Surgery on Holiday?

A few years back, we starting hearing about “medical tourism.” It’s basically when folks travel to other countries such as Thailand and India for surgery or other types of medical care.

Now, we’ve heard arguments both for and against it; however, none so interesting as the insight provided this Texas orthopedic surgeon, which you could watch here.

He actually says that one reason patients shouldn’t go overseas and pay a fraction of U.S. medical costs (50-80% less, even after travel expenses) because of the question, “Is there legal recourse for the patient?”

Did he really just say that? It seemed odd to us that a doctor practicing in a state that fought so hard to limit an injured patient’s legal recourse, that this would really be a concern for him. Why would it worry him that patients be denied access to “frivolous” lawsuits when it’s nearly impossible for injured patients to get justice in Texas? I guess he’s using this argument because he doesn’t want to lose his next patient to some foreign doctor.

Now, we’re not arguing for or against medical tourism, as we’re certainly no experts on the subject. We can’t tell you whether the benefits outweigh the risks. We can; however, tell you that there are good and bad doctors everywhere, even here. So matter what you are getting done, or where you are going for it, do your homework. Research your doctor, ask him/her about their success rate with your type of procedure, ask for your hospital’s infection rate and always ask questions about things you don’t understand or that make you feel uncomfortable.