Health Talk by MediGence: Recent Episodes
Siddharth Burman
The MediGence Podcast channel has been set up to impart transparent and ethical information pertaining to medical procedures, laws, and other useful topics that a medical traveler opting for treatment abroad should be equipped with.
Relive the journey of a Patient traveling for medical tourism from India to Turkey to undergo Kidney Transplantation. Learn what were the roadblocks they had to undergo and the services received from MediGence as well as the hospital in Turkey.
Our Co-Founder, Guneet Bhatia, had a very informative session with Dr. Ravi Nayak, MBBS, MS - Orthopaedics, DNB -Orthopedics/Orthopedic Surgery of NMC Specialty Hospital, UAE, regarding the types of surgeries in orthopedics. Also, get to know about the success rates of those surgeries, the advancement of technology in this field, and the FAQ's patients have while traveling abroad for joint replacement surgeries.
Dr. Vachan Hukkeri of Max Hospital, briefs about the common problems children face while undergoing Pediatric Liver Transplantation.
Bone marrow transplantation is one of the most complicated procedures which can be performed. Dr Pravas Mishra of Max Hospitals, India explains the types, risks and road to recovery post the transplant.
Learn about the emerging and dangerous risk factors for Breast Cancer. Due to the lifestyle changes and the introduction of junk food in our daily food consumption, it has also brought out a new range of risks. These have led to greater chances of Breast Cancer among women. Learn from one of the most sought after Onco-Surgeons in India, Dr Kapil, Fortis Hospital about the same and how important is it to regularly check on the same so as to decrease the chances of acquiring Breast Cancer.
On this week's episode, we sat with DR. Smita from Max Hospital, India. She is one of the most sought-after Liver Transplants specialists in the country and works with Dr. Subhash Gupta. We discussed a range of topics from the issues and medical criticalities the Liver Recipient has to face to the role & medical condition the Donor needs to be in in order for the Surgery to take place successfully
In this series we discuss issues of patients which are pertaining to Liver Transplantation and the kind of conditions and symptoms which lead to Liver Transplantation. We also discuss genetic disorders, recovery phase, do's and dont's post liver transplantation, as well as the best countries in the world where the same procedure can be undertaken.
This episode talks about the importance of planning before medical travel, things you should know and the documents that you should carry.
Hello and Welcome to the third and second last part of our Podcast Series on Patient Empowerment. I am your Podcast buddy Siddharth, and I am ready to share some of my thoughts on how to choose or select the most suitable destination for the treatment of ailment that you are suffering from.
Traveling abroad is fun for most of the people but it becomes completely a different thing when it comes to traveling abroad for medical treatment. It is natural to have a lot of apprehensions about traveling to a completely unknown place to get a surgery done.
The first thing that comes to the mind of medical travelers, especially the ones planning their first trip abroad, is whether it is safe to travel overseas. It can be scary for them to think about any recent event, political unrest, intercountry relationships, tolerance towards a specific religion, and what not. However, one of the truth is that no medical traveler has so far been a victim of any social unrest or political chaos so far in any country as per the records.
In fact, your own behavior mostly dictates about your experience in a particular country. Most of the medical tourism destinations are safe and have relatively low crime rates. However, it is important to be aware of the social and cultural norms of the place where you are planning to travel to.
With that said, we come to the first important aspect in selecting a destination. Select a country with similar cultural and social norms as that of you. A country where thinking, lifestyle, culture, and the food is not completely opposed to that of yours. That will make your stay in the unknown land a bit comfortable and convenient. However, that does not mean that medical tourism destination with a completely different culture as you are a bad option. It is just about how much you are willing to adjust to a new place and its norms for the sake of better medical care.
The second point in choosing a destination is that always go for a place that is known for that particular category of treatment. Many medical tourism destinations are known for a particular treatment. For example, Thailand and Mexico are quite popular for cosmetic treatment, while Hungary and Costa Rica are popular for dental treatment. On the other hand, countries such as India, Singapore, Turkey, South Korea, and Israel are more renowned for critical, expensive, and invasive procedures such as cardiac, neurology, and orthopedic surgeries.
