As the number of uninsured Americans grows, medical patients are now becoming consumers of medical care in record numbers. Many of these medical consumers are taking part in medical tourism i.e., people who leave the country primarily for medical treatment.

When a medical consumer searches for a provider, they tend to focus on the credentials of the doctor and forget about other important factors. Possibly the most important other factor is the country where the doctor and hospital are located. The country determines many things about the quality of care you will receive.

Here is a list of some these items:

1. Countries and regional medical associations determine through regulation standards for care, as:
1. Required staffing levels.
2. Required equipment for the hospital, such as emergency backup generators, emergency equipment in patients’ rooms, etc.)
3. Required hygienic procedures (there can be quite a level of difference between countries)
4. Required reporting of failures, such as infection rates.
5. Required education and experience for a medical professionals.
6. Regulation for drug use.
7. Many more items to numerous to detail here.
2. Countries also have cultures which determine attitudes such as:
1. The work ethic of the staff.
2. The cleanliness ethic of the staff.
3. The caring ethic of the staff. Does the staff have a genuine caring attitude for the patients or do they see this mainly as a new enterprise for the country and themselves.
4. The medical tradition of the culture. A history of medical research in the culture is expected to set higher expectations of the staff.
3. A country’s geographical location can make a difference.
1. Most tropical countries have problems with tropical diseases, most notably malaria, however there is also Denge fever, Hemorrhagic fever and yellow fever.
2. Tropical countries usually require inoculations and malaria tablets be taken before entering the country. Malaria tablets must be started one month before entry and continued one month after leaving the country. These tablets are only 50% effective and can work quite a hardship on the body. Malaria is a lifetime disease.
3. If a country is small and isolated the medical consumer must make sure all emergency procedures can be done.
4. A country’s level of blood born diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis and others should be determined in case a transfusion or transplantation of tissue or an organ is needed. With planning self-donation some transfusion risk may be overcome.
5. A country’s legal system should afford the consumer recourse for mistakes and malpractice. The consumer should not be content just to live with the results of whatever happens. Countries in the German Union a legal system like the US.
6. Finally, one should go to a country where they are not afraid to step of the hospital grounds and where they can take advantage of the long flight to see first-hand the sights and wonders of whatever part of the world they are in.

For all the reasons mentioned above and because Germany is only slightly more expensive than the Asian destinations, we prefer to send our clients to German hospitals.

Tim Vicknair
Cofounder, European Medical Tourist