At the American Medical Association (AMA) June 2008 Annual Meeting medical care outside the U.S. was discussed, resulting in new AMA Guidelines on Medical Tourism. The AMA guidelines, which supports pluralism and patient choice, are intended to inform and advise patients, employers, insurers and those coordinating international healthcare about how to ensure the quality and safety of patient care internationally.
One recommendation is that patients should only be referred for medical care to institutions that have been accredited by recognized international accrediting bodies such as the Joint Commission International (JCI). The JCI is the international branch of the Joint Commission, which accredits all U.S. healthcare facilities and is the recognized world leader in evaluating healthcare quality and patient safety.
The JCI sets over 350 standards of excellence for international hospitals to meet that ensure the quality and safety of patient care, including patient satisfaction and quality outcomes, medical training of doctors and medical staff, nurse to patient ratios, overall hospital cleanliness, and innovation in medical technology and equipment, just to name a few.
Many of these JCI-accredited international hospitals have affiliations with prestigious U.S. medical universities and hospitals, such as Johns Hopkins, Harvard Medical and the Cleveland Clinic. Many of the doctors who practice in the best of these international hospitals are U.S./U.K. or equivalently trained and board certified and experts in their specialty.
Other AMA guidelines address follow-up care, legal rights, HIPAA guidelines and travel risks.
To help individuals access quality international healthcare, many medical travel “facilitators” have arrived on the scene. These range from converted travel agents to full-service global healthcare companies. When evaluating these organizations, it is important for individuals, employers and payers to look for these key components in their programs:
• A full-time Chief Medical Officer and Medical Quality Advisory Board to lead the Quality Program ,set guidelines, evaluate facilities including site visits, and review performance measures and outcomes
• Meet or exceed the AMA Guidelines for medical travel
• A careful evaluation of quality standards and audits of network hospitals to be recognized as International Centers of Excellence
• Surgically-trained Registered Nurses and travel/customer service representatives to guide patients through the entire process from first phone call to follow-up, post-operative appointment back in the U.S. This includes facilitating medical records transfer, communications with insurer, U.S. physician, international physician and patient, and scheduling all travel arrangements
• Transparency in quality and pricing
• Service includes a companion to accompany the patient
• A program that provides for employer and employee to share in the significant economic savings
High quality care is available at many hospitals around the world that are centers of excellence with quality outcomes and standards of service equaling or surpassing those in the U.S. However, it is important for individuals, employers and payers to make informed choices regarding international healthcare and a quality full-service global healthcare company is the best place to start.
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Ron M. Johnson, M.D., F.A.C.S. is the Chief Medical Officer for Satori World Medical, a global healthcare company specializing in the emerging, multi-million dollar medical tourism industry.
