vendredi 4 janvier 2019

For Many Patients Custom Made Medical Travel Is The Only Solution

By Jeffrey Barnes


Despite the fact that so many diseases have been conquered during the past few decades, many thousands of people still die from those very diseases each year. This may be because they do not have access to proper facilities or specialists, because there are very long waiting lists or because they cannot pay for the treatment. This situation has given birth an entire industry helping patients to seek treatment in foreign countries. To this end, custom made medical travel plans have to be designed.

There is nothing new about the idea of traveling abroad to seek treatment. The concept is as old as mankind itself. In ancient times there were very few healers and some of them enjoyed an enviable reputation far beyond their own countries. People used to suffer great hardship on order to travel to these healers in the hope that their lives may be saved. Traveling to holy places with healing powers was also very popular.

In modern times, traveling abroad for treatment has become a huge industry and some tourism operators specialize in designing special packages for this type of tourist. Desperately ill people will go to any length to get help if it is not readily available in their own countries. People facing death have only one priority and that is to do whatever is necessary to stay alive.

Even patients that are not desperately ill often seek treatment abroad. Those suffering from drear diseases, for example, may learn about new experimental treatment in another country and decide to opt for that treatment. In other cases, patients wish to be attended by a very specific specialist that is renowned for his successes in his specific field. It is only natural that ill people want the best treatment possible.

It is a misconception that only rich people can afford foreign treatment. Patients from first world countries, even those with a very average income, often enjoy a very favorable exchange rate when they travel to countries with weak currencies. Many countries with weak currencies boast world class medical facilities and top specialists. South Africa, for example, leads the world in several fields of medicine.

Some concerns have been voiced, however. Some critics say that foreign patients with deep pockets are willing to offer large fees to get preferential treatment. This is often to the detriment of other patients. These practices are unethical and unfair, feeding the greed of unscrupulous specialists, hospitals and clinics. Critics want the system to be regulated more rigorously.

This type of traveling should be planned very carefully. It is very important to use an agent that is experienced in this field, that has numerous contacts within the medical fraternity and that can design a flexible package. Tourists seeking treatment do not have fixed itineraries because it is not always possible to predict how long the treatment, recuperation and rehabilitation will take.

The first priority of the health authorities in any country is to make sure that its own citizens have access to quality care. If foreigners seek treatment, they must be treated as just another patient, albeit one that pays more. However, it would be inhumane to deny treatment to any desperately ill person.




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