The Pros and Cons of Going Out of Canada for Medical Treatment

Since 1984, the Canada Health Act has provided all Canadians with publicly funded healthcare insurance. This insurance is a program often referred to as single player because all the funding comes from a single source which is the Canadian government. It works by receiving funds from the government, meant for provinces and territories, which then provides care and fulfils CHA requirements for its citizens. The insured healthcare services include medical procedures like inpatient and outpatient care, disease prevention, diagnosis of injuries and illnesses, medically necessary care for maintaining health, and medically required physician services. Some of the pros and cons of going out of Canada for medical treatment are discussed in this article.

Provinces and territories may choose to offer additional health benefits like dental care, vision care, prescription drug services, etc., but this is usually particular and does not cross-province and territory lines. So, a citizen of one province may have to pay out of pocket for some health services when in another province. While all Canadian citizens and permanent residents receive medically necessary healthcare and physician service free at the point of use, this does not mean the healthcare is free. Most government funds for Canadian medical care come from collected taxes. Also, to supplement their publicly funded healthcare, more than half of Canadians carry some sort of private health insurance. With all these, some Canadians still go abroad for medical care, especially when seeking specialist care, care that is unavailable or illegal in Canada, or when trying to avoid waiting periods.

Medical Tourism

This is the process of travelling to another country to obtain medical treatment or seeking overseas medical treatment. The reasons for it vary from obtaining treatments that are not available in the client’s home country to going for elective medical care like bariatric treatment or specialized surgeries like cardiac or dental surgeries. Medical tourism has become a very attractive option for potential economic growth in many countries worldwide. Countries that actively promote medical or health tourism include Cuba, India, Malaysia, Jordan, Belgium, etc. 

Global competition is emerging in the healthcare industry. Growing numbers of patients are travelling from developed countries to parts of the world that were previously referred to as third world. Patients seeking medical treatment abroad who are unfamiliar with foreign services opt to organize their treatment through medical travel or meditour agencies. These agencies have the responsibility of investigating and recommending the appropriate healthcare provider in the chosen country of the patient. They also ensure that the patient travelling is well enough to do so.

The patient will usually be required to provide a medical report, including the nature of the illness, the doctor’s opinion, a medical history and the diagnosis. Then, the patient signs a consent form and procures a medical visa from the appropriate embassy. The agency will then assign a case manager from the destination country, who will usually tend to all the patient’s needs for the period he is undergoing the treatment.

Benefits of Medical Tourism

Some of the advantages of seeking medical care abroad include:

• Accessibility – In some developed countries, waiting lists for medical procedures, even in their private facilities, can be very extensive. Going abroad where there are short to no waiting lists can be a major advantage.
• Cost saving – This is one of the main reasons for health tourism. The availability of affordable healthcare is particularly appealing for many patients without any health insurance in their home country. The budget of the patients will determine the country they will target and the sophistication of the medical care. In developed countries, high costs of living and labour drive up the costs of operating hospitals, which is then reflected in the hospital charges. In developing countries, the lower operating costs and wages mean that the same treatment can be offered at much lower and affordable rates.
• Availability – A lot of patients choose to get overseas medical treatment because some of their needed healthcare is not available in their home country for a myriad of reasons.
• Quality – While it is a common misconception that medical treatment in developing countries is not as good or sophisticated as that of the developed world, the foreign hospitals and clinics that cater to the tourist markets are often some of the best in the world. These hospitals and clinics have top-notch medical equipment, highly skilled and experienced doctors and nurses, and very high-quality care. The deliberate investments of the country’s government into its healthcare research infrastructure often lead to new developments in that sector. Countries like Korea and India are two of the world leaders in biotechnology and stem cell research. However, not all of the countries have the same quality of healthcare. Medical tourists must do their research and ensure that the facility that they are going to has the required accreditation from the appropriate international body.

What are the Risks of Medical Tourism?

The main issue for patients travelling outside their country for medical services is the follow-up care that they need once they return to their home country. This is because, in some cases, there may be cases of post-operative complications or side effects which would need to be addressed. This will usually become the responsibility of the medical service in the patient’s home country, which is what they were trying to escape from in the first place. The patient would probably have to travel back overseas in case the doctors in their home country are unable or unwilling to provide the appropriate care. 

Another major risk is the laxity of many foreign laws that govern medical liability in these developing countries. Compensation for medical liability can differ, and injury compensation can also be low in relative terms. Patients may also find that they have very limited resources for malpractice when it comes to the judicial systems in some foreign countries. 

While certain insurance policies are being introduced that will pay out in the case of negligent medical procedures abroad, patients should also bear in mind that the insurance company will only cover the procedures performed in facilities accredited by the insurance companies or regulatory bodies. This may mean that if something goes wrong and a patient wants to complain to the regulatory body in the country where the patient is domiciled, the regulatory body may have no power to deal with the complaint if the doctor is a resident and practices overseas.