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If you're contemplating traveling overseas for necessary treatment that can be scheduled ahead, check to see if the hospital is accredited by either the Joint Commission International (www.jointcommissioninternational.org) or MEDEX Assistance (www.medexassist.com).
Since 1999, JCI has been accrediting international hospitals around the world; today, 81 hospitals, including Bangkok's Bumrungrad International, Johns Hopkins Singapore International Medical Center, the American Hospital Dubai, and India's Wockhardt hospitals, have met JCI's rigorous standards, which include on-site visits from a team of American physicians, nurses, and hospital administrators every three years.
MEDEX Assistance is a travel-health insurance company that evaluates doctors, hospitals, and clinics abroad to treat American travelers in emergency situations. Those that pass inspection qualify for medex's Global Network. Robert Currie, chief of operations at medex Assistance, cautions that some of the promises hospitals make in an effort to woo patients from overseas aren't always true. MEDEX inspected one facility in Tibet that had been actively courting new patients from overseas and discovered the staff reusing needles, Currie says. "That facility clearly earned its 'Do not use' rating in the MEDEX Assistance database."
On its Web site, MEDEX offers a list of tips to help prospective medical tourists plan a safe trip. Among them: Seek advice from the expatriate community living in the country you're traveling to, don't travel alone to seek treatment, and be prepared to turn around and come home if something doesn't seem right about the facility or your treatment.—L.K.
Copyright © 2008, American Express Publishing. All rights reserved.
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