Cold Spring, NY (PRWEB) March 17, 2006
In his book, Beauty from Afar, author and journalist, Jeff Schult conservatively estimates that over 200,000 traveling patients left the USA last year to have their medical and surgical requests fulfilled in foreign countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Thailand and Malaysia.(publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Cheng, New York release date June 1, 2006).
Its the lower prices that are the lure, says Schult.
Some say that paying cheaper prices for overseas medical care carries with it big risks and if you go to foreign country bad things might happen. Others say they have heard plenty of stories about the “risks” and bad things that have happened here in the USA.
Those who have traveled overseas for medical care and paid less than $ 3000 for a facelift or hip replacement will remind us that words like botched and malpractice have been in use for decades here in the states. They’ll tell you that foreign does not mean bad doctors and hospitals. Questionable health care has always been an issue here in states where there are fairly frequent outbreaks of news stories about an unethical doctor’s entry into prison instead of an operating room.
Proponents of affordable, overseas medical care are quick to point out that many foreign doctors have the same training as USA MDs and that more and more foreign hospitals are seeking USA accreditation through the Joint Commission, a USA organization that accredits hospitals who meet their standards for patient safety and comfort.
No doubt the rising costs of USA health care and the much lower prices offered abroad are major points in the decision making process for those choosing overseas health care. Frightened by a future that projects Americans will be spending one out of every five dollars for health care, overseas options for medicine and surgery seem poised to increase in potency and public acceptance.
While the debate about the pros and cons of cheaper medical care abroad can continue until we drop dead, the fact is that many have already traveled overseas for everything from cardiac bypass surgery to Botox
Outsourcing America"s Health Care - Finding Safe Overseas Doctors and Hospitals
