Wednesday, 9 January 2019

Why Patients Resort To Custom Made Medical Travel Plans

By Jeffrey Barnes


Despite the great advances that have been made in the field of medicine, thousands of people still die from illnesses that could be treated successfully every year. This may be because the treatment they need is not available in their home countries or there may be very long waiting periods. Sometimes patients cannot afford the treatment, even if it is available in their own countries. Many of these patients look for solutions elsewhere and with custom made medical travel plans they seek treatment abroad.

There is nothing new about the idea of traveling abroad to seek treatment. The concept is as old as mankind itself. In ancient times there were very few healers and some of them enjoyed an enviable reputation far beyond their own countries. People used to suffer great hardship on order to travel to these healers in the hope that their lives may be saved. Traveling to holy places with healing powers was also very popular.

Traveling for treatment purposes have become a sizable component within the tourism industry and many traveling agents specialize in designing itineraries for ill people and their loved ones. Very ill people with little hope of finding a cure in their own country will sacrifice a lot even if there is the smallest possible chance of finding help in a foreign country. It is an understandable sentiment.

It is not just patients facing death that seek treatment abroad as a last resort. The world is a small place and experts and specialists that enjoy a high rate of success and the respect of their international colleagues are often in high demand. Those that can afford it will pay to get the very best treatment, regardless of where they need to go to get it. In other cases, ill patients will go abroad to seek experimental treatment.

It is a misconception that only rich people can afford foreign treatment. Patients from first world countries, even those with a very average income, often enjoy a very favorable exchange rate when they travel to countries with weak currencies. Many countries with weak currencies boast world class medical facilities and top specialists. South Africa, for example, leads the world in several fields of medicine.

Some experts have warned that travelling to other countries for treatment raise a number of ethical questions. Critics say that many doctors and hospitals will give preference to foreign patients because they can pay more. This preferential treatment can easily be to the detriment of local patients that are dependent upon public health systems. Critics also say that the system is not properly regulated.

Seeking medical treatment abroad should be approached very carefully and it is highly advisable to use an agent that has ample experience in this field. Care should be taken that the facilities and doctors involved are reputable and experienced. The itinerary will need to be flexible because it is not possible to say just how long the patient will have to remain at the treatment facility or how long recuperation will take.

The first priority of the health authorities in any country is to make sure that its own citizens have access to quality care. If foreigners seek treatment, they must be treated as just another patient, albeit one that pays more. However, it would be inhumane to deny treatment to any desperately ill person.




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