6 Medical Tourism Myths and Facts That You Need to Know About?

Knowledge is power, or so I’m told, and it’s especially important to have the facts in situations involving your health. That’s why medical-travel portals like  www.medical-tourism-india-magazine.blogspot.com devote so much time to providing information about top-notch medical tourism destinations around the world and about what’s on offer for patients like you.

But sometimes it feels like we’re doing double duty: we bring you the info you need to make wise decisions about the best, safest, and most affordable medical tourism, but we’re also trying to combat a litany of falsehoods that are out there about traveling overseas to receive medical care.

So allow us to clear the air a bit, dispel of these differences of opinion, and debunk some of the common myths and misconceptions surrounding the medical tourism industry.

Myth #1 – High travel costs eliminate all of your healthcare savings.

Besides possibly electronics, I can’t think of a single “consumable” other than travel that has become so affordable over the past two decades. Families used to have to save up for many months – and dress in their Sunday best – when taking trips on an aeroplane. Now we visit Expedia.com and a few clicks later we’ve got discounted flights and hotels for just about anywhere.

Myth #2 – The lower costs mean lower quality of care and medicine.

The corollary would be higher costs mean higher quality, yet many Western patients know first-hand that this is not the case. The reality is there is a confluence of factors at play in developing economies, and just as some things can be more expensive than in the West (automobiles), other things can be appreciably cheaper (doctors’ salaries, insurance, etc.).

Myth #3 – Facilities in developing countries lack modern equipment.

The international arm of the prestigious American healthcare certification body, The Joint Commission, might disagree with this. Their website currently lists 683 accredited facilities outside of the US, the majority of which are located in what we’d consider “non-Western” countries, and their evaluations of course take technology into account.

Myth #4 – The West’s doctors are superior to the rest of the world’s.

Is a Western doctor one who practices in the West or one who was trained there? If it’s the latter, then “the rest of the world” is full of Western board-certified doctors. But even if it wasn’t, it’s silly to think foreign countries in the 21st century don’t have highly-trained healthcare professionals manning, say, their specialized eye surgery clinics. But don’t take my word for it, take The Joint Commission’s.

Myth #5 – The language barrier makes mistakes more likely to occur.

Does this include former British colonies like India, Malaysia, and Singapore, which are all first-rate medical tourism destinations? Since each of those places is highly proficient in English, it obviously cannot. And even in countries like Thailand and Colombia, hospitals of course realize the importance of English-speaking medical professionals and having translators on staff.

Myth #6 – Should complications arise overseas you’ll have no remedy.

You’ve researched a state-of-the-art clinic for low-cost dental implants, cancer surgery, liver implaments abroad which, while it may be in a foreign country, it’s still in the business of helping people. And, with a carefully planned trip – perhaps through a medical tourism facilitator who acts as your agent throughout your medical holiday – you’ll have no problem dealing with any unforeseen issues.

So there you have it. A handful of myths you’ve maybe heard about that ultimately don’t amount to a hill of beans. So if the savings are right, and you’ve got good feedback on a facility overseas, you should be confident in heading there for care.