How to Choose the Best Medical Travel Agencies

There are numerous medical travel agencies and facilitators that exist in the market. With the ever-growing need for affordable and state-of-the-art medical services which may not be available in one’s country of residence, the number of medical travel agencies and facilitators has witnessed a sharp increase recently. These medical tourism companies make it very straightforward for travelers to receive affordable medical care in foreign nations. How to Choose the Best Medical Travel Agencies?

The decision on the particular agency to use is crucial in order to achieve the goal of using the service. Not all facilitators are honest with their services, their pricing, or their terms and conditions to their clients. This lack of transparency can be dangerous to clients, as it could land them in grave danger when they get to a foreign country. This is why medical tourists must be cautious when choosing the health tourism company they patronize, especially if it is for surrogacy. 

Factors to consider

Some of the factors that a client should consider before choosing a meditour agency include:

Certificate of recognition by a reputable medical tourism organization

This is one of the most important factors to consider before choosing a meditour agency. Certification by the medical tourism association is crucial as it shows that the agency meets all the criteria necessary for providing help to medical tourists. It also shows that the agency can provide excellent service in the medical healthcare industry. The medical tourism association is an internationally accredited non-profit organization that is established solely for the benefit of the global health tourism industry. Its main aim is to make sure that any individual looking for medical treatment in a foreign country receives the best healthcare from the most professional and expert doctors and nurses.

The viability of having the treatment abroad 

The client must consult their local healthcare provider to find out if the treatments that they need are available in their local countries. If they are, they should compare the treatments in both locations and then have a discussion with their family about the financial involvement, among other vital topics like the sophistication of treatment, time and type of treatment, etc. This will help them decide if traveling for the treatment is appropriate.

Relationship with JCI-accredited hospitals in that country 

The joint commission international accreditation indicates that the standard of medical care and facilities in the considered hospital is suitable for treating international patients. The JCI maintains very strict rules in rating hospitals. This is why medical tourists need to receive treatments only from JCI-accredited hospitals.

Facilities in the hospital 

Sophisticated equipment and facilities help doctors and nurses properly deal with a patient’s medical condition. They can also help assess a patient’s health and illness even while living in another country before and after the patient receives medical treatment. A good international hospital should be equipped with these facilities that can examine and assess a patient’s illness level and help monitor their recovery rate.

Travel and vacation assistance 

A good medical tourism company should be able to provide a complete health tourism package. This will consist of both travel and vacation services. The client must ensure that the agency provides them with full assistance in the trip, lodging, transportation, and a tour of the location.

The medical knowledge of the management team of the agency 

The medical tourism company needs to have very experienced management and a background in medical treatments. This helps as it is expected that they have a good working relationship with the healthcare industries and work closely with internationally recommended hospitals across the world.

Find out the cost of the service 

This is very important as the client is supposed to know how much they are bound to spend on the trip. This will include the treatment, the travel, the stay as well as the transportation. A good travel agency will be able to give the client an estimate and all the information concerning the financials of the treatment. Usually, many of these agencies will have a payment plan which is tailored to the client’s particular needs, but it is still important for the client to find out the rate of interest.

Research medical facilities at the destination 

The client should play an active role in the selection of facilities in the destination country. They should ensure that the hospital is accredited. They should research the patient reviews and testimonials of the hospitals. Contact the hospitals and the doctors and enquire about their facilities and their treatment procedures. They should find out how many visits to the doctor they will be required to make after the treatment. Also, they should endeavor to find out the likely scenario in case something goes wrong with the treatment, if there will be language barrier issues, and if there is sufficient aftercare following treatments. If they are satisfied with all these factors they can then go ahead and take the next step.

Plan the visit 

The client needs to plan their visit. This means that even though the agency is handling everything, they should have an active role in choosing the hospital, the particular surgeon, and the flights to take. They should also ensure that their medical documentation is up-to-date and complete. They should also ensure that they have someone that will take responsibility for their welfare in case something goes wrong.

Follow aftercare 

They should ensure that they follow the instruction of the medical expert to the latter. They should also not be in a rush to travel after the procedure until they and the doctor are satisfied with their recovery. That is the only time they should consider traveling back to their country.