Medical tourism which is the practice of traveling to another country for health reasons is actually a trade-off. While there are advantages like affordable costs, quality health care, and a chance to recuperate and have a vacation at the same time, there are also risks of medical tourism.
Among these risks are legal and ethical issues. In case problems arise, patients or medical tourists might not be covered by their personal insurance or might not be able to seek damages through malpractice lawsuits. Although many hospitals and clinics abroad have medical tourism malpractice insurance, seeking compensation can prove to be difficult because insurance laws may vary. It is still easier to understand the laws in your own country as well as rules and guidelines regarding malpractice suits.
Medical tourism is the risk of infectious diseases and a different epidemiology to North American or the UK. Exposure of disease in a foreign country, without having built up natural immunity, can be particularly health dangerous to patients already weakened by surgery. Diseases such as flu, tuberculosis, typhoid and mosquito-transmitted infections are more common abroad than in the UK or US. Popular destinations such as India or Malaysia can still be problematic due to different technology, procedures and medication available, even when the doctors abroad become more ‘open’ to the possibility of infectious disease.
If traveling to an exotic location to get medical care for a fraction of what it would cost at home sounds too good to be true, it just might be. Any surgery or medical tourism procedure involves risks, but having surgery overseas may have even more risks.
Infections with multiresistant organisms, the spread of noroviruses (common cause of acute gastroenteritis) and mycobacterial infections after cosmetic surgery are well documented cases of medical risks. Patients who cross borders in seek of a medical care are also potentially exposed to infections that they would not normally encounter, thus posing a public health risk when they return home.
Patient autonomy and informed consent both represent a cornerstone of bioethics, which can sometimes mean a concerning tourists issue. In the context of medical tourism, informed consent can be influenced by ambiguous or incomplete information on websites, problems in obtaining veracious information about success rates and the quality of care in destination facilities.
Among these risks are legal and ethical issues. In case problems arise, patients or medical tourists might not be covered by their personal insurance or might not be able to seek damages through malpractice lawsuits. Although many hospitals and clinics abroad have medical tourism malpractice insurance, seeking compensation can prove to be difficult because insurance laws may vary. It is still easier to understand the laws in your own country as well as rules and guidelines regarding malpractice suits.
Medical tourism is the risk of infectious diseases and a different epidemiology to North American or the UK. Exposure of disease in a foreign country, without having built up natural immunity, can be particularly health dangerous to patients already weakened by surgery. Diseases such as flu, tuberculosis, typhoid and mosquito-transmitted infections are more common abroad than in the UK or US. Popular destinations such as India or Malaysia can still be problematic due to different technology, procedures and medication available, even when the doctors abroad become more ‘open’ to the possibility of infectious disease.
If traveling to an exotic location to get medical care for a fraction of what it would cost at home sounds too good to be true, it just might be. Any surgery or medical tourism procedure involves risks, but having surgery overseas may have even more risks.
Infections with multiresistant organisms, the spread of noroviruses (common cause of acute gastroenteritis) and mycobacterial infections after cosmetic surgery are well documented cases of medical risks. Patients who cross borders in seek of a medical care are also potentially exposed to infections that they would not normally encounter, thus posing a public health risk when they return home.
Patient autonomy and informed consent both represent a cornerstone of bioethics, which can sometimes mean a concerning tourists issue. In the context of medical tourism, informed consent can be influenced by ambiguous or incomplete information on websites, problems in obtaining veracious information about success rates and the quality of care in destination facilities.
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