Medical-Tourism-Guide.Com

9 Things you Need to Prepare for Your Medical Tourism Journey

Copyright © 2008 Medical-Tourism-Guide.com
by Jay Siva

We are living in the 21st Century, in a global medical community that has no borders.
Medical tourism is simply the practice of combining vacation and medical procedures.
International travel is readily available, with the skies filled with jet planes going to and fro. It is possible to travel anywhere in the world, with relative speed and comfort.

Many medical facilities are offering to make travel arrangements for their patients, and have negotiated discount travel tickets with major airlines. The internet and electronic medical systems make it possible for medical documents to be sent anywhere in the world within minutes, and for teams of doctors in various countries to consult with each other if there are questions regarding the documents. An increasing number of insurance companies are not only agreeing to overseas medical services, but are advocating or insisting that the patient obtain the less expensive services as a medical tourist.

The preparation for traveling as a medical tourist is somewhat more extensive than preparing for treatment in your home country and will be require substantially more than the driver’s license you need in your local community!

• Many patients are opting to hand carry a hard copy of their records, secure in a binder and organized in such a fashion as to be easily read.

• Phone calls between your primary doctors and the doctor who will be attending abroad are a must.

• A summary statement should be prepared and a copy carried on your person throughout your travel time. The summary statement should include a paragraph about your medical condition, the purpose of your medical tourism plans, medications that you are taking, emergency names and contact information, as well as medical names and contacts in both your home country and your destination.

• A comprehensive family medical history should be added to the information being prepared.

• Another important section that needs to be prepared is the homeland medical facility and staff contact information. If during your stay overseas, there is a need to follow-up with any of your former medical providers, it will be critical to have complete contact information.

• You will want to forward copies of your insurance policy to the medical provider you will be using overseas.

• Delays or complications could create problems with your ability to manage your home office. Be sure to compile and carry with you (in a separate binder), all pertinent information. Include names, addresses, account numbers and contact phone numbers. A person would want to include mortgage companies, utilities, banks, credit card companies, and the employer.

• Every traveler will want to be sure to obtain regional maps and guidebooks in your language.

• All medical tourists will want to have an original birth certificate, passport, and airline/train tickets.

The risks of choosing to have surgery abroad are no greater than at home. Just as one needs to research doctors and facilities in a home country, one also needs to research the options available in another country. Just as it is true that there are both good and bad available in developed countries, the same is true in tourist destination spots. Anyone considering surgery should research thoroughly and choose a facility wisely.

How does a person begin the task of choosing a country to consider traveling to as a medical tourist? It is advisable to begin by researching which countries offer medical tourism services and which are safe to travel to. All that is left for you to decide is which continent you want to go to, and which country in that continent you have always wanted to visit. Once you have decided that, you will need to think about particular parts of the country you desire to see while there.

It is true that all countries have good facilities and bad, all countries have highly skilled doctors as well as those who are poorly trained and running less than desirable operations. Purchase a well researched medical tourism guide and/or contact a medical travel agent to assist you with your decision.

There are medical travel agencies that are prominent in the world of medical tourism. MedRetreat is a Washington D.C, US based company that offers nearly 200 services that can be obtained in 7 different countries. MedSolution is a Vancouver BC, Canadian based company that also offers complete packages to a variety of destinations, and gets their pay from the hospitals, in exchange for doing the bookings. Yet another is the Raleigh, North Carolina based company, European Medical Tourist. The Better Business Bureau and other sources are a good reference source for finding reliable agencies. The information is already researched for you, and you would be wise to access those resources and be adequately prepared for your journey!

Jay Siva is the author of the best seller book "The Complete Guide to Medical Tourism" where he reveals crucial information on how to successfully plan your medical trip abroad, find discount airfare, American-trained doctors, and internationally-accredited hospitals. You’ll find out such things as: how to pick your treatment destination, what you can expect to pay for specific surgical procedures, what to look for before choosing a hospital, what to ask your doctors, how to manage your travel and treatment costs and so much more.