Medical Travel Today

This week's issue of Medical Travel Today features a diverse collection of opinions and viewpoints on medical travel.

In our PERSPECTIVES column, Trude Bennett examines the potential benefits and harms to societies caused by medical travel.

In the SPOTLIGHT interview we feature Grace-Marie Turner of The Galen Institute, Inc. who offers her thoughts on how Americans could benefit from more competition and more transparency in healthcare, including medical travel.

And, under INDUSTRY NEWS we address everything from the advantages of globalized healthcare to one man's medical travel experience and his concerns for the future of the industry.

Editor's Note: Trude Bennett is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health. In 2008 she spent a significant amount of time in Southeast Asia studying the effects of medical tourism on local economies and societies.

As a health policy researcher and interested observer of transnational health services in Southeast Asia, I am frequently asked by friends and colleagues to define the term "medical tourism." Knowing that medical tourism has multiple meanings depending on context, constituency, and stakeholder, I have tried to clarify my perspective on what does and does not constitute medical tourism. My basic explanation would be the marketing of health services in receiving countries to visitors from sending countries who are traveling specifically for the purpose of seeking medical care, as well as expatriate workers living in the receiving nations. Receiving countries are usually low- or middle-income; medical travelers are usually from wealthier countries or from the upper classes of poor countries.

My specific interest is the impact of medical tourism on access to and quality of health care for local residents in countries offering foreigners “First World medical services at Third World prices.” Is this truly a “win-win” situation with unalloyed benefits for all? Some enthusiasts view healthcare as a global commodity or a form of international outsourcing; they argue for the economic rationality of shuttling patients around the globe for delivery of medical goods and services. In contrast, I see medical tourism as the “third tier” of health services, a kind of ultra-privatized care that may exacerbate the differences between public and private sectors.

Close examination of the dynamics of medical tourism, including potential benefits and harms to societies at different levels of social and economic development, is essential for ethical development of the industry. Looking beyond the individual level, does transnational healthcare offer useful models or does it simply blunt the impetus for health reform in the United States and elsewhere? Can medical tourism help remedy the current economic crisis in low- and middle-income countries struggling with plunging foreign investment and disadvantageous trade balances? And how can the potential benefits be realized?

The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 resulted in an epidemic of empty beds in newly constructed private hospitals in Thailand and Malaysia. Recognizing the profitability of the international healthcare market, companies recruited foreign patients to fill those beds and consume a range of associated services. The relative equity and fluidity between the private and public health sectors in these countries allowed economically stressed middle-class Thais and Malaysians to shift back to public facilities without sacrificing quality of care. When private care became unaffordable, patients were willing to tolerate longer queues and greater inconvenience. Meanwhile, new clients from the United States and other countries discovered the advantages of longer stays at hospitals and rehabilitation centers: more attentive care and skilled treatment by well-trained providers at affordable cost.

About Trude Bennett
Trude Bennett, MSW, MPH, DrPH is Associate Professor of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been working in various locations in Southeast Asia over the last decade, and spent part of Summer 2008 studying medical tourism in Thailand and Malaysia.

The Galen Institute, Inc., is a not-for-profit, free market research organization devoted exclusively to health policy. It was founded in 1995 to promote a more informed public debate over individual freedom, consumer choice, competition, and diversity in the health sector.

Galen Institute president Grace-Marie Turner recently testified before a hearing of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee focused on competition in the healthcare marketplace.

She said health reform legislation should "build on the innovative ideas in the private sector where improvements in the delivery and financing of healthcare, transparency, and consumer choice are working."

Medical Travel Today spoke with her about how medical travel might fit into the vision of innovation.

Medical Travel Today (MTT): During your Senate testimony you spoke of the need for innovation in healthcare delivery. How might medical travel – domestic or foreign – fit into this concept?

Grace-Marie Turner (GMT): Many of the problems that the United States is facing involving cost, quality, and access to healthcare could be addressed by encouraging more competition and empowering consumers to have greater control over decisions involving their care and coverage.

More competition in the health sector will lead to more choices for patients. Patients should be able to make decisions, in consultation with their physicians, about where they want to go for their healthcare. That also means they should be able to decide if they want to stay in the United States or go abroad for their medical care.

I had a chance to visit a medical facility in Guatemala in April. I toured a beautiful hospital with well-trained physicians working in a state-of-the-art facility that provides care at a fraction of the charges of U.S. hospitals. There are numerous facilities of this caliber, but most of them are not yet actively marketing to U.S. patients. In the case of Guatemala, most of their patients are people from Central America who want faster access to better quality care than they could get through their public healthcare systems.
Facilities like the one in Guatemala and elsewhere should be on American patients’ radar as an option for care. While patients need to weigh risks against any costs savings, by all means, the government should not get in their way.

