Just some planning in advance will help you take care of your nerves. Following our recommendations, you will be able to avoid problems and undergo a treatment abroad successfully. Everyone who has ever traveled as a tourist knows that planning a trip is, in fact, the most difficult stage. It can become a real problem if you’ve decided in favor of a treatment abroad. However, if you plan in advance and know what to do perfectly well, planning can turn into an easy and even pleasant experience. Here’s a list of some things to consider from the very beginning, and things that can be handled later or left behind.
What you should do to plan your treatment abroad
- ake sure that your accommodation in close proximity to the clinic
- Based on your known diagnosis, determine what kind of treatment abroad you will need
- Search for countries where your illness can be treated best
- Determine your travel budget
- Request all the information that can possibly be provided: duration of treatment, what is included in the cost, possible recovery duration etc.
- Check the professional history of your doctor
- Make sure that the clinic of your choice has a good reputation, is an officially recognized medical establishment in the country, and is certified by a well-known international or state organization. Remember that in many countries the word ‘clinic’ is not protected and clinics do not require a medical accreditation. For instance, in Switzerland or Britain, a beauty salon or other establishment can be called a clinic, though it has hardly anything to do with serious medical activities.
- Check the clinic you have selected – if the provided medical treatment abroad has been successful so far
- Find out about safety standards in the clinic, and if any cases of infection are known
- Make sure your accommodation is in close proximity to the clinic
- Pass all medical tests that you may need for your treatment in advance, translate the results into the language of the country you are traveling to
- The visa application should also be submitted well in advance to avoid any sudden delays that may disrupt your plans. In the situation of the coronavirus pandemic, even visa-free travel to many countries requires a special permit. Many agencies, hospitals, and medical practices, after paying a deposit for treatment, send an invitation to obtain a medical visa or / and this entry permit.
- Arrange an insurance for your trip
- Get in touch with your future doctor and do not hesitate to ask any questions you might have about your treatment abroad
- Consult with your local doctor and tell them how your treatment progresses
- Find out if your doctor abroad speaks your mother tongue or it would be worth hiring an interpreter
- Ask a doctor how to maintain your health condition after the treatment and follow their instructions
- Take your earlier medical records, tests, X-rays, and prescriptions with you
- Get all necessary vaccinations done before a trip or consult a doctor abroad what vaccinations you should get upon your arrival in a foreign country
- Take with you a companion who is aware of the purpose of your trip and can support you if needed
- Write down all the most necessary telephone numbers and addresses and always keep them with you
- Study the legal aspect of the issue, ensure you know what rights you will have in case of a medical error or negligence
- Remember to take your driving license with you if you have it
- Any medications you are going to take with you should be carried in their original package
- Check if it is legal to cross the borders of the country of destination with the medicine you need and if any accompanying documents are required
- Print out your correspondence with the clinic and the doctor
- When you buy medicine, ask your doctor to provide you with a notice for customs control together with the prescription to confirm that you import and export the prescribed medicine for your own consumption
What you should NOT do
Despite the fact that the industry of medical tourism offers plenty of various programmes to fit every taste, you should be very careful. So, if you wish to return home healthy and full of energy, do not do the following:
- Engage in sports requiring high physical loads like weight lifting shortly before the treatment abroad
- Take blood-thinning medicines 2 to 4 weeks before an operation. If you are prescribed to take them on a constant basis, notifying your doctor that you take such medicines is a must
- Leave your country to undergo treatment abroad without an approval of a doctor or surgeon in your country
- Reduce the length of your post-surgery period without permission – let yourself fully recover
- When you start feeling better, stop taking prescribed medicines without permission – many medicines simply lose their properties if you do not take them during the whole course of treatment, so the whole treatment is wasted. In cases of chronic diseases, medicine should be taken constantly, and the dosage can be reduced or medication intake can be suspended only under the care of a doctor
- Make lengthy flights after the surgery
- Undergo an operation immediately before an important event in your life such as moving to a new home or having a child
- Plan an aesthetic mouth cavity sanitation (dental crowning or fitting implants or veneers) before a major celebration. Your organism is not a machine, and the period of treatment, healing, making casts etc. may extend up to several months even though your treatment plan initially included only a couple of weeks
- Postpone trip planning and flight ticket purchase until the very last minute
- Choose a clinic based on price only
- Rely on one doctor’s opinion only. You can ask for the second and third opinion online
- Travel to undergo treatment being unaware of all possible complications of the suggested procedure
- Go for treatment to a huge metropolitan city with many millions of population and polluted environment
- Take too much money and valuable things with you
- Take a minimal amount of things ‘just for a couple of days’. The treatment can always turn out to be longer than planned, and it will not be convenient to rush to shops in search of suitable clothes or shoes between appointments with doctors and procedures
- Plan to undergo treatment in a very hot and humid climate
- Be afraid to ask questions to your doctor or surgeon
- Be ashamed of telling the details of your illness and certain moments in life, and of asking questions to a doctor, medical personnel or interpreter. All specialists working with you are bound to professional non-disclosure obligations
- Limit your search only to the information found in free access online, in magazines or from your friends and relatives
- Plan your treatment without adding some additional days for possible missed appointments that may lead to delays
- Leave for another country not having learned some basic words and phrases in the language of the country where you plan your treatment abroad
- Try to avoid an interpreter’s assistance: such cost savings may eventually lead to sad consequences
- Try any kind of food. Exotic dishes should be avoided during the treatment
