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Potential risks medical tourists face during overseas medical treatments

risks medical tourists face

The concept of traveling to another country for medical treatment has been gaining a lot of popularity over the past few years. Termed as medical tourism, it is sought after by people living in developed countries like the US and the UK. Studies reveal that at least 750000 US and 63000 UK residents opt for medical tourism every year. However, not many of these medical tourists are aware of the risks involved in it. Here are some of the potential problems medical tourists could face while traveling abroad for treatment.

Lack of Clear Information

One of the worst problems a medical tourist could face is landing up at a poor healthcare facility overseas. The internet is filled with misleading information that tends to focus more on soft data rather than hard clinical evidence. As such, it would be very easy for an individual to choose a substandard health care facility overseas by just relying on the information available on the internet. The possibility of becoming a test subject and being exploited for an unproven or unpatented medical treatment that is banned in developed countries is also highly possible.

Post – Operative Care Quality

The quality of medical treatment as well as post-operative care would also vary significantly from one destination to another. The standards would be very different from what one would expect of in countries like the US or the UK.

Exposure to Local Diseases

Diseases that are considered rare in the west are often quite common in medical tourism destinations, especially in the Asian and tropical regions. Therefore, it would be highly possible for a medical tourist to get exposed to local diseases like dysentery, Hepatitis A, influenza, cholera and tuberculosis, etc. at the destination. This can significantly affect the healing process and recovery period. In some cases, these diseases would also be misdiagnosed for several years at home until the symptoms worsen.

Travel Woes

Traveling long distances of medical treatment can have its share of troubles. Decreased mobility in long flights could lead to venous thrombosis or even pulmonary embolus. Vacation activities can also affect the healing process wherein scars could get affected by sunburn and become more visible, thereby taking longer periods to heal completely.

Legal and Ethical Issues

In the event of a problem while abroad, a medical tourism could possibly find it hard to seek damages via malpractice lawsuits, as insurance laws would vary from country to country. Seeking insurance claims for the damages would also become problematic, with the individual paying for the same out of his/her pocket.

Summary

Medical tourism is increasingly becoming popular in today’s world of rising health care costs. However, not many medical tourists are aware of the possible problems they could face while traveling overseas for treatment. A medical tourist would need to consider these risk factors before opting for medical treatment in an overseas facility.

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