About seven million people travel abroad each year seeking care related to everything from dental work and weight-loss surgery to cancer treatment, according to Bloomberg Business. A growing number of companies now offer a medical travel benefit, enabling employees to access high quality, more affordable care, whether abroad or in another U.S. state.
Here’s a look at the top five medical destinations in the world:
1. Thailand
Thailand provides access to major procedures that are 50 to 70 percent cheaper than in the U.S.
2. Mexico
Mexico attracts more than one million visiting patients each year, many of whom seek dental work and weight-loss surgery.
3. United States
The nation’s medical Centers of Excellence (COE) offer high quality, more affordable surgical procedures than what is typically available locally.
4. Singapore
Singapore offers 22 facilities certified by the Joint Commission International, the U.S.-based quality and safety accrediting organization.
5. India
India is known for offering high-difficulty operations, such as coronary artery bypass graft surgery, at 90 percent less cost than in the U.S.
Before traveling for care, employees should make sure they have a full understanding of:
• Financial incentives – These should not limit the diagnostic and therapeutic alternatives that are offered to patients or restrict treatment or referral options.
• Medical Center – The hospitals should be accredited by recognized international accrediting bodies, such as the Joint Commission International.
• Prior to Travel – Make sure that local follow-up care has been coordinated and financing arranged to ensure continuity of care.
• Rights – Employees should be informed of their rights and legal recourse before agreeing to travel, especially if traveling outside the U.S.
• Medical Records – Make sure that when medical records are transferred they meet Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Action (HIPAA) guidelines.
• Risks – Employees should have a full understanding of the potential risks of combining surgical procedures with long flights and vacation activities.
Medical travel is a win-win for employer and employee alike. It’s a way to access the best possible care – no matter where it is located – at reasonable prices, even when the expense of travel, including airline and accommodations, are taken into account.
About the Author
Laura Carabello has been an entrepreneur and a strategy consultant in both domestic and international businesses related to health care and technology since 1985. She is the publisher/managing editor of Medical Travel Today, the authoritative, online business-to-business international newsletter of the medical tourism industry (www.medicaltraveltoday.com), as well as US Domestic Medical Travel (www.USDomesticMedicalTravel.com), the newsletter dedicated to U.S. intra-state and inbound medical travel. In 2011, Carabello published Medical Travel Today: Opinions and Perspectives on an Industry in the Making.
