Medical Tourism companies simplify the process for patients seeking surgery beyond their own borders and form the underpinning of the growing global health care industry sometimes called medical tourism or medical travel.
If considerations about costs waiting times and quality lead you to look abroad for your medical care your first step is to find a global health care company that will do the research for you and give you excellent medical choices peace of mind customized and personalized service and good value for your money.
How can you tell a legitimate reputable company from a glorified travel agent with little more than a slick website? You begin with an internet search using medical tourism or medical travel as your keywords. Then to minimize the array of companies to one youd be confident in and comfortable with here are some factors to weigh.
Does the company provide a full array of customized services to facilitate your medical travel?
- Do they make everything easy so all you have to think about is packing and getting to the airport?
- Do they assist in making your travel lodging and ground transportation arrangements and then pass along discounts from their travel partners?
- Do they provide options for your procedure-- different countries different doctors--along with a carefully researched analysis of how to weigh each alternative?
- Do they provide each doctors credentials before you make a decision?
- Will they transfer your medical records to the physicians youre considering?
- Do they arrange a consultation call with the proposed doctors to discuss details of your procedure and to test your comfort level with each one?
- Do they offer to include your local medical professional in helping you decide? Do they encourage you to include your doctor in consultations with the overseas physician?
- Will the company be an effective intermediary between your medical teams at home and overseas at every stage?
- Can they help you arrange financing?
- Can they expedite your travel documents such as passport and visa?
- Do they offer to relay information home to your loved ones about your recovery progress while abroad?
- Can you trust them to stay closely connected at every stage of the process from getting you to your destination through the procedure and recovery and getting you home?
- Are the lodging facilities for your recovery near the hospital and high quality?
- Will the company stay connected with you until your recovery is complete? Will they be there for you if you need follow-up care when you return?
What is the companys attitude?
- Does the company demonstrate that your improved health is its top priority?
- What have other patients experienced? Will they put you in touch with previous patients?<.li>
- Is the company willing to spend whatever time it takes to fully understand your personal needs and medical situation? Is there evidence of genuine concern for the condition youre suffering?
- Will the company work collaboratively with you?
- Do they take the time to call you and guide you through the process or are you forced through a cookie cutter approach that mainly relies on emails.
- Does the company help you understand and simplify the complexities of your treatment options?
- Do they clearly outline what happens next both on their end and yours?
- Will the company work with your lifestyle and budget preferences or do they force you down a path youre not comfortable with?
- Is all your communication with the company treated with honesty and respect?
- Is the company energetic and timely in pursuing questions they can answer on the spot?
- Does the company meet all its commitments to you?
- What safeguards are in place to protect the privacy of your communication with this company?
- Is the companys website user-friendly and designed to help you make preliminary decisions?
What is the quality of the company's staff?
- Does the company have medical professionals on staff? Is the staff large enough to ensure personalized service from departure to return? If your initial communication isn promptly and professionally answered the situation is unlikely to improve when careful attentive and personalized follow-through becomes more critical.
- Do their English skills enable you to communicate clearly and comfortably? If you can understand them while researching your decision imagine the complications should you need their advocacy to resolve a serious concern while youre abroad.
- Can you communicate with them at a time convenient to you or are you forced to talk in the middle of the night because they are located several time zones away?
What is the quality of the hospitals they partner with?
- Can the company explain its hospital selection process to you?
- Do they involve medical professionals in the hospital selection process?
- Are their hospitals internationally accredited? Do they explain what this entails and why its important?
- Do they have a sound in-person audit process to evaluate each hospitals facility management medical equipment patient rooms food quality of nearby lodging?
- Have they met the hospitals key doctors reviewed their credentials and observed their bedside manner?
- Do you see evidence of a true partnership so the company can count on a quality response from the hospital should there be even small concerns during treatment?
- Will you be assigned a local liaison to resolve issues big or small--that might come up?
Does the company offer full disclosure on your costs?
- Will the hospital you choose provide a fully itemized invoice? If not there is likely a stiff mark-up from the facilitator. Good companies charge only what you would pay were you to contact the hospital directly. You will also need an itemized invoice for your tax return.
- Does the company provide a written contract prior to committing to their service? Does the contract clearly spell out who will do what??
About WorldMed Assist
Experts in medical tourism WorldMed Assists mission is to improve lives by helping patients receive high quality medical treatment abroad at affordable prices. WorldMed Assist coordinates and simplifies every aspect of care and travel. WorldMed Assist also provides medical tourism as an option for self-insured businesses seeking expanded and affordable healthcare options for employees. Doctors and hospitals in India Turkey Belgium and Mexico are carefully selected to match each clients specific needs.
Procedures are significantly less expensive than in the U.S. yet delivered with the same or higher quality care and results as set by U.S. standards. Waiting times are virtually eliminated track records are proven and facilities are state-of-the-art. For more information go to www.worldmedassist.com