The third thing you should consider while choosing a destination for medical treatment is the distance. How far is the destination from your home country? How convenient is it for the patient to travel? Are there any risks involved? What is the duration of the flight? Would the patient be comfortable on a long-haul flight? Is it too risky? Will medical assistance be available at the receiving end of the airport if needed?
Try to choose a destination that you can easily travel to or with minimum hassle. Long duration flights can sometimes do more harm than good to the patient. Therefore, it is important to consider all these aspects before finalizing a destination.
The fourth thing that you should consider are the expenses. You should consider the cost of flight tickets, meals, hotel accommodation, and other logistics while making the decision. Countries like India and Thailand are quite cheap in terms of cost of living, however, places such as Israel and the UAE can sometimes be fairly expensive in comparison.
The fifth and the most important thing that you should consider while choosing a medical destination is the standard of healthcare facilities. Always make it a point to check the facilities and standard of care at the hospitals in a particular country. This is because sometimes certain hospitals offer a cheaper cost of treatment to attract patients but they fail to provide medical care and facilities as per the international standards.
Lastly, always choose a destination that seems the best for the treatment of your medical ailment. Do not just go after the cheaper cost of treatment even though the overall expenses matter but also consider the expertise of the doctor, profile of the hospital, and the success rates of the procedure shared by them. Putting your medical treatment first is the key, even though if it means going a little bit outside your comfort level.
Hello and Welcome to the second part of our Podcast Series on Patient Empowerment. I am your Podcast buddy Siddharth, and I am ready to share some of my thoughts on how to be sure about the doctor in a country that you are planning to travel to for your medical treatment.
I think more than the hospital infrastructure and the services being offered, the expertise, credentials, and credibility of the doctor forms the backbone of any medical treatment. It would be an understatement to say that the success of any medical procedure, more or large, depends on how good the doctor is at performing it.
Choosing the right doctor for your medical treatment can make all the difference. Nobody wants to fall a victim to medical malpractice and end up messing with their health. To be an informed healthcare traveler, it is important for you to specifically look for certain information about the physician and ask him questions before you make your final decision to choose him or her as your specialist.
Sometimes, however, you are in touch with a healthcare facilitator to manage your treatment and logistics in the foreign land. But that does not mean that you cannot ask questions about the physician that you’ll choose. You can ask them questions or even tell them to arrange a call with the physician of your choice so that you can be confident about your decision.
Now I’ll talk about some of the questions and things that you may ask the doctor or your healthcare facilitator before you make the decision to go with them. There may be no definite right or wrong answer for some of these questions, however, you must ask them anyway.
First thing first, you need to be sure of the doctor’s credentials. You can stick to your old good friend – the internet – to research about it. However, it is always better to listen to it from the person in authority. You can ask for a detailed profile of the physician and if you have any questions, you can just go back and ask the physician yourself. Remember, a genuine and the right physician is always happy to talk about his experience and credentials and would end up sharing his detailed resume with you.
Ask them if they are a part of any professional organization, especially if the accreditation system in their country is a bit weak. Mostly, physicians are a member of at least one professional organization. For example, an experienced cardiac surgeon in India is most likely to be a part of Cardiological Society of India, Indian Association of Cardiovascular Surgeons, or any other professional organization related to cardiology from some other country.
Also, it is good to have an idea of how many patients the doctor sees every month and approximately how many of them are from abroad. It is also better to have a fair idea about the number of patients with a similar condition as yours that the doctor has treated in the past. Even though the numbers may vary, it is always better to hear from the doctor that they have managed multiple similar cases in the past.
One of the other important things that you need to ask your doctor is whether they would allow you to stay in touch with them on their personal number after you have returned to your home country. Most of the physicians with good credentials like to maintain a close and personal contact with their international patients.
