Medical tourism has been a great trend which has accorded benefits and advantages galore to patients from all over the world. In fact, medical tourism has been a blessing for patients who cannot afford exorbitantly priced medical treatments and surgeries in their own areas of residence or native countries. Lately, Asian countries like India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have made a foray into the field of medical tourism and reached the zenith in no time through their world class facilities, internationally-trained faculty, great infrastructure and wonderful attractions. However, it's not really as smooth a ride as it seems. There are several dangers and disadvantages associated with medical tourism that are not much talked about anywhere. However, one should be concerned of these maladies at an early stage itself.
First things first, medical tourism is a trade-off, purely! Undoubtedly, you are sure to receive quality health care, personalized attention, affordable pricing and an opportunity to experience a new region and culture, but you should be aware of dangers you lay yourself open to. Apart from sacrificing familiarity, patients also lose certain legal guarantees by going for health care outside their own countries. Most medical tourism facilities like hospitals and health care centers have medical malpractice insurance, but it can be quite a hard task to seek damages in case of negligence or incompetence. Of course, medical tourists have a medical recourse but pay offs would definitely be larger at your home turf. Another factor you need to be aware of before venturing out of your country for medical tourism is the type and procedure of the insurance you are covered by.
Many insurance companies might not cover the full bill in case of travel out of country. Seek information from your insurance provider regarding the procedure and the portion of the final bill they're ready to foot. Initially, medical tourism was largely about cosmetic surgery and other non-elective procedures. But today, most of the non-elective procedures too are part of medical insurance hence insurance has come to play a huge part. Get your facts right as soon as possible as your insurance provider is most likely to cover these only back home. Post-operative care is another area of concern for patients traveling abroad for critical surgeries. Most of the times, international patients prefer to recuperate in the same country where they're operated upon as they need to be constantly in touch with their physician for some time. Large number of patients can be seen recuperating and relaxing on the beaches of Phuket or Goa.
However, in case long-term post-operative care is required, patients would be required to make arrangements on their own. It is strongly recommended that patients traveling abroad do not venture out of their country alone. However, having a constant companion along is sure to raise your expenses as you'll then have to book flights and accommodation for at least two people. Lastly, not being able to physically check out the hospital premises and staff is a great disadvantage that most international patients have to be aware of.
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