|
Q: |
What is medical tourism? |
|
|
|
A: |
Medical tourism is traveling to another country for healthcare. The most common
reasons are great differences in prices, better quality of services and combining
vacation and medical treatments with no or minimal incremental costs. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Is it new? |
|
|
|
A: |
No, for decades wealthy foreigners have flown to the United States and Europe for
medical care at top-class facilities. But in recent years an increasing number of
North Americans and British have begun traveling abroad, to a wider array of destinations,
for very sophisticated treatments like cardiac surgery, joint replacement surgery,
dental implants, and the full gamut of cosmetic procedures. For some years now,
Australians have also been going to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand for dental
and cosmetic surgeries. India offers better quality of medical professionals, equipments
and facilities as compared to these destinations. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Is it safe? |
|
|
|
A: |
Medical care always entails risk. But in terms of quality, our network includes
many top hospitals in India. Many are accredited by the Joint Commission International,
which certifies - through painstaking periodic inspections -- that procedures and
practices meet demanding standards. JCI is the sister organization of Joint Commission
on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the U.S. hospitals certifying
body. And many have management and staff training tie-ups with leading U.S. medical
organizations such as Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical International.
Many facilities in our network are super-specialty hospitals, equipped with the
most advanced equipment for diagnosis and treatment. These hospitals employ hundreds
of highly-trained and specialised surgeons with impeccable credentials. Many either
trained or previously worked in the U.S., Europe or Australia; many are U.S.-certified;
and the vast majority speak English fluently. Additionally, These hospitals boast
state-of-the-art medical equipment and diagnostics.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
Are Indian doctors well qualified and experienced? Even for complicated cases? |
|
|
|
A: |
Yes. India's medical schools are highly rated. What's more, most of India's leading
doctors have also studied and worked in the best medical institutions, generally
in U.K and U.S.A. Moreover, the doctors from the hospitals in our network keep abreast
of the latest technologies accepted worldwide by attending refresher courses from
time to time. Their global acceptance can be gauged from the fact that every year,
hundreds of renowned Indian doctors visit Europe and USA to teach at leading hospitals
and universities by invitation. New and innovative techniques are constantly being
adapted and mastered by Indian surgeons who have success rates which are as good
as those in the world's best hospitals. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Do cheaper costs mean lower quality or less qualified doctors? |
|
|
|
A: |
Definitely not. The reason medical care is cheaper in India is because of much lower
living costs in India when compared to Europe or U.S.A. Indian hospitals use the
same top notch diagnostic and surgical equipment (made by, for e.g., multinationals
like Siemens, Philips and G.E ) that hospitals overseas do. All critical consumables
are imported or made in India to world standards. Indian doctors and nurses are
in great demand the world over.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
What happens if I experience treatment-related complications after returning home? |
|
|
|
A: |
Clients must bear that possibility in mind when choosing where to go for treatment.
Each foreign service provider has its own policy toward responding to that situation.
That policy is spelled out in the patient service agreement you're required to sign
before departure. Our network providers always stand ready to provide whatever assistance
they can to medical personnel here providing follow-up treatment. If you feel the
need to revisit the foreign healthcare facility, many service providers will provide
remedial care at reduced or no cost, depending on circumstances. But you will need
to pay all travel-related expenses. |
|
|
|
Q: |
How much can you save by traveling abroad for surgery? For dental care? For cosmetic
surgery? |
|
|
|
A: |
The savings potential is tremendous. You can typically save 50-60% on medical treatments
cost by heading to India. Similar savings are available for dental work and cosmetic
surgery as well. The total savings will depend on the travel and accommodation options
you make, where costs can vary a great deal. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Why travel abroad for healthcare? |
|
|
|
A: |
Cost is the big reason. Many surgical procedures (i.e. heart bypass, joint replacement,
spinal disc repair, Lasik eye surgery, Lapband weight reduction surgery) cost 50-60%
less in India. Costs are simply much lower in developing countries, especially labor
and service costs. And many Indian hospitals targeting the global healthcare market
are private, corporate-owned facilities which are tightly managed and well run.
Additional reasons include:
- Individuals without health insurance.
- Someone whose insurance has such large out-of-pocket expenses or gap payments for
domestic surgery that would exceed the entire cost (medical plus travel) of treatment
abroad. The cost differences are so tremendous, that is often the case.
- People seeking care (i.e. costly dental work or cosmetic surgery) not covered by
insurance.
- Australians or citizens of other countries who will need to wait for non-emergency
surgery through Medicare over a long waiting period. That's difficult for someone
with a painful condition like a herniated back disc, making the low cost of immediate
surgery abroad a compelling option.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
Can I get any sort of medical, dental or cosmetic treatment abroad? |
|
|
|
A: |
Yes. The super-specialty hospitals in our service network offer a very comprehensive
range of procedures, in every field of treatment. When it comes to dental care and
cosmetic surgery, some of the clinics in our network specialise in certain areas.
