Medical Travel and Global recession.

Struggling economies and medical tourism:
The recent economic down turn and protracted recession have prompted a bigger debate about the health care costs today. There have been several speculations about the effect of tough economic times on medical travel industry. Let's review some interesting arguments here.


Disposable income and the effect on Medical Travel:
The hard economic times have created a sharp decrease in the disposable income for many middle class families. This obviously will create the postponement of optional medical care like cosmetic and bariatric surgeries. Then one might ask about the necessary procedures. There might not be a much a much a discussion about medical necessity of these procedures. The medical travel industry has felt some impact already. The slow pace of recovery did not really help the matters in this segment.


Rising premiums and increasing medical consumerism:
The Americans have seen their health care costs go up each year. The insurance companies have started passing a significant portion of these costs to the patients. With many hospitals abroad with very high standards and international accreditation's, many patients are not hesitating today. The out of the box thinking that is fueling the medical travel industry. Some patients are combining their recreational travel and medical budget to pursue the health acre abroad.


However one should understand and appreciate the fact that undertaking medical tourism is a big decision. The patients are more learned and are willing to take some matters in their own hands. It will be very interesting to watch how this will unfold in the time to come.

Medical Tourism company and ethics

The difference between a trade and a profession is defined by the self regulation. The so called ethical restraint differentiates a job and adds value as a profession. The medical profession has earned this trust by centuries of ethical practise by the profession in general. Granted, that there are few bad apples, but still the statistics overwhelmingly support the above view.



The medical tourism, although not a new profession as we think, is certainly not yet yet in the stage of self regulation yet. This is partly due to the Internet based approach by the profession. Many medical tourism companies are none but a bunch of sales people selling cheap surgeries. Now, how can we think of enforcing ethics with this opportunistic group of people?

The first step could be facilitated by initiating the changes in the management. Unless that company is run by people who has deep understanding of the current global health care system and are willing to follow ethics, this goal will be far from reality. Mr. Bob Talasila, the founder of the World Medical and Surgical LLC remarks- " We see these temptations everyday- but it is the genuine concern for the patient and identifying the professional ethics with your self respect is the way to go. You need to have formal education and professional pride to accomplish that. Unfortunately, you can't expect that with most medical tourism companies.

Lung Transplant Surgery

Many patients with chronic lung disease will enter a stage of no return. These patients, especially those with the end stage COPD might eventualy require lung transplantation. The lung transplantation is a highly specialized surgery and can mean the choice of life and death for the affected patient. The candidates for the Lung Transplantation (Pulmonary Transplantation )  Those with end stage COPD, Cystic Fibrosis, Emphysema, Primary pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis and Bronchiectasis.
The Transplantation could be single lobe, where the donor could be a live donor. The other techniques involve the brain dead donors and would involve single lung, double lung and heart and lung transplantation.
The contraindications would involve a history of medical non compliance, smoking, HIV, Hepatitis, Cancer, CHF and kidney failure. This is a major surgery with a huge potential for survival for the patient. The studies have shown that the 1st year survival rate is over 83%. Choosing a right medical tourism company like World Medical and Surgical could be a vital step in this process for some patients.

Ignored aspects in Medical Travel

The medical travel industry is still in the budding stages. There are no set guide lines and licences to obtain. Many medical tourism operators concentrate on only price. They often think that they are here to just to broker the service. But they should also ensure the safety safety during the process. 

Many medical tourism providers don't get adequate medical information from the patient. Some of the most commonly missed aspects are past surgeries, drug allergies, food allergies and the patient expectations regarding the surgery. There are often inquiries by patients who don't really need a procedure. Still, some companies facilitate such surgeries and some doctors still do them. Thus it is vitally important to enlist the services of a medical tourism company that is managed by healthcare professionals

Is ignorance a bliss in medical tourism? A case review

We have recently talked about the excessive risk taking by American patients. May be we can learn a few lessons from international medical tourists. There have been patients venturing for medical tourism routinely for major medical procedures from Africa and Middle East. They normally don't take the same risk as a typical american Medical Tourism patient. They know that they are going there for a purpose. They are aware that they are not going shopping at flea market. Naturally their outcomes are better.                                              

In general, the American patient is well educated, knowledgeable and assertive compared to the patients discussed above. These patients also typically shop a lot over the internet. Is the amazon.com culture blinding them and hampering their judgement? We recently have a physician as a client from a major city of eastern USA. She had a  blotched tummy tuck from a previous surgery. She was all set up for the procedure with a JCI accredited  hospital for a tummy tuck and breast job, but she ultimately decided to go to a nameless hospital in Dominican Republic. This was supposed to save her about $1,000.00. We have tried to explain her the difference, but upon her insistence, we wished her all the best. We did not facilitate that surgery. We don't want to mention the name of the other company.

We got a call from her approximately after 3 months. We were shocked to learn what has happened. The surgery is a total failure. She had a serious post surgical infection after her breast augmentation and lost some significant amount of  tissue as a result. She has spent over $40,000 just for the hospital. Now she is facing multiple surgeries to gain a near normal look. Her case has reinforced our belief not to engage in such practices. if this can happen to a smart physician, think about the fate of a normal patient!!

The best Medical Tourism company

There are many choices when it comes to medical tourism. The new companies mushroom everyday. The picture gets complicated by the fact there is absolutely no way that the consumer can make sure that information available is correct. There are many facilities abroad that are no bigger than a single family home. How can one realistically have all the equipment necessary ta take care of post surgical patients? How is it possible to have the same kind of post operative care of that of bigger hospitals? Does this hospital in the picture makes you feel comfortable?

There are many clinics and medical tourism companies virtually ignores these facts. Cheap surgery should not translate into Russian Roulette. This is where we come into picture.

We are an American medical tourism company managed by American health care professionals. We care deeply about the safety of our patients. We don't see our clients as dollar signs, but as our neighbors going under knife in some unknown destinations. We deal only with quality oriented hospitals to make the experience safe and fulfilling. Our hospitals are JCI accredited or have their strict international equivalents.

Visit our website for more info: http://www.worldmedicalandsurgical.com