"Medical Tourism Primer for Physicians" -article review

I recently read an article entitled "Medical Tourism Primer for Physicians" from a web-site http://www.medicaltraveltoday.com/. The article is written by Laura Carabello. The introduction is what caught my eye:

"As healthcare in the United States has been changing rapidly over the past few decades, so has the manne in which healthcare has been provided, billed and paid for. There is an increasing need for Americans to reach beyond domestic borders to the international community for certain medical procedues, treatment, and care at more affordable costs. This impacts not only consumers and their physicians, but also employers, benefit plan payors, administrators, and other industrystakeholders-including America's hospitals. This article provides a framework for discussion points for physician-patient communications regarding medical tourism"

In the article, she provides costs comparisons, theorizes that more insurers will start taking advantage of global competition, discusses accreditation bodies such as Joint Commission, and other items of interest. It is a four page article, quick to read, with lots of information. It can be found at the following site.

http://www.medicaltraveltoday.com/MTTE08/Mar_Apr_2008_291-294.pdf

Happy Birthday to Me

Well, no work today for me! It is my princess day (Happy Birthday to me) and I don't know how I will be celebrating but probably with a big 'ole mojito. Unfortunately it will be a long time before I will be able to get a "hall pass" to repeat last year's birthday party. I was able to celebrate with two dear friend in Priano on the Italian Rivera! This year will more than likely be on my back deck sipping Mojitos with Peppermint straight out my garden. But you know what? life can't get any better than that.

What is “sleeve gastrectomy”?

Here is more information provided to me by one of the physicians we work with in Tijuana on “Sleeve Gastrectomy”

In December 2007, the Chair of the VA Central Office Bariatric Surgery Work Group asked the VA Technology Assessment Program (VATAP) to assemble and review the literature on gastric sleeve resection for obesity treatment to support clinical guidance regarding the use of this procedure in the veteran population.

Gastric sleeve resection or “sleeve gastrectomy” (SG) is an unbanded form of vertical banded gastroplasty, where a majority of the stomach is resected to reduce stomach size. Up to now it has been used in staged weight loss as a first stage procedure prior to biliopancreatic diversion or gastric bypass to reduce surgical risk in high risk patients. Preliminary evidence has shown that gastric sleeve resection may achieve substantial weight loss, thus generating interest in its use as a single-stage bariatric procedure, particularly its laparoscopic version (LSG).

For more information, go to www.destinationnewyou.com

Position Statement on Sleeve Gastrectomy

Here is some information regarding bariatric surgery that was recently released and provided to me by one of our medical doctors in Tijuana.

Guidelines and policy statements: An Aetna Clinical Policy Bulletin on Obesity Surgery considers sleeve gastrectomy to be an investigational procedure.2 The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (http://www.asbs.org) issued a “Position Statement on Sleeve Gastrectomy as a Bariatric Procedure” in June, 2007. Based on similar findings from their evidence review, they stated the following:

“The ASMBS recognizes performance of sleeve gastrectomy may be an option for carefully selected patients undergoing bariatric surgical treatment, particularly those who are high risk or super-super-obese, and that the concept of staged bariatric surgery may have value as a risk reduction strategy in high-risk populations. It is suggested that surgeons performing sleeve gastrectomy prospectively collect and report outcome data for this procedure in the scientific literature. In addition, it is suggested that surgeons performing sleeve gastrectomy inform patients regarding the lack of published evidence for sustained weight loss beyond 3 years and provide them with information regarding alternative procedures with published long-term (≥ 5 years) data confirming sustained weight loss and comorbidity resolution based upon available literature at this time"

To see whole article go to www.destinationnewyou.com

Definintion of Medical Tourism

I wanted to provide you with a place to start your research on medical tourism. To understand it a little more. Go to to Wikipedia as a starting point. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism
“Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care.

Such services typically include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries. However, virtually every type of health care, including psychiatry, alternative treatments, convalescent care and even burial services are available. As a practical matter, providers and customers commonly use informal channels of communication-connection-contract, and in such cases this tends to mean less regulatory or legal oversight to assure quality and less formal recourse to reimbursement or redress, if needed.

Over 50 countries have identified medical tourism as a national industry.[1] However, accreditation and other measures of quality vary widely across the globe, and there are risks and ethical issues that make this method of accessing medical care controversial. Also, some destinations may become hazardous or even dangerous for medical tourists to contemplate.”

