For centuries, people have traveled far and wide to heal, and yet today, with all the information available at their fingertips, patients are still wary of trusting their health in the hands of a doctor thousands of miles away. distance. Yet with the number of uninsured pegged at 47 million and the number without dental insurance coverage at 120 million, the medical landscape in America is bleak and no end in sight.
Rising medical costs and declining health benefits are taking a heavy toll for those who are uninsured or have limited coverage. In an age when health benefits are most sought after, people struggle to stay healthy for fear of rising medical bills. Most of the time, the decision to stay healthy is taken off their hands and taken to emergency rooms, where they are treated for the time being, but a lifetime of medical bills suffocates them to death. Even for those who live under a false security blanket that they are insured, having paid high premiums throughout their productive years with the assurance that quality healthcare will be provided when they need it most, they were hit hard when the news broke. that California Blue Cross, the state’s largest health insurance provider, has been found guilty of systematically eliminating policyholders when they become ill or pregnant.
In a scenario like this, most of the time they are forced to look for alternatives and one of the most attractive on the horizon to travel to other countries, which promise the same medical care, if not better, at a tenth of the costs. than in a hospital. In the US, however, what ultimately closes the deal for the patient to board the plane and travel 10,000 miles for the first time in their lives is the promise of a vacation to an exotic location as part of the healing process.
The promise of world-class medical treatment at any of the Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospitals in India, China, Thailand, the Philippines and others, a long and comfortable stay for the patient and a family member in rooms services that offer the luxuries of a five-star hotel room and the availability of a 24-hour registered nurse outweighs the odds of treatments here. In addition to crippling costs, the budgetary needs of hospitals here mean increasingly shorter postoperative stays, which doesn’t bode well for the elderly and pregnant women.
Although in the last ten years, medical tourism in these countries is booming, thanks to half a million foreign patients in India alone until last year, there are still several million who hesitate to take the first step and investigate the necessary information to put your mind and body at rest with the medical options available elsewhere. For those patients who are not as demanding, global healthcare facilitators have stepped in to find low-cost but quality healthcare. One of only three organizations promoting medical tourism here in the United States, Global HCF is just one click away from seamlessly transitioning to a hospital on foreign soil. The Cookeville, Tennessee-based organization not only helps match the patient with the right doctor, but also makes travel arrangements, takes care of room and board with a consolidated bill at the end of a comfortable healing vacation.
For those cynics who believe in stories of failed surgeries floating around, Dr. Bill Thomas, the mastermind behind Global HCF, a seasoned traveler, says that through life-saving medical procedures like heart surgeries, cancer treatments and elective surgeries such as dental and cosmetic implants. Surgery costs less than a tenth of the costs of a procedure in the US, not due to a lack of experience, but a lack of malpractice lawsuits and high administrative costs, which has paralyzed the industry of health here. A surgery that would cost $ 50,000 or more here in hospital costs alone can be performed for less than $ 10,000, all including medical costs and a vacation package, a realistic amount that can be coupled with savings and loans. Global HCF sees to it that they partner with JCI certified hospitals. In most cases, the doctors are trained in the US and Europe and have impeccable professional backgrounds, with failure rates of less than one percent.
Countries like India, which are actively promoting medical tourism, are increasingly seeking JCI certification, to instill faith in visiting medical tourists, knowing full well that the publicity generated by a failed surgery could deflect a burgeoning industry. , which is expected to increase by 30 percent. every year. In addition to hospitals equipped with the latest medically advanced diagnostic equipment, Indian pharmaceutical companies also meet the strict requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration. Medical advancements have meant that Indian doctors can now perform the surgery. of hip renewal, among others, where damaged bone is scraped and replaced with a chromium alloy, an operation that costs less and causes less post-operative trauma than the traditional hip replacement procedure performed. In the USA.
For those who refuse to believe that anything can beat the medical treatment available here in the US, there are statistics showing that doctors in these developing countries have much more experience and a higher success rate in managing complicated life-saving surgeries that doctors here in the US simply do thanks to the sheer volume of surgeries they handle on a daily basis. Also, in most cases, treatment here in the US is not an option for those with little or no insurance. In such a scenario, if traveling to an exotic destination would mean that they can heal and lead a productive life after surgery, rather than being consumed by lack of expensive medical care, then it is certainly worth the risk.