But within our network you can find providers of virtually any sort of medical,
dental treatment or cosmetic procedure. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Can I Book My Own Travel? |
|
|
|
A: |
Yes. Through our alliances with the travel partners in India and Australia, we can
provide you access to tools and contacts for you to schedule and book your travel
and accommodation requirements associated with treatment/procedure in India. However,
if you wish you can use any travel agent of your choice or do it yourself. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Is there a medical visa for patients opting for treatment in India and do you provide
assistance for getting the same? |
|
|
|
A: |
Yes certainly there is a special medical visa for patients who opt for treatment
in India. The Visa is initially given for 1 year and extended upto 2 years in case
of prolonged treatments. The Visa is available to citizens of all the countries.
We provide full assistance to the patients in documentation and paperwork required
for getting the medical visa. |
|
|
|
Q: |
I Found Cheap Accomodation On The Internet Can I Book It Myself? |
|
|
|
A: |
Yes. Through our alliances with the travel partners in India and Australia, we can
provide you access to tools for you to schedule and book your travel and accommodation
requirements associated with treatment/procedure in India. However, if you wish
you can use any travel agent of your choice or any other arrangement that you may
wish. |
|
|
|
Q: |
I Want To Travel After Surgery, can you help with the arrangements? |
|
|
|
A: |
Yes. Through our alliances with the travel partners in India and Australia, we can
provide you access to tools for you to schedule and book your travel and accommodation
requirements associated with treatment/procedure in India. Through our partners,
you can have access to a wide range of recuperative stays and/ or tour packages. |
|
|
|
Q: |
How about the stay of my attending partner? |
|
|
|
A: |
The attending partner can stay with the patients who are being treated in twin sharing
category or higher wards. If the patient is being treated in ICU, the escort will
have to stay in a hotel or apartment. We will help the patient's escort to find
suitable accommodation. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Why Have Surgery In India and Not in Thailand or Singapore or Malaysia? |
|
|
|
A: |
India offers the best combination of quality and cost. India's medical schools are
highly rated. What's more, most of India's leading doctors have also studied and
worked in the best medical institutions, generally in U.K and U.S.A. Many of the
medical facilities in India are JCI accredited and boast of the state of art equipments.
In addition to the better quality and reliability, the tables below show a comparison
of typical costs for similar treatments in India, Thailand and Singapore. This clearly
illustrates that though Thailand has been the traditional place for medical tourism
for people from Australia, India certainly offers a better quality, reliability
and cost effectiveness.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
Can you arrange for medical treatment in Thailand? |
|
|
|
A: |
Our belief is that India offers the best combination of quality and cost and we
have a very good understanding of the medical facilities in India. Therefore, at
this stage we are offering the facilitation for treatment in Indian medical facilities
only. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Why should I entrust the task of making all arrangements to a Healthcare facilitator
like MMC? |
|
|
|
A: |
To save a lot of time, spare yourself aggravation, but most importantly to ensure
the job is done correctly. Arranging healthcare abroad is a task best left to experts.
There are hundreds of details to consider. So in the same way people enlist the
help of an architect for designing a new house, a general contractor to build the
house, or a real estate agent when selling a house, experts recommend first-time
medical tourists work through the details and complexities. |
|
|
|
Q: |
How do I communicate with these foreign doctors and dentists? I only speak English. |
|
|
|
A: |
The vast majority of surgeons, doctors and dentists working at the hospitals and
clinics in our network speak fluent English. Many either graduated from medical
schools in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom or Australia, or previously worked
in those countries. |
|
|
|
Q: |
How long should I plan to spend wherever treatment is provided? |
|
|
|
A: |
That depends on the treatment received. There's seldom need for dental patients
to stay any longer than the time required to complete treatment. Cosmetic surgery
patients are often requested to remain for one to two weeks after treatment. The
recommended period for hospital surgery patients is more variable. In all cases,
clients are advised during the treatment planning process, and well ahead of departure,
how long to remain convalescing in country after treatment. That's because post-treatment
complications typically become evident within a week or two of treatment, as well
as a desire to insure you have recovered sufficiently to tolerate the strain of
the trip home or travel. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Do you promote tourism as part of your service? |
|
|
|
A: |
No. We are a healthcare facilitator, not an exotic travel agency. We focus on arranging
medical care, dental work and cosmetic surgery abroad for Australians. Arranging
travel is an incidental service.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
What do you do with my information? |
|
|
|
A: |
You can read a copy of our full privacy policy. In short, we never sell, rent, or
loan out your personal information. After filling out the form we have the appropriate
medical professional review the information and give us their recommendations.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
Do you charge for your services? |
|
|
|
A: |
Yes. We charge a $400 Facilitation Fee for our services. We feel that it is better
to be upfront about this fee rather than hide it into the cost of your surgery.