Americans Travel Overseas for healthcare everyday

Did you know that some 6 million Americans go outside the U.S. for health care each year, and insurers are starting to cover more of those services. Companion Global Healthcare, a Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina subsidiary, includes 13 hospitals around the world in its network, and BlueShield of California offers the Access Baja health plan covering medical care in northern Mexico. The Joint Commission International has given its stamp of approval to more than 170 hospitals outside of the U.S. Forbes/HealthDay News (4/8).

Surgery in Mexico

Last fall, my friend Hugh came to me because he needed surgery and no insurance (he was in between jobs and his insurance had lapsed). He ended up going to Tijuana, Mexico and had his gall bladder removed for a fraction of what it would’ve have cost him out of pocket here in the states. While he was down there, he started talking to them about others who travel from the states to their office for services. He was amazed at how many people actually travel out of the country each year for procedures that they can’t afford here. He knew I had a background in healthcare sales and called me and asked if he thought we could set up a program where we could help people get the surgeries they want and need safely. There are horror stories out there of people who travel overseas for surgeries and come back with complications. So, last fall, I made a couple of trips to Mexico to meet with the doctors and the surgeons. They are absolutely wonderful people. We are working with a couple groups of Doctors now that are all board certified in the specialties and have been providing their services for many years. Many of them teach medicine at the University in Tijuana. They are kind, conscientious, and have excellent follow-up with their patients. Their clinic is beautiful and better equipped than many of the facilities you can find here, stateside.

It took a lot for Hugh to sell me on the idea to set up a medical travel company but after I met with the physicians, I was “sold”. We set up Destination New You as a referral source for people who need surgeries but can’t afford them here. Our first site is Tijuana because its so close and easy to get to. Patients, after being cleared by their physician, fly into San Diego and are escorted across the border and taken directly to the clinic. From the clinic, they are then driven to the hotel of their choice. We have negotiated prices with two hotels and one Bed and Breakfast.

My favorite place is Sadie’s Bed and Breakfast but Sonya, the owner, has not installed an elevator, so if your post-surgery requires that you can’t climb stairs, it might be a bit hard. Sonya and her mother moved down from San Francisco to set up this B&B and it is absolutely gorgeous. You can see it if you go to our web-site. I can’t wait for my next trip to Sadie’s. Their hospitality is fantastic!

What's wrong with Health Care?

My first blog! Who would’ve thunk it? When my friend Eric told me I needed to have a blog my question to him was, “what’s a blog”. Then my education began. So, I’ve gone from last week, not knowing what a blog was to this week, posting my first one. It kind of feels like being Peter on Family Guy when he gets that job where he has his own broadcast called “Do you know what grinds my gears?” Well, I will tell you what “Grinds my gears” is the cost of healthcare in this country.

My husband and I are both self-employed so we have to pay for our own healthcare coverage and it is not cheap! We chose a highly deductible HSA plan which we love; however, it has its drawbacks. We have a $5000 deductible. Because of this, we “shop” our healthcare a lot. We find that many of the physicians will offer a lower price to you if you tell them you have to pay for the service out of pocket. It has made us very conscience of how much we are spending on prescriptions too. We found that our credit card company, Capital One, has a prescription plan. When we go to Kroger’s now to get our prescriptions filled, what used to cost me my $45 co-pay, is now only $11 with my Capital One prescription card.
My friend David owns a company called “Dreaming with Entrepreneurs”. He has had some health issues lately. He does not have insurance and has been fighting with his healthcare providers to negotiate a payment plan at a discount. One thing that he discovered is that he is possibly being billed twice for the same service from two separate entities. I’m telling you, don’t trust what is on your bill from your healthcare provider. Make sure you scrutinize everything! Ask questions! Get answers!

My son had a sore throat that wouldn’t go away so we took him to the doctor. They swabbed his throat right there in the office for strep and made a determination that it was negative. Several months later we received a bill where they sent the specimen to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to be tested again. The bill was over $200 and we were not informed that it was going to be sent out for a “confirmation” test. The healthcare provider doesn’t ask you if you have insurance to cover services, they just provide it and bill you for it later. As a consumer, we have to be a lot more savvy about what we ask when we go to the doctor. What I used to take for granted, I no longer do and unfortunately, I am learning to ask the questions ahead of time only after being stuck with a huge bill. So, as Peter would say “and that’s what Grinds My Gears!”

Test Blog Post for Destination New You

This is a test. More to come.