Medical Tourism or Health Tourism signifies traveling across international borders to obtain health care where the medical cost is high or there is lack of health care options locally. Health Tourism basically includes elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement, cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries. The process of this tourism is also simple and easy. The person seeking medical treatment abroad contacts a medical tourism provider. The provider requires the patient to provide a medical report, including the nature of ailment, local doctor's opinion, medical history, and diagnosis, and may also request on some additional information. Certified medical doctors or consultants then advise on the medical treatment. Here are some tips that you can use for your medical tourism.
- Do your research - The procedure: Find out about the procedure and compare your expectations with what's achievable by the surgery. Also inquire about follow-up care needed, time required for recovery, physical therapy, etc. When selecting the hospital that's right for your needs, you should consider the hospital's accreditation, awards and recognitions, facility and equipments, statistics like success rates, etc.
- Check for doctor's information like education, experience and boar certifications.
- Get information about the climate and weather conditions at the medical tourism destination.
- Consult if the treatment or procedure is safe.
- Be in contact with your local doctor and tell him about your decision of abroad travel for medical treatment. You may need his assistance in accumulating the health reports required by the overseas hospital as well as for post treatment checkups after returning home.
- To be well prepared, make copies of your passport and visa, your credit and debit cards, your traveler's checks, driver's license and medical records. Keep one copy safely at home and have a copy of these documents with you. Another thing to keep handy is important contact information. You should have emergency contact information of relatives and friends, as well as the information for the U.S. embassy in whatever country you'll be traveling to, the hospital information, your hotel's contact information, your local doctor's information, you employer's, you insurance providers (all of them), and the international contact info of your banks and credit card companies.
Careful planning and preparation are two of the key ingredients to the successful medical tourism holiday. So, do your homework. Put thoughtful consideration into all your preparation, and you too can join the growing ranks of medical tourists. Then you can sit back, relax and enjoy a delightful and memorable medical travel vacation experience.