The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is an archipelago of 700 islands, reefs and cays to the north in the Caribbean and less than an hour’s flight from Florida. It has a population of over 300,000 residents, most of whom reside in the capital city of Nassau on the island of New Providence.
The vast majority of the healthcare services are concentrated in the capital, particularly tertiary services as well as medical personnel with specialized training. Many of the family of islands have community clinics which meet most of the basic healthcare needs of their respective populations, and some have local specialists from different disciplines who offer their services on a visiting basis.
It is against this background that one comes to understand the movement of Bahamians in search of medical care. Most residents depend on the public health system to address their various needs. This often means travel from more rural areas to the capital for both emergency and elective care. Some patients have private health insurance or are self-paying individuals, who access private healthcare within the Bahamas.
Historically, many Bahamians who have sought medical care abroad have done so in the United States (as well as places like Canada, and more recently an increasing number have started to seek care in Cuba). This comes as no surprise given the proximity of the Bahamas to the USA, with very reasonable airfare costs and a wide selection of accommodations to suit every budget.
The reasons why persons travel outside of the Bahamas are varied, but most would agree that there has been a long held confidence in the quality of the U.S. healthcare system, with its ever developing wide range of some of the most advanced technologies known anywhere.
Undoubtedly, no consideration of the factors related to why Bahamians choose to travel abroad would be complete without identifying cost as a significant contributor to such movements. Many persons have often reported that they have been able to get comparable services outside of the Bahamas at much lower costs, even when one takes into account things like travel expenses, accommodation, ground transportation, meals and sometimes having a loved one travel with them.
Care sought by Bahamians overseas is often for a number of different types of services. These include care in areas of oncology, reproduction and infertility, congenital disorders, highly-specialized pediatric care, orthopedic and spinal surgery, neurosurgery, burns management, pain management, prosthetics and extensive rehabilitation services. On a regular basis, persons travel to have even imaging studies done like MRI’s, which may be done overseas at substantially less costs than is available on the island.
As technology continues to grow at a rapid pace, a growing number of individuals are highly motivated to explore options not available locally in the Bahamas like robotic surgery, with all its attendant advantages of being minimally invasive in nature.
Given the very small population size and “everyone knowing someone who knows you” as they say here in the islands, many persons feel a need to seek care outside of the country from a point of view of having absolute privacy when it comes to their medical care. This coupled with reasons previously outlined here already, may be one reason why it is not uncommon for our citizens to even have executive physicals done in the United States!
It is interesting to note however, that in the last few years more and more well-trained Bahamian professionals have returned home and are working diligently to strengthen the skills within the local medical community. Such human resource capacity building may very well pave the way for a shift in patient movement outside of the Bahamas with more care being provided locally, assuming that other factors mentioned are simultaneously addressed.
The people of the Bahamas, citizens and medical practitioners alike, have long been able to depend on many international partnerships in the provision of a wide range of healthcare expertise outside of the Bahamas. Notwithstanding the same, medical tourism in the context of the Bahamas is now developing a bidirectional gateway of sorts.
Not only is healthcare being sought abroad, but the Bahamas has entered the stage as a player in providing world-class medical service at competitive costs in some instances, while producing positive clinical outcomes. The medical community in the Bahamas wants to offer travelers more than just sun, sand and sea, but it is actively seeking to be embraced as a viable option for persons seeking medical care on the global stage!
About the Author
Dr. Kevin T. Bowe is the Deputy Director/VP-Medical Services & Claims at the National Insurance Board (the social security board in the Bahamas). He is responsible for short and long-term benefits, and management of all workers’ compensation-type of claims. He has served in multiple administrative roles in the Ministry of Health and Department of Public Health in the Bahamas.
