A Glimpse Into Our Future?
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Health care | Policy — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
This may very well be what we will have to look forward to:
Record numbers of Britons are travelling abroad for medical treatment to escape the NHS - with 70,000 patients expected to fly out this year.
And by the end of the decade 200,000 "health tourists" will fly as far as Malaysa and South Africa for major surgery to avoid long waiting lists and the rising threat of superbugs, according to a new report.
The first survey of Britons opting for treatment overseas shows that fears of hospital infections and frustration of often waiting months for operations are fuelling the increasing trend.
Patients needing major heart surgery, hip operations and cataracts are using the internet to book operations to be carried out thousands of miles away.
India is the most popular destination for surgery, followed by Hungary, Turkey, Germany, Malaysia, Poland and Spain. But dozens more countries are attracting health tourists.
Research by the Treatment Abroad website shows that Britons have travelled to 112 foreign hospitals, based in 48 countries, to find safe, affordable treatment.
Almost all of those who had received treatment abroad said they would do the same again, with patients pointing out that some hospitals in India had screening policies for the superbug MRSA that have yet to be introduced in this country.
Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said the figures were a "terrible indictment" of government policies that were undermining the efforts of NHS staff to provide quality services.
Remember: Government is your friend. And it is highly competent. You definitely can trust it with your health.
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A Glimpse Into Our Future? 4 Comments (0 topical, 4 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
What difference how bad it gets as long as maladroit government holds the reins. Facts like this matter not and you won't see any reporters questioning and badgering Democratic candidates on this piece of news.
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville
abroad looking for cheap healthcare every year. Check out this article from Time(http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1196429,00.html)
regarding Americans traveling to Thailand for cheap surgeries.
The man in the article you referenced was willing to travel to a place where quality of care is less standardized (possibly better, often worse) in order to save a few dollars. Good for him. He got a good outcome for 1/9 th the cost.
Too bad the British have to travel to such places to actually IMPROVE their quality of care. Cost is NOT the primary issue for them, availability and quality of care is.
Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
Future? It's already here.
http://www.medicaltravelauthority.com/
From their site:
"Medical Tourism Association – is an association made up of the top international hospitals, insurers, educational institutions, other affiliated companies, and industries for the common purpose of increasing the awareness and utilization of overseas hospitals for medical care.
What is our Mission?
• To further the utilization of affiliated hospitals and facilities for use by insurance carriers, and individuals throughout the United States.
• To control the growth of the industry, standards, and credentials.
• To protect the reputation of Medical Tourism from disreputable hospitals and others who may not have the same level of quality healthcare and standards.
• To be one voice for purposes of dealing with the Government.
• To create a flow of information between hospital members in order to provide information on fraud, or any other important issues that may arise affecting medical tourism.
• To provide a single source of information on medical tourism, outcomes of surgeries, and to create a comprehensive web portal for people to learn about medical tourism and the affiliated hospitals.
• To seek out future affiliated industries and technologies that will allow the affiliated hospital to operate more efficiently in the US and to expand upon the number of customers."