Medical Tourism

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I had a patient who came into the ER for a recheck after having an elective surgery done in Mexico. She said it cost $4,000 there and would have cost $30,000 in the US. She did this to save money.

She was about 10 days post op and had no local doctors to follow up with so was told to come to the ER for evaluation for post op problems.

I've read about this becoming more and more common because of the high cost of medicine in the United States. What do you think?

Perhaps if paying cash which means no insurance or perhaps for certain elective procedures. But since the affordable care act mandates all residents have insurance (and fines them at tax time if they don't), then I'd say it should be less common. The funny thing is she was told to go the the ER for a BP check. I would hope any medical practice knows there are much easier and more appropriate places for a simple BP check. I do know people go to Mexico for a lot of dental procedures because dental insurance doesn't cover surgeries very well.

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

And here I thought this was going to be about some sort of nursing job that pays you to travel and stuff. Oh well.

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A few years ago I worked for a Fortune 15 company. Their insurance plan included medical tourism. They would pay for airfare, hotel, medical expenses, etc. They would help you select the physician, facility, and arrange it. They claimed the physicians were US trained/board certified and the facilities met or exceded US regulations. They said it still cost them a lot less than having the same surgery in the US.

I wouldn't be interested in it. Who wants to deal with the hassles of flying after surgery? Who wants the increased risk of DVT with surgery and flying? When I don't feel good I want to sleep in my own bed not a hotel.

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab.

I'd consider it. I live near the border and have talked to people who've gone into Mexico for dental care, and read a local article about it. I've also read of US citizens flying to Thailand, India, and perhaps other places to get surgery at a fraction of what it is here. And the article stated that state-of-the-art care is often or usually available in those countries as well.

I think our healthcare costs are crazy-high. When I had my cholecystectomy a few years ago, it wasn't just 'high' - I thought it was about 10 TIMES what I might've considered reasonable. Luckily, I have insurance, and only paid a fraction of the total, but still.

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Personally I would not see a patient that wanted me to follow up on their out of the country surgery. All that would do for the doctor is to get them to accept a lot of liability for no significant renumeration. I would leave them to their own devices for follow up care, but I wouldn't be seeing them and would advise they return to where they had surgery for their follow up.

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My hospital sees the complications of medical tourism.

Bariatric, you go through a programme called weight wise. Does all the education on diet, exercise, psych issues, what led to the weight, etc. One that I remember, was told she wasn't a good candidate because she wasn't heavy enough for the programme, a good diet, weight watchers, and exercise and she could do it herself. Well, off to Mexico she did go. Her flight home had to be diverted because she was going septic. All together, she cost the province over $1million in fixes.

Anyone remember the Mumbai virus? Brought to my city by a medical tourist.

The family doctors don't want anything to do with the problems and off to hospital they go.

I honestly think, if your surgery is botched overseas, don't expect universal healthcare to pay for the repairs. You could spend $$ to get the work done, spend some more and fix your mistakes.

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I would never consider this. First, I wouldn't want to go to Mexico for surgery. Most likely would wake up in a ditch with my kidney and liver missing, having no memory of what happened. Second, even if the surgery was legitimate, I would probably end up septic after the surgery, would have to fly home, get a DVT on the flight, and die soon after. Not worth it, at all. But if people want to do this, it's their life.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

My hubby has said if I want anything cosmetic done, we'll go to his native Seoul. Lots of skilled plastic surgeons and much cheaper. I may consider a mommy makeover at some point. :laugh:

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Personally I would not see a patient that wanted me to follow up on their out of the country surgery. All that would do for the doctor is to get them to accept a lot of liability for no significant renumeration. I would leave them to their own devices for follow up care, but I wouldn't be seeing them and would advise they return to where they had surgery for their follow up.

In E.R., we as professionals, can not turn our back when someone's in need of a medical care.

This patients is playing it safe... safe in a sense he/she goes to an Emergency Room for a follow-up visit or perhaps to ensure that there is no such complication.

You Wrote:

"but I wouldn't be seeing them and would advise they return to where they had surgery for their follow up"

^^^^Sounds like EMTALAish to me.

Personally and professionally speaking, I'd assist someone regardless of their condition and/or where they had the procedure done. Fortunately and unfortunately, we can not be judgmental!;)

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I'd consider it. I live near the border and have talked to people who've gone into Mexico for dental care, and read a local article about it. I've also read of US citizens flying to Thailand, India, and perhaps other places to get surgery at a fraction of what it is here. And the article stated that state-of-the-art care is often or usually available in those countries as well.

I think our healthcare costs are crazy-high. When I had my cholecystectomy a few years ago, it wasn't just 'high' - I thought it was about 10 TIMES what I might've considered reasonable. Luckily, I have insurance, and only paid a fraction of the total, but still.

I was married to a dentist for 26 years and he could tell by looking where people had gotten their dental work done. Mexican and ex-Soviet Block dentistry was always obvious to him.

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In E.R., we as professionals, can not turn our back when someone's in need of a medical care.

This patients is playing it safe... safe in a sense he/she goes to an Emergency Room for a follow-up visit or perhaps to ensure that there is no such complication.

You Wrote:

"but I wouldn't be seeing them and would advise they return to where they had surgery for their follow up"

^^^^Sounds like EMTALAish to me.

Personally and professionally speaking, I'd assist someone regardless of their condition and/or where they had the procedure done. Fortunately and unfortunately, we can not be judgmental!;)

I don't see what your point is, if I was was a physician in private practice I wouldn't see them and there is nothing wrong with that. Doctors in private practice do not have to see patients they don't wish to see. If I was this doctor in private practice, I would advise them to see their original surgeon. I stand by all of this.

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Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.
I was married to a dentist for 26 years and he could tell by looking where people had gotten their dental work done. Mexican and ex-Soviet Block dentistry was always obvious to him.

A few years back, I was giving a risk lecture at the local school of dentistry. The person speaking after me is a dentist in Maryland who did work for the CIA. For US agents living under deep cover in the Warsaw Pact nations, his job was to redo their dental work so that it looked as if it had been done in Hungary, Poland, the Soviet Union or whatever. The dentist himself was a professor at an Eastern Europe dental school and had defected to the West. A fascinating guy.

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