A broker will broker a deal for his commission from a hospital overseas. Brokers are not healthcare professionals. They do not know anything about medical procedures. They vehemently advertise, pick on a vulnerable person, and put them on to the hospital and receive their commission, which is their ultimate goal.
Whereas a Medical Tourism Facilitator is usually a professional organization, run by professionals with a back ground in healthcare, with a panel of experienced physicians and surgeons who are able to read and analyze reports, talk to the patient's physician and then decide which facility will be best for a particular ailment. The Medical Tourism Facilitator would have binding agreements with internationally accredited hospitals they deal with to provide medical services on par with international standards, the credentials and experience of the surgeons are verified, the standards of the hospitals checked and verified.
The Medical Tourism Facilitator receives all medical reports, consults with the panel of surgeons and doctors, and decides which facility fits the needs of the patient. Usually the Medical Tourism Facilitator assists in obtaining of visas, arranging Insurance, works with a professional travel agent of repute to arrange flight tickets, make arrangements for special needs, contacts hotels to make accommodation arrangements, have their own concierge service for local transportation, and usually sends an escort to facilitate all arrangements who accompany the patients.
Medical Tourism Facilitator makes sure that patients are in constant touch with their loved ones by providing cell phones and internet access. They arrange pre surgical and post surgical stay, food, rehabilitation, consultation with their surgeon before heading back home.
After arrival the Medical Tourism Facilitator arranges follow up with their local and overseas surgeons and monitor progress. Should a problem occur, the Medical Tourism Facilitator makes arrangements for the patient to receive follow up care in their country of residence or will fly back the patient to the facility where the surgery took place for further treatment?
While Brokers do not even provide a fraction of these services, and take absolutely no responsibility for follow ups and unforeseen circumstances.
Medical Tourism Facilitators have an intrinsic network of healthcare and other professionals who work closely with them such as ground staff in transit locations, ground crews for safe transport and care of their clients. They also only work with select, tried and tested, internationally acclaimed facilities and surgeons. They follow important health care guidelines such as those put forward by the Mayo clinic or the WHO when planning their client's travel and medical care needs.
Most importantly they provide a minimum of 3 to 5 references of patients that have used their services in the recent days. Clients searching for medical/surgical procedures internationally should exercise caution and due diligence in their research and make sure they ask the right questions and get all the answers before they make a commitment.
