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Foreign-Patient Hospital Care Experience

Important considerations when choosing a hospital overseas for a medical procedure:

Traveling 4 Health & Retirement (THR) advocates a high standard of patient satisfaction with treatment abroad.  Patient satisfaction consists of the following factors:

Clinical Experience: 

·         Was the patient provided a written care plan?

·         Did the treatment accomplish the stated goal/s of the care plan?

·         Were there any complications?

·         If there were complications, why and how were they managed?

Customer Experience:

·         Was the patient provided with a written cost of treatment?

·         Was the estimate accurate within 15% of the final bill?

·         If greater than 15% was the variance explained by the doctor & hospital? 

·         Hospital staff spoke my language.

·         Staff was helpful.

·         The overall experience was favorable.

Meet Who You Need To Know . . . before you go!

We recommend two talk-radio shows you really shouldn't miss if you want to learn who's who in medical resources globally: 

"Know Before you Go" radio talk-show

"Know Before you Go" is a fun, hour-long, practical talk show with guest experts answering questions from travelers about medical travel and the medical and healthcare resources to support Americans and Canadians retiring overseas.

By subscribing to this mailing list, you will learn about upcoming shows and recording sessions:

"The Global Medical Village" radio talk-show

Join host, Steven Shai Gold every Thursday 18:00-20:00 EST

“Since its inception on January 5 2012, the program has hosted doctors from the US, Panama, Israel, Jamaica, Bahamas and Italy.  The host, Shai Gold, attracts senior medical practionnairs to the program who respect his capacity   to intelligently discuss the most complex medical issues with them.  In his no-nonsense style, Gold goes out of his way the break down, real and perceived, barriers to information.  Due to its valuable content and strong following, the program was recently expanded from one to two hours per week”.  THR gives “The Global Medical Village”  two thumbs up!”

Mitigating The Risk of Surgery Abroad

Traveling  4 Health & Retirement recommends that patients strongly consider booking their medical procedure through a professional T.P.A (Third-Party Administrator) that offers professional medical case-management service that adheres to American standards of case management and medical planning.  

The reality is that many busy hospitals see foreign patients as value-added business.  They won’t say no to the business, but they won’t go out of their way to get it.  That can result in a less-than-desirable foreign-patient experience.

THR has put in a reasonable effort to ascertain which hospitals are English-friendly; which hospitals have proficient international patient departments and dedicated services to accommodate English-speaking patients.  Our CEO has personally interviewed hundreds of hospital CEO’s and doctors, subject experts in medical tourism, health care professionals, and patients.

When Insurance companies approve treatment outside of the patient’s home country, they use Third Party Administrators (T.P.As) to access approved network providers, manage the insurance benefits, control the cost of treatment and oversee the standard of care. 

Our readers have VIP access to the same level of care management by booking through the THR community TPA partner International-Triage  (15% case network access and case management fee applies).  Optionally, readers can get care management advice from My Medical Trip Advisor©” (The $199 advisory fee will be deducted from the cost of procedures booked). 

“My Medical Trip Advisor©” is a DECISION SUPPORT service that helps mitigate risk of DIY (do-it-yourself) booking of treatment abroad.  You receive:

·         Expert evaluation of your travel4treatment trip plans

·         Decision support in making sound choices

·         Treatment needs

·         Treatment choices

·         Treatment destinations

·         Medical professionals

By utilizing the services of the THR Community TPA, you realize staggering savings on medical procedures while enjoying the safety-net of a U.S. company overseeing your case-management. 

Get Peace of Mind.  Request your consultation with Shai Gold, a THR recommended TPA case-manager today!

Accreditation Standards for Hospitals

The best known accreditation organization for USA hospitals is the Joint Commission International for the Accreditation of Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations. (JCAHO).  JCAHO’s international arm is the JCI (Joint Commission International).  JCI accredits hospitals outside the USA using somewhat similar standards of organizational management and quality systems.  Visit their web site to read the standards for hospitals designed to evaluate quality and patient safety in all clinical and managerial functions of acute care.  You can also view the list of JCI accredited hospitals.