One more question that you can ask the physician is whether he or she practices in a clinic or among a group of professionals with varied skills in a well-established hospital. One of the benefits of this is that even if the specialist is busy in an emergency sometime or he is not available for few days, his or her equally qualified colleagues can manage your case as they will be aware of your medical history.
You should also ask the physician if he or she would be the one overlooking your entire treatment, from pre-surgery checkup to surgery to the final recovery and physical therapy recommendations. Ask who would be the designated point of contact at the hospital who will stay in touch with you and who will coordinate everything for you at the hospital.
Lastly, I would like to say that you need to pay special attention to the tone and conversation style of the doctor as you ask them these questions. If they seem hurried, evasive, or are interrupted frequently by others or if it is difficult to understand or comprehend what he or she is trying to say, it is better to look for other options.
This is the first episode in our all-new Podcast series of Patient Empowerment. In this episode we talk about how to select the best hospital when considering traveling abroad for treatment.
How to identify and select the best hospital for your treatment Welcome to the Podcast series on Patient Empowerment. The objective of this Podcast series is to help you become an informed and a confident healthcare traveler and to present you tips for a successful medical travel experience.
My name is Siddharth and I will be your coach throughout this Podcast series. In the first part of the series, I will talk about some of the things that you need to keep in mind while identifying and selecting the best hospital for your treatment.
Let’s start by talking about accreditations. A general rule of thumb while choosing a hospital abroad is that if you have been advised a major surgery, seek out an internationally accredited facility. This typically means that the hospital complies with the standards set by an independent accreditation agency.
Today, the largest and the most reputed accreditation is the Joint Commission International in the US, also known as the JCI. It is a non-profit organization that provides accreditation to healthcare facilities worldwide, based on how seriously they follow the patient safety norms and exceptional quality of care. The JCI’s website carries all the information about the accreditation standards and the hospitals around the world accredited by it so far.
There are other global certifications such as ISO 9001 that are also an indicator of the good quality of medical care. On the other hand, some hospitals are affiliated with renowned names in the healthcare industry such as John Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, or Harvard Medical. Lastly, every country may have their own internal accreditation system. For example, India has the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers in India (NABH) and Turkey has Standards of Accreditation in Health for certification of hospitals that offer quality treatment to its patients.
Apart from accreditation, it is important to look for the expertise of the doctors associated with the hospital. They should be certified by a board in their own country or from abroad. We will cover this aspect of patient empowerment in our second podcast in the series.
Coming to the third point, it is also important to opt for a fully integrated hospital over a clinic, especially if you have been advised a critical or a major surgery. An integrated hospital has all the facilities pertaining to all major specialties under the same roof, including pathology, diagnostic imaging, blood bank, ICU, and pharmacy.
This helps ensure that –
- You don’t have to run around to seek different facilities
- You have all the support available that may be required in the case of an emergency
- You just have one point of contact for all the things or services that you may need
The fourth point in identifying the best hospital for medical treatment is to look at the previous patient experience. While practically it may not be possible to speak to multiple patients about their experience, it is always better to look at the hospital reviews online or to seek help from healthcare service providers in seeking credible information about the hospital’s track record. You may even ask the hospital to share success stories for a particular procedure, coordinates of the previous patients, or the success rates. You can also ask data related to specific indicators such as the mortality rate and hospital acquired infection rate.
The fifth point is to understand that one should be careful about not choosing a hospital that offers or guarantees the lowest cost of treatment. Healthcare should never be compromised and any hospital committing to provide the lowest cost of treatment should sound like an alarm. In case a hospital is making an extremely generous offer, make sure to examine their quality of infrastructure and staff closely.
However, that does not mean that you should always choose a hospital that quotes a higher cost of treatment. The key is to identify the right option that quotes a reasonable quote of treatment while providing all the necessary facilities that a patient, or rather, a medical traveler from abroad needs.
Some of the other factors to consider while choosing a hospital for medical treatment overseas include:
- The distance between the hospital and the place where you plan to stay
- The reputation of the hospital among the locals
- Availability of in-house services such as language translators and foreign exchange facility