This fee covers administration expenses, communication costs, time & effort involved
the information exchange with the medical facilities and coordination for appointments.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
Can I access these Indian healthcare facilities directly? |
|
|
|
A: |
You can. However, as you may know that India is a very large country with innumerable
tertiary health care centers each specialising in different areas of tertiary care.
You might have difficulty in locating the facility appropriate to your particular
healthcare problem within your budget. Imagine trying to make travel, lodging and
boarding arrangements, fixing doctors appointments, keeping schedules etc. And finally
about taking the decision itself all these would not only add to your costs but
also to your stress levels and you would agree that this is something you can do
without. MMC takes care of all these activities. Even before you buy your airline
ticket, your case is studied by a specialist of your choice who will advice you
the best treatment and would appropriately treat your case on your arrival. MMC
also provides precise assessment of cost involved to the health visitor. In all
cases this would be the optimum one, given our doctor and medical institutions network.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
What if I only require Outpatient treatment, not requiring a stay in the hospital? |
|
|
|
A: |
In many cases where only investigations are required or when the patient is looking
for dental treatment or other minor medical treatment not requiring hospital stay,
we will assist in finding and booking suitable accommodation for you close to the
medical facility / doctor, at a budget which has been approved by you. |
|
|
|
Q: |
Why choose MMC over a travel agent? |
|
|
|
A: |
Many travel agents are expanding their services in the medical market, as they have
identified medical tourism as the growing market. The travel industry has extended
knowledge in tourism, but limited, or no knowledge in the medical field. The lack
of information provided by travel agents to clients can create a problem if you
are not properly advised leading to your surgery. At MMC we are foremost experienced
in medical procedures with the added advantage of alliances with the leading travel
partners, ensuring your procedures are properly organised and coordinated. |
|
|
|
Q: |
How far in advance should I book? |
|
|
|
A: |
Due to the high demand of the surgeons utilised by MMC, we recommend that you book
4 - 6 months in advance or as soon as you have chosen a date. This will generally
enable you to have the date requested instead of having to reschedule your journey
if the date requested has already been taken.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
What are the most common procedures for overseas patients? |
|
|
|
A: |
We get a lot of cosmetic surgery patients. However we also see many hip replacement,
knee reconstruction and dental patients.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
What does JCI mean? |
|
|
|
A: |
Joint Commission International (JCI) displays leadership for quality and safety
in health care around the world. It is the gold standard in global healthcare standards.
JCI is the international arm of the US-based Joint Commission for the Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the accrediting body for over 18,000 hospitals
in the United States. To ensure their international applicability, Joint Commission
standards were developed by a 16-member international task force, representing seven
major world regions: Western Europe; the Middle East; Latin and Central America;
Asia and the Pacific Rim; North America; Central and Eastern Europe; and Africa.
The accreditation ensures adherence to the strictest medical, Para-medical and overall
norms by the medical institutions, bringing them at par with the best in the world.
This includes:
International Standards for Hospitals: Measurable
Standards for Continuous Health Care Quality Improvement:
|
|
Coverage from patient entry to discharge
|
|
|
Assessment of all aspects of management
|
|
|
Two levels of compliance: Measure performance against both the core requirements
needed to achieve accreditation and additional standards that lead organizations
to best practice levels.
|
International Standards for the Care Continuum: Providing Quality Care Across all
Settings
International Standards for Medical Transport Organizations: Making Every Moment
Count for the Patient and Transport Team
International Standards for Clinical Laboratories: Identifying Best Practices for
Laboratory Accreditation
International Standards for Ambulatory Care
International Standards for Disease or Condition-Specific Care
Joint Commission International (JCI) supports organizations and nations by working
directly with health care organizations to achieve their quality goals, as well
as helping health ministries, government agencies and health professional groups
develop national accreditation programs. Our relationships include partnerships
with international agencies such as the World Health Organization, and with national
accreditation programs to offer joint accreditation awards.
|
|
|
|
Q: |
Can I obtain health insurance for overseas procedures? |
|
|
|
A: |
It is with regret that at this time overseas medical procedures are not endorsed
by the Australian government, and as a result no health insurance company will protect
you. As medical tourism is being better accepted in the US, Australia will eventually
reconsider their options in the future, however at this time, you can only hope
that your medical facilitator in Australia has your health and well being as their
number 1 priority. Travel insurance will cover all other matters and accidents. |
|
|
|