The smoke and mirrors of medical tourism

When is a facilitator of medical tourism a medical travel agent?
According to our research medical tourism in 2008, about one third of the United Kingdom medical tourists make arrangements through a facilitator of medical tourism. In some countries, such facilitators represent a greater portion of the market and its influence is growing. The concern of many is the uncontrolled growth of the sector and the lack of regulation within it.

Let's say I want to start a business facilitation of medical tourism. It's easy?

What do I need?

I need a name. I'll call my business "Magical Medical travel". I need a phone. I have one of those. I need an Internet connection. I have one of those. I need a Web site to generate some patients. I can create something that will do the work, using a cheap as 1 & 1 Web hosting. I need some hospitals and clinics abroad who are willing to pay me a Commission if I send patients to them. I am sure that I can find some of them. I think I need to find someone in the country of destination that can take care of patients while they are there. ... and maybe some documents that I can get the patient to sign. Oh, and it might be a good idea to invent some testimonies of patients ... You must be a qualified doctor? Well, I am known as Dr Pollard on various internet forums, and got some drpollard @ email addresses, so that should be fine. Cash flow. Well, if I take patients ' money up front and then pay final treatment providers, which is not a problem. I'll buy some advertising online and let him some months before paying the Bill. I'll pay a few hundred pounds to join one of travel medicine associations; that will give me some credibility.

It is very easy really? And that's how has emerged some medical tourism facilitators (not all!). Medical tourism is a very fragmented market and there is a very wide range of facilitators in the business.

Which brings me back to the title of this blog: "When is a facilitator of medical tourism travel agent a doctor?"

In the United Kingdom and in Europe, which is really quite an important issue. Let's expand the question ...

"What is the difference between a medical tourism facilitator who sells a package of travel, accommodation and treatment of a consumer and a regular travel agent who sells an consumers a suite of accommodation, travel and activities related holidays?".

In the United Kingdom, activities of travel agencies are highly regulated. For example, "package travel, package holidays and package Tours regulations" were introduced to protect consumers against unscrupulous travel agents. A package is defined as "pre-arranged