Would you be willing to travel outside the country for medical or dental treatment? I think I would IF the hospital was accredited by the Joint Commission and I had thoroughly done my homework on the Physician and hospital. I had a friend who lived in Florida and needed a couple of dental implants, he ended up going to Costa Rica and was extremely satisfied.
(HealthDay News) — David Boucher celebrated his 50th birthday this year by jetting to Bangkok for his first colonoscopy.
There he was seen by a California-educated physician and no shortage of nurses, who verified his identity 15 times before the procedure.
To be sure, Boucher had a secondary motive: He is founder and president of Companion Global Healthcare, a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina that includes in its network 13 hospitals around the world that have been accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI).
The JCI, which calls itself the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval,” has accredited more than 170 hospitals outside of the United States.
An estimated 6 million Americans are traveling each year to such countries as India, Costa Rica, Mexico and Thailand in search of less-expensive treatments for simple and complex procedures. Even France and Belgium tend to be cheaper than the United States.
Keep reading: HealthDay
For a list of Joint Commission International accredited hospitals worldwide: Here
Wow, interesting post. I would assuming that I could research the place somehow first.
Buyer beware…definitely research carefully.
Isn’t it sad when we have to travel to get medical care that should be affordable right here in our own country? The US has a lot to live up to these days. We’ve gone perfectly stale in many departments, including education and mental health care.
Brenda
Very true Brenda. I heard on the news last night that many states are cutting back on the state funded pre-k programs due to deficits in their states. It really is coming down to those who can afford private education from age 3 through college. The United States will never catch up academically in education unless we fix this broken system! That and health care of course. Your comment about mental health is so true, look at all the vets returning home with PTS and our health care system is woefully lacking in the resources to treat them.
As a physician, I would strongly recommend visiting a healthcare provider and consult for any treatment.
Yep, this is a reality. We used to outsource only simple things like dictations. Now we routinely outsource nocturnal xray interpretation because radiologists in Australia are working their day while we sleep. And other countries have been outsourcing stuff like total knee arthroplasties. The world is small, and money talks.
Sadly, I agree with Ferd.
I wonder why France is not a part of the Joint Commission?
Years ago my kid was backpacking in the South of France and got a bad cut on his finger. He went to the local clinic, they treated him for free and sent him on his way.