Health tourism provider
Encyclopedia
A health tourism provider or medical tourism provider is an organisation or a company which seeks to bring together a prospective patient with a service provider, usually a hospital or a clinic. If the patient is crossing international borders to obtain medical care, then that individual would usually be known as a medical tourist
. These groups are generally facilitators and developers of medical tourism, which brings into play a number of issues that do not apply when a patient stays within their own country of origin.
Some such organisations and companies specialize in certain areas of healthcare, such as cosmetic surgery, dentistry
or transplant surgery
, while others are more generalised in their approach, providing multiple services over a wide range of medical specialities.
Medical quality standards vary around the world, and international accreditation
is relatively new. For these reasons, potential clients may face unknowns and risks related to quality, safety and ethics. Medical tourists look to health tourism providers to provide information about quality, safety and legal issues, but the quality of such information and services varies.
Health tourism providers make information available about the hospitals, clinic and the doctors that they are partnered with, but the nature, extent and quality of the information provided by different organizations and companies working in this field varies enormously. Hospital quality indicators can include whether they have been subjected to independent international healthcare accreditation
, practice evidence-based medicine
, and good governance
, and whether independent health care staff, particularly the doctors providing the services, have been subjected to independent credentialing, as well as evidence that the doctors maintain and improve their personal professional standards.
In addition, there are a number of non-medical angles which receive varying degrees of attention by providers. These include:
In 2006 the group CEO of Bumrungrad Hospital
in Thailand, stated "If there's a mistake, we fix it..... But the idea of suing for multimillions of dollars for damages is not going to be something you can do outside the U.S." However, Americans and Europeans going overseas as medical tourists may not be able to take effective legal action if they are dissatisfied with their experience. The Medical Protection Society
, a British group, is responsible for indemnifying doctors in many countries, including Singapore
, Hong Kong
, Malaysia and Brunei
, which increases the level of protection enjoyed both by patients locally as well as those coming in as medical tourists.
Medical tourism
Medical tourism is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain health care...
. These groups are generally facilitators and developers of medical tourism, which brings into play a number of issues that do not apply when a patient stays within their own country of origin.
Some such organisations and companies specialize in certain areas of healthcare, such as cosmetic surgery, dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
or transplant surgery
Organ transplant
Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...
, while others are more generalised in their approach, providing multiple services over a wide range of medical specialities.
Medical quality standards vary around the world, and international accreditation
International healthcare accreditation
Due to the near-universal desire for quality healthcare, there is a growing interest in international healthcare accreditation. Providing healthcare, especially of an adequate standard, is a complex and challenging process...
is relatively new. For these reasons, potential clients may face unknowns and risks related to quality, safety and ethics. Medical tourists look to health tourism providers to provide information about quality, safety and legal issues, but the quality of such information and services varies.
Practices
Medical tourism or health tourism provider assist you in planning your medical travel.They offer complete information on medical facilities, service providers, medical professionals, travel agencies, resorts, medical/travel insurance overseas as well as of local areas. Millions of medical travelers overseas for their medical, dental, and cosmetic procedures.Health tourism providers make information available about the hospitals, clinic and the doctors that they are partnered with, but the nature, extent and quality of the information provided by different organizations and companies working in this field varies enormously. Hospital quality indicators can include whether they have been subjected to independent international healthcare accreditation
International healthcare accreditation
Due to the near-universal desire for quality healthcare, there is a growing interest in international healthcare accreditation. Providing healthcare, especially of an adequate standard, is a complex and challenging process...
, practice evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine or evidence-based practice aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making. It seeks to assess the strength of evidence of the risks and benefits of treatments and diagnostic tests...
, and good governance
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
, and whether independent health care staff, particularly the doctors providing the services, have been subjected to independent credentialing, as well as evidence that the doctors maintain and improve their personal professional standards.
In addition, there are a number of non-medical angles which receive varying degrees of attention by providers. These include:
- Prices and how to pay
- Hotels
- Non-medical risks involved
- Language issues
- Availability of techniques (e.g. new operations, new approaches to infertilityInfertilityInfertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
, new imaging techniques) - Pre-travel health issues, such as antimalarial therapy (e.g. for ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
) and relevant immunisations (e.g. typhoid and hepatitis AHepatitis AHepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
are recommended for travelling to TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
or the Philippines) - Ethics (for example, see Organ harvesting in ChinaOrgan harvesting in ChinaOrgan transplantation in the People's Republic of China has taken place since the 1960s, and is one of the largest organ transplant programmes in the world, peaking at over 13,000 transplants a year in 2004...
) - Medico-legal issues (e.g. are the doctors providing the treatment adequately indemnified or carrying personal malpractice insuranceMedical malpracticeMedical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
?, is the hospital itself adequately insured? can a patient sue if things go wrong ? will the hospital repatriate the body of a patient who dies on the operating table ?)
In 2006 the group CEO of Bumrungrad Hospital
Bumrungrad Hospital
Bumrungrad International Hospital is a multiple-specialty medical center located in Bangkok, Thailand...
in Thailand, stated "If there's a mistake, we fix it..... But the idea of suing for multimillions of dollars for damages is not going to be something you can do outside the U.S." However, Americans and Europeans going overseas as medical tourists may not be able to take effective legal action if they are dissatisfied with their experience. The Medical Protection Society
Medical Protection Society
The Medical Protection Society is a not for profit organisation which offers legal and ethical help to medical and dental professionals...
, a British group, is responsible for indemnifying doctors in many countries, including Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Malaysia and Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, which increases the level of protection enjoyed both by patients locally as well as those coming in as medical tourists.
Standards
Currently, while hospitals providing medical tourism services may be subject to international accreditation by a reputable independent international group, there is currently no organisation responsible for accrediting the health tourism providers themselves and ensuring that their operating standards are safe and ethical.See also
- Quality assuranceQuality AssuranceQuality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
- Medical tourismMedical tourismMedical tourism is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain health care...
- Hospital accreditationHospital accreditationHospital accreditation has been defined as “A self-assessment and external peer assessment process used by health care organizations to accurately assess their level of performance in relation to established standards and to implement ways to continuously improve”...
- International healthcare accreditationInternational healthcare accreditationDue to the near-universal desire for quality healthcare, there is a growing interest in international healthcare accreditation. Providing healthcare, especially of an adequate standard, is a complex and challenging process...
- Society for International Healthcare Accreditation, SOFIHA
- Evidence-based medicineEvidence-based medicineEvidence-based medicine or evidence-based practice aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making. It seeks to assess the strength of evidence of the risks and benefits of treatments and diagnostic tests...