Medical Tourism: Finding the Best Doctor and the Best Hospital

In a recorded interview, Torrey Russell, a Seattle Marketing Executive shares why he chose to go to India for hip surgery.

Interview with Torrey Russell

A second recorded interview features the 10-step research procedure described below.

Interview describes ten steps research procedure

Why Research a Medical Procedure  Abroad

“I had a friend in Seattle whose hip resurfacing procedure cost $80,000 in the U.S.  Now they had insurance, but I didn’t.  As a self-employed individual it’s very expensive to have the kind of medical coverage that people who are in larger corporations have.

The cost to me for the type of procedure I needed was just out of the scope of my ability so I started price shopping internationally.

The Savings

My surgery ended up costing me under $15,000 including everything; airfare, hotel, food, the hospital, the surgery, the doctor, the Xrays.  Everything was under $15,000 and that was a few years ago but still that’s really a phenominal savings when you think about the cost differential,” said Russell.

Russell’s 10 Steps To Research and Five Things To Consder

1.  Search online for the type of procedure you need.  Type the name of the procedure into the search box of search engines, e.g., Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.

2.  Find the email addresses of the doctors.

3.  Write down 5-10 questions you expect the doctor to be able to answer concerning the procedure and details of the entire process, e.g., whether or not the price of the procedure includes the airfare and accommodations, as well as details of the surgery.

4.  Email the questionnaire to doctors.  (Russell emailed his questionnaire to 35 doctors around the world, and 15 doctors in the States who were qualified to do the surgery).

5.  Call the local doctors qualified to do the surgery, and ask them the same questions.

6.  Evaluate the responses and prepare a list of doctors to investigate further.

7.  Find the doctor’s history by googling the doctor’s name to find all the people who have ever mentioned the doctor’s name in any blog, letter, etc.

8.  Research the hospital’s ISO rating.

9.  Make sure you know the details of the process, e.g., the price, length of hospital stay, recuperation accommodations, follow-up appointments.

10.  Ask the opinion of medical tourism companies – after you’ve done your own research.

Five Things to Consider

1.  What food will you be eating?  Do you have any diet restrictions?

2.  If you’re flying all the way to someplace like India, what about your spouse?  Where will they stay and at what cost?

3.  Do you have the physical stamina for the long flight?

4.  Make sure you’ve had the right medical check-ups in the States prior to taking a long flight.

5.  Be aware that good service is not something that all international locations understand.