Outsourcing Medical Care
Kevin, MD and Dr. Wes recently talked about healthcare outsourcing. They talk about Americans going to other countries to seek medical care. The responses to their posts are a good gauge of emotions that this issue stirs.
Two or three days back, I heard an advertisement on the radio about some kind of heart procedure that is not approved in the US. The advertisement was offering that procedure in Singapore or Thailand. Things like this make people like me practicing medicine in the US nervous for our patients.
I have talked with several people about getting prescription drugs from other countries. Appeal to citizens’ nationalism and plea to support research in the US are some of the tactics that have been tried to prevent people from buying drugs from abroad. More than a few people told me that when it is a choice between eating and buying medicines, supporting pharmaceutical research is the last thing on their mind.
In a market place, Bloomingdale’s can be as proud of its quality as it wants. However, if most of the buyers choose to go to Wal-Mart, that is where they go. In this day and age, the world is turning into a big mall. If there is a product being sold at 40% off on the east end of the mall, that is where people will go. The customers do need to know more about this new concept of medical care abroad, so that they can be good judges of quality. Posts on Kevin, MD and Dr. Wes bring up challenges that come with seeking medical care abroad.
As health care providers, we work hard to give our patients the best possible care, and it is hard for us to fathom why some people would choose to seek medical care that seemingly is held to no standards. This is far beyond losing business to foreign competitors. It is personal, as we give far more than 100% to our profession. But if some of our patients are forced to choose between health care and financial health, they may decide to have both. And going abroad may seem like a great option to them.
The question is what can we do? How we can we stem this tide?
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Two or three days back, I heard an advertisement on the radio about some kind of heart procedure that is not approved in the US. The advertisement was offering that procedure in Singapore or Thailand. Things like this make people like me practicing medicine in the US nervous for our patients.
I have talked with several people about getting prescription drugs from other countries. Appeal to citizens’ nationalism and plea to support research in the US are some of the tactics that have been tried to prevent people from buying drugs from abroad. More than a few people told me that when it is a choice between eating and buying medicines, supporting pharmaceutical research is the last thing on their mind.
In a market place, Bloomingdale’s can be as proud of its quality as it wants. However, if most of the buyers choose to go to Wal-Mart, that is where they go. In this day and age, the world is turning into a big mall. If there is a product being sold at 40% off on the east end of the mall, that is where people will go. The customers do need to know more about this new concept of medical care abroad, so that they can be good judges of quality. Posts on Kevin, MD and Dr. Wes bring up challenges that come with seeking medical care abroad.
As health care providers, we work hard to give our patients the best possible care, and it is hard for us to fathom why some people would choose to seek medical care that seemingly is held to no standards. This is far beyond losing business to foreign competitors. It is personal, as we give far more than 100% to our profession. But if some of our patients are forced to choose between health care and financial health, they may decide to have both. And going abroad may seem like a great option to them.
The question is what can we do? How we can we stem this tide?
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posted by kc at 2:34 PM
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