should not be viewed same as 5-10 bed facility in Mexico or Dominican Republic. They simply won’t have the necessary infrastructure or expertise to deliver what you are looking for.