GMT: People need more control over their healthcare resources, not less. I'm opposed to centralized government control over healthcare decisions because, among many other problems, this limits consumer’s options. Consumers should be able to choose the private health insurance that best suits them and their budgets, and people should be able to go where they want for care.

The issue of transparency is hugely important, and it's one of the biggest problems with the current domestic system. Right now, most consumers know what the amount of their insurance co payment is, but they have little or no information about the total cost of their health insurance or an episode of medical care. As a result, they are not able to make informed decisions about seeking the best care affordably.

The medical travel model allows consumers to see more of the real cost of their treatment. If they can see the actual difference in pricing, not just their co-pays, they start to pay attention. It's an approach that certainly deserves more attention.

GMT: I frankly don't see us moving toward transparency with any of the proposals put forth by the Obama administration and Congress today. The current legislation would continue the shell game in which everyone is under the illusion that someone else is paying for their health insurance and healthcare.

What we need is innovation that offers patients more control over choices and more transparency of pricing. That would be a big step toward achieving the goals of health reform to make healthcare and health coverage more affordable and accessible.
The legislation before Congress today is based upon a belief that government can make better decisions about healthcare than patients. But the best consumer choices are informed choices. More information about more affordable choices in a more competitive environment would be very beneficial to patients.

GMT: Medical travel so far has not been part of the health reform debate in Washington. I've attended a number of conferences where I have learned about medical tourism and its possibilities. But the longer it stays off the radar screen of politicians, the better.

About Grace-Marie Turner
Grace-Marie Turner is president of the Galen Institute, a public policy research organization that she founded in 1995 to promote an informed debate over free-market ideas for health reform.

She has been instrumental in developing and promoting ideas for reform that transfer power over healthcare decisions to doctors and patients. She speaks and writes extensively about incentives to promote a more competitive, patient-centered marketplace in the health sector.

The doctor is in . . . Bangkok
Editor's Note: Earlier this week The Boston Globe ran a piece by Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. Adapted from an essay in the Boston Review, the piece examines the notion of globalizing U.S. healthcare.
With the rising cost of healthcare now atop the national agenda, one theme rings like a frustrating refrain: healthcare is special, so the tools we use to fix normal economic problems don’t apply. What good is mass production in confronting the complexities of the body? How can cost-benefit analysis grasp the unfixable value of a human life?
There is at least one tenet of modern economic policy, however, that we are excluding from the healthcare debate at our peril: globalization.

Columbia, S.C. – Amid rising healthcare costs, U.S. companies increasingly are weighing the money-saving benefits of including international medical travel coverage in their employee health plans. Some of those employers also are concerned about possible risks associated with offering such options.

With that in mind, medical travel facilitator Companion Global Healthcare Inc. today announced an agreement with an insurer that allows its employer group clients to purchase low-cost insurance policies to cover possible liability resulting from the employer’s decision to offer workers an international medical travel benefit.

“This new coverage raises the comfort level of some employers that are considering a global option for their employees as a way to save dramatically on healthcare without sacrificing high standards for care,” said David Boucher, president of Companion Global Healthcare.

Based in Columbia, S.C., Companion Global Healthcare offers self-insured employers and their workers medical travel concierge services and an international network of accredited hospitals that treat American patients at prices far lower than those in the United States.

“All hospitals in Companion Global Healthcare’s overseas network are accredited by the Joint Commission International, and most have U.S. board-certified physicians on staff,” Boucher said. “But unintended outcomes are possible at any hospital, including even the best facilities in the United States and around the world. Employers that have turned to Companion Global Healthcare for help in purchasing a medical travel benefit for their workers want to make sure they have a solid risk-management plan to protect themselves and their employees.”

Companion Global Healthcare will market the employer liability policies through Columbia, S.C.-based Custom Assurance Placements Ltd. The policies protect employers against liability in the event of accidental injury resulting from a medical procedure, or in case of a travel accident. Limits are available up to $5 million.

Also through Custom Assurance Placements, Companion Global Healthcare offers no-fault medical travel policies to its individual clients who are not part of an employer-sponsored health plan.

