| ical Tourism defined by Deloitte as the process of | | | | drivers of inbound or domestic referrals. |
| "leaving home" for treatments and care abroad or | | | | Some hospitals and their medical staffs, seeing |
| elsewhere domestically, is growing rapidly. The | | | | this as an opportunity to grow and capture |
| recent US healthcare reform debate has | | | | market share, are creating the facilities, policies |
| heightened awareness of global care that is | | | | and procedures to accommodate foreign patients |
| affordable, high quality, accessible, and, in some | | | | eager to pay out of pocket for readily available, |
| instances, not available or approved in the US. | | | | high quality care and services. A critical success |
| These options are so attractive, that, according | | | | factor for inbound medical services is the |
| to | | | | cooperation of the medical staff in |
| Deloitte, an estimated 750,000 US citizens | | | | accommodating the sometimes unique needs and |
| traveled abroad for medical care in 2007 and the | | | | desires of foreign patients. There may be little or |
| number is expected to accelerate. Another | | | | no incentive to do so. |
| 400,000 people came to the US for care. | | | | Business processes and healthcare information |
| Patients seek global healthcare options due to the | | | | communications technologies will need to |
| value that they may find, they are more | | | | accommodate inbound and outbound global |
| accessible, treatments are not available or | | | | referrals. Failure to do so will result in missed |
| approved in their home country, they desire | | | | opportunities to grow your practice. |
| privacy or they want to combine care with a | | | | Physicians will need to design their business |
| travel component. As a result, doctors are seeing | | | | processes and information systems to |
| patients who want information about international | | | | accommodate patients either coming from other |
| alternatives, seek referrals to trusted overseas | | | | countries or wanting to go elsewhere for care. |
| providers and ask that their caregivers participate | | | | Telemedicine consultations, online interactions and |
| in the process. Some physicians and surgeons | | | | global information exchange will increasingly be the |
| refuse to do so. They are afraid of liability, | | | | norm. |
| don’t want to take care of patients when | | | | Doctors will need to deal with postoperative care |
| they don’t get paid for doing the surgery, | | | | insurance, alternative reimbursement mechanisms |
| and they dislike working with "high maintenance" | | | | for delivering care that is not face-to-face, and |
| patients. They already feel overworked and have | | | | healthcare insurance companies offering a medical |
| no interest in cramming more patients "cruising | | | | tourism benefit to their patients. This will force |
| the Internet for care" into their busy schedules. | | | | doctors and their staffs to learn to work with |
| What’s more, with the looming threat that | | | | new entities like medical tourism facilitators, case |
| millions more Americans will be getting | | | | managers and international health office |
| government subsidized care, things are likely to | | | | representatives. While medical tourism is growing, |
| get even worse. | | | | there are significant barriers to widespread |
| In addition, surgeons feel uncomfortable with a | | | | adoption. These include, among others, establishing |
| different model that redefines continuity of care. | | | | normalized quality of care measures, malpractice |
| Some patients are looking for providers at home | | | | issues, health insurance coverage, continuity of |
| who will assume their care after they are treated | | | | care challenges, international health care |
| elsewhere. While this is no different than what | | | | information exchange, security and confidentiality, |
| happens when a patient returns home after | | | | global infection disease control, and the challenge |
| treatment at a specialized domestic facility, like an | | | | of developing trusted international referral |
| internationally recognized cancer or radiation | | | | relationships. |
| therapy center, unfamiliarity with the quality and | | | | While these obstacles are daunting, I believe they |
| reputation of overseas centers, bias, and legal | | | | will be rapidly overcome and medical tourism will |
| concerns linger. In addition, the reimbursement for | | | | continue to emerge as an attractive option for a |
| pre- and postoperative care may not be high | | | | small but significant part of the healthcare |
| enough to justify getting involved. | | | | marketplace. Surgeons should educate themselves |
| Inbound global referrals will continue to grow. Not | | | | and prepare for the change. They can do so by |
| changing will result in losing those referrals. | | | | staying abreast of the growth of medical tourism |
| Fluctuating global exchange rates, the | | | | and the issues it presents, change their practice |
| internationalization of healthcare and of medical | | | | habits to incorporate internet facilitated care, and |
| societies, easier access to information, access and | | | | work with practice partners, such as their |
| cost pressures on foreign health systems, the | | | | hospitals, medical tourism facilitators and medical |
| reputation of the quality of US healthcare and | | | | specialty societies to incorporate inbound or |
| transparency in quality and price are a few of the | | | | outbound referrals into their practices. |