If you are reading this article, chances are you now have a diagnosis and recommended treatment for your condition and you have reached a decision about whether to consider traveling out of the country for your procedure. You may have even narrowed your quest to a few countries or a specific region.

Some countries are renowned for a particular type of treatment. Your diagnosis will help distill your list of options down to a handful of destinations.


For example, Costa Rica, Mexico and Thailand rank among the most common destinations for those considering cosmetic surgery. Hungary, Costa Rica and Mexico are popular for dentistry. Invasive, expensive procedures such as knee replacement or open-heart surgery might entail a longer trip to Thailand, India, Malaysia or Singapore, where quality care in selected hospitals ranks high, yet remains affordable. 

Consider the following points in your search for the best hospital to treat your condition:

Change Happens

Bear in mind that modern medical travel is experiencing rapid changes. Entire countries are on the brink of emerging as prominent health travel destinations, and new clinics are gaining accreditation by the month. Treatment and travel costs also fluctuate, countries become less or more stable and monetary exchange rates will move in and out of your favor.

If you shop sensibly, stay up-to-date, and always keep high quality, dependable care at the top of your priority list, you’ll be on the right route to success as an international health traveler, notwithstanding the fast-changing global healthcare setting.

Pricing and Savings

Together with improvements in telemedicine, minimally invasive procedures, and other advances, reasonable pricing has arisen as a fortunate byproduct of the growth in the medical tourism industry. In your research, you will find many price variations, sometimes in the same country and even in the same city. Some of these variations may reflect differences in included services, so it pays to learn what's included in the medical treatment package. Doctor’s consultation?  Anesthesia? Two-day inpatient stay?  Make sure your estimate details in writing all the included charges.

Customer Service

Don’t be surprised if the hospital of your choice is slow to respond to your initial inquiries, or does not respond at all. Waits of three days or more are not uncommon. However,nif you receive unsatisfactory or discourteous response, move on.  While most hospitals are primarily in the healthcare business and not the travel business, the facilities that will serve you best have established international patient service centers which were created to serve your needs. You may also try working through a reliable health travel agent if you experience poor customer service in your early contacts with a hospital or clinic.

Accreditation

International accreditation is not the only gauge of medical quality, though it is a yardstick of a hospital’s rank and an indicator that patients should carefully think about when making healthcare decisions. For any hospital that is not internationally accredited, double and redouble your research efforts.  Ensure that you find out whether that hospital has met its country’s accreditation requirements.  While other agencies abound, Joint Commission International is the largest and most respected, and a good place to start.  Patients now have a choice of more than 600 JCI-accredited facilities around the world addressing nearly every imaginable condition.

How Many Times Has it Been Done Before?

As any health expert will tell you, one of the best ways to measure the success of a hospital is to ascertain the quantity of procedures performed there. Knowing the number of procedures and the success rate of a particular procedure will tell you as much or more about a hospital’s practices than any other figure. A hospital that claims 3000 bariatric surgeries with a success rate of 97.6 percent should therefore give you more confidence than one that has completed 71 and cannot provide a success rate.  Ask your medical center international patient services representative, or your chosen specialist these important questions.

How Long has the Hospital Been in Business?

Here’s an interesting conundrum: older hospitals may well offer outstanding doctors and state-of-the-art equipment, while recently opened facilities may boast gleaming Italian marble lobbies and five-star rooms and yet lack a track record of service that you can use to evaluate the quality of care. You may have to dig deeper into your research of new hospitals to make sure your specialists and other doctors have gained sufficient proficiency from their practice at other healthcare establishments.

Although finding the best hospital for your condition is not an exact science, once you do the research you will be in a good position to judge with greater confidence  where you should travel for the best medical care!