About Companion Global Healthcare
Companion Global Healthcare Inc. provides medical travel assistance to clients who seek treatment at any of its 19 network hospitals and three dental clinics around the world. The company serves as a single launch point for appointments, travel arrangements, case management coordination services upon return to the United States, medical travel insurance, and help with claims filing.

All network hospitals are accredited by the Joint Commission International, and provide surgery and other care at rates up to 90 percent less than those in the United States.

The company serves uninsured and underinsured individuals, as well as employers and insurance companies that have included the Companion Global Healthcare network in their benefit plans. Employer groups interested in restructuring their benefit plans to include Companion Global Healthcare’s network and services should call 1-800-906-7065.

Editor's Note: A recent blog entry on brainandspinalcord.org offered readers a brief overview of the industry and a look at some of the options for those dealing with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI). As the blog notes:

"Since many advanced forms of treatment and rehabilitation strategies for TBI and SCI are not covered by domestic insurance plans, medical tourism offers a vast expansion of treatment options for SCI and TBI patients."

An excerpt of the blog entry is included below with a link to the balance of the piece and reader comments.

Author Timothy O'Grady Reflects on his Medical Travel Experience on the BBC's Health Check

This week's BBC Health Check features author Timothy O'Grady telling of his experience as a medical travel patient in Poland and his thoughts on issues related to the industry including malpractice, fraudulent agents, and the long-term prognosis for the industry.

Mobile Surgery International Assembles Team of Nationally Recognized Orthopedic Surgeons

AVENTURA, Fla. August 4, 2009 — Mobile Surgery International (MSI) has assembled a core team of highly specialized, nationally recognized orthopedic surgeons who have agreed to work with the company in implementation of MSI’s surgical business model of Centers of Excellence with Global Convenience™. The team will handle a broad range of non-emergency orthopedic procedures domestically and abroad. The team represents a total of 80+ man-years of orthopedic experience, operating in and outside of the United States and includes:

“Mobile Surgery International’s orthopedic surgery capabilities are built first and foremost on the experience, focus, and skill level of our surgeons,” said Arnon Krongrad, MD, the chief executive officer and medical director of the company. “Our surgeon driven service model combines ability to source cost-effective and appropriate operating room capacity and machinery, sophisticated surgical expertise, and mobility. It offers domestic and foreign payers and uninsured, self-insured, under-insured, and self-directed patients a way to overcome financial, cultural, and geographical barriers to treatment choice and quality.”

MSI’s orthopedic surgery program complements existing programs in cancer surgery and cardiovascular surgery. MSI offers transparent and fixed package pricing for surgical episodes. Specific procedures can be carried out at institutions in Florida, Kansas, Mexico, Panama, and Trinidad. Relationships with additional surgical specialists and host institutions are under development.

In March, 2009 Mobile Surgery International first demonstrated the ability of a mobile surgical model to simultaneously deliver choice, quality, and cost containment to patients. It sent an uninsured American and his American surgical team to Trinidad. In so doing, MSI delivered the treatment the patient chose and cut his cost by 60%.

About Mobile Surgery International
MSI offers patients and payers from anywhere in the world surgical choice and quality with cost containment through its Centers of Excellence with Global Convenience™. To do this, MSI is cutting overhead, recruiting outstanding surgical talent, and identifying host surgical facilities. It provides differentiating surgical programs and develops custom solutions to administrative needs with minimal regard to geography. Whether the patient comes to the surgeon, the surgeon goes to the patient, or patient and surgeon meet at a mutually convenient location, MSI coordinates all necessary arrangements at a cost agreeable to the patient and/or the payer. For more information, see www.emeseye.com

Newswise — This summit will attract more than 1,200 experts from more than 25 countries and across the United States. It will feature more than 100 speakers, including governors, federal officials, and top researchers and scientists and will discuss new federal stem cell policies, scientific discoveries, and human interest stories. This is your chance to meet and talk to all the experts at one location and time with on-the-record sessions, press briefings, and interviews.

The World Stem Cell Summit, held this year at the Baltimore Convention Center on September 21-23, 2009, is the only conference that combines this mix of researchers, policy makers, business leaders, and ethics and legal advocates to share, explore, and discuss the latest breakthroughs and advancements in the emerging field of stem cells.
Demonstrations and discussions will range from tracking how reprogrammed stem cells (iPSCs) might supersede the use of embryonic stem cells to stem cells use in regenerative medicine and how new devices such as a stem cell integrated fluidic circuits might soon automate and simplify the entire process.

Follow the latest on the conference arrangements on the Website and Twitter site. Story possibilities will be posted by participating universities and agencies on the conference news blog.

Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau to Sponsor the 2009 World Medical Health Tourism Conference in Phuket

Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is set to sponsor the World Medical Health Tourism Conference: A New Way Forward, which will be held in Phuket, Thailand, September 2009. TCEB’s participation and sponsorship in this internationally diverse networking event will aim to promote Thailand on an international scale as a medical tourism destination and a preferred venue for international meeting, incentive, convention, and exhibition (MICE) events. The whole of Phuket Island is getting behind the conference, which will cater to more than 1,200 delegates. Local supporters range from local community groups, tourism operators, and many of the major hoteliers and resort owners, namely Woraburi Phuket Resort, Millennium Resort Patong, The Moevenpick Resort, Karon Beach Resort of Kata Group, Aquamarine Resort, Cape Panwa Hotel, and Andaman Seaview Hotel group.

Phuket, dubbed as the medical tourism hub in Asia, is the ideal location to hold the conference because of its infrastructure, capacity to host a massive number of international guests, and the availability of cutting-edge technology and internationally trained medical experts manning their world-class medical facilities. Sometime within the next month the floor plan or layout for exhibitors at the venue, Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa, will be published online and application forms will be available for the exhibitors to download from the Web site. Many pre-conference and post-conference activities have been planned for the conference, which early estimates expect to bring a windfall to Phuket of about $10 million over the two-week period.

Interested parties are advised to visit the conference website: www.sosmedicaltourism.com for more information.

Alternatively, for more information call + (66)76-289-800, to request a printable registration brochure by email sosmedical@sosmedicaltourism.com or sosmedical@ymail.com

SERVICE SUMMIT GUATEMALA 2009 to Provide Matchmaking Meetings for Medical and Wellness Services

The Service Summit Guatemala 2009 scheduled to take place in Guatemala City, Central America, September 10-14, 2009, will feature unique Matchmaking Meeting Program of medical and wellness services.

Attendees, such as Laura Carabello, Publisher of Medical Travel Today, representatives of World Med Assist and MedVoy, among others, will have the opportunity to meet with Guatemalan companies that specialize in providing medical and wellness services such as dentistry, cancer radiotherapy, hospitality, surgeries, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, fertility treatments, and others.

Selected companies are recognized for their high level of quality services, modern infrastructure and equipment, and competitive prices. Plus, all services are provided with the warm, personalized approach considered by many to be an integral part of the Guatemalan culture.

Interested participants will receive a customized meeting agenda tailored to your needs, requirements, and the services you promote. Attendees will also be invited to participate in a unique Familiarization Tour of several hospitals and clinics as well as through the beautiful city of Antigua; a wonderful 16th Century town declared World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Join us and meet your next strategic alliance!

For more information contact us:
By email: servicesummit@agexport.org.gt
By phone: Guatemala Trade Office 212.689.1014.
On the web: www.servicesummit.co

Date Set for Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress in Dubai: October 27-29, 2009

With the healthcare travel industry poised to play an important part in Dubai's growth strategy, the Institute for International Research (IIR) Middle East, the organizers of the first medical tourism conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which concluded in Dubai, recently have reported high levels of interest from a potentially huge international market.

"Research unveiled at the event indicated a global market of around two million medical travelers a year and an industry constrained by hospital capacity and lack of consumer familiarity with medical travel," says Sietske Meerloo, marketing manager at IIR Middle East and organizer of Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress. IIR Middle East is also the organizer of the Arab Health Exhibition and Congress, the region's premier event for Middle East healthcare that takes place in Dubai 27-29, October, 2009.

“Large numbers of hospitals and clinics around the world are attempting to tailor their health services to cater to medical tourists," Meerloo added. "Several major insurance companies offer a travel component in their policies, and governments are looking closely at policies to take account of the trend."

The health care event was officially opened by Haidar Al Yousuf, M.D., transition director at the Dubai Health Authority, who highlighted the importance the Authority is placing on the future of medical tourism.

"As we look to develop our domestic health strategy, we also want to develop a joint strategy with our colleagues in the Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM), for the future of health tourism in Dubai," says Dr. Al Yousuf. "The health care sector in Dubai will become an increasingly attractive place for international health care investors, providers, services, facilities, and other health care professionals."

PlanetHospital, a California-based leader in medical tourism, used the event as a platform to announce the official opening of its Jeddah Saudi Arabia office to serve inbound and outbound medical tourists from the Arabian Gulf region.

"The Gulf has the potential to drive growth in medical tourism," says Mohammed Alarifi, managing director for the new operation. "It is not only a destination from where patients seek medical care abroad but is also becoming a medical tourism destination itself thanks to major hospital developments throughout the region."

The American Hospital Dubai also had high visibility at the event. There was "a lot of exchange of experience among colleagues from around the world," says Naser Saleh, director of marketing and sales. “On the conference side, the sessions were very informative."

Gary Miller, CEO of Health Travel TV, says the event had been important for them. "We have a unique product, and we’re the only broadcast media here dedicated to this area. I’m coming back to Arab Health in January."

Organized in association with the International Medical Travel Association, the Healthcare Travel Exhibition and Congress was supported by the UAE Ministry of Health and the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi. Platinum sponsors were Singapore Medicine. Gold sponsors were the American Hospital Dubai and Dubai Health Authority. For details about Arab Health events, please visit: www.arabhealthonline.com

Healthcare Abroad and Health Tourism 1st International TEMOS Conference
November 15-17, 2009 in Cologne / Germany

TEMOS is pleased to announce the 1st International TEMOS Conference on “HEALTHCARE ABROAD AND HEALTH TOURISM” in Cologne, Germany from November 15-17, 2009.

The main objective is to bring together the parties and markets of:

Health insurance companies and payers from Germany and Europe
Hospitals and medical facilities from all over the world
International facilitators, health tourism operators and telemedicine providers

to discuss about quality management, and the potential of health tourism & healthcare services abroad – from the stakeholders’ perspective.

To push these conference topics we have the pleasure to introduce several international experts as members of the TEMOS Conference Advisory Board, for example:

Health insurance: Dr. Franz Benstetter, Head of Operational Services Munich Health, Munich Reinsurance Company.

Medical facility: Dr. Kalyan S Sachdev, M.D., Chairman and founder of Privat Healthcare Group, member of the governing Board of Indian Spinal Injuries Center.

Telemedicine: Prof. Dr. Michael Nerlich, M.D., Head of the Department of Trauma at the University of Regensburg Academic Medical Center Surgery, President of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH).

Science & Economics: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Goetzke, Director of gewi-Institute for health economics, Co-founder of the Fresenius University in Cologne, Coordinator of the regional initiative “Health Cologne” and “Health Region Cologne Bonn”.

Click here to find additional members of the Advisory Board.

Please also visit the Conference Website for registration and further information!

Register now via the Online Registration Form and benefit from the early bird rates!

Please contact info@temos-conference.com or the conference hotline +49–2203–601 3000
for any questions regarding the International TEMOS Conference.

Exhibitors can increase their profile by choosing between several attractive sponsoring options for this event. Please get in touch with us to learn more about your opportunities.

Please note: You can ideally combine the attendance of the TEMOS conference with a visit to MEDICA®, the world’s largest exhibition for medicine technology, which is held in the neighbouring city of Duesseldorf from November 18-21, 2009.

SITUATIONS WANTED:

International Patient Development in your Country – Medical Tourism

With present economic down turn I would like to offer my skills and global experience to develop much needed healthcare business.
I am sure my experience in medical tourism will provide original strategy as I come from the other side of the world.

Now is the perfect time to participate in global healthcare which is the world's second largest industry.

I would like to know if I can bring my successful career to work for your organisation to develop international business.

For further information visit www.surgeryexpress.com or contact me at as@surgeryexpress.com

JOBS:

Director of Quality Improvement

As the Director of Quality Improvement, you will be responsible for the planning, developing and directing QI functions. Provide leadership, management and supervision of the QI Department operations and staff. Ensure quality of healthcare services rendered meets or exceed professionally recognized standards. Develop and implement measures and controls to achieve company's goals.

Requirements:
BSN/BS/BA Degree in Healthcare related field. Master's Degree in Healthcare a PLUS
QI experience – min. 5 years; Managed Healthcare – min. 5 years.
Knowledge of NCQA standards.
Medicaid experience – min. 2 years.
Management Experience – min. 5 years.
Knowledge of applicable state, federal and third party regulations with special emphasis on Medi-Cal Managed Care.
Excellent communication skills.
Proficiency with computer information systems and software.
Strong analytical and problem solving skills.

Salary is commensurate with experience.
Located in Jackson, MS, USA.

For consideration, please forward your CV w/salary requirements to vvanover@headwaycorp.com or apply at www.headwaycorp.com/jobs

EEO/AA/M/F/V/D

To submit your job posting or a description of your desired position to ahaar@cpronline.com. Please keep text to 100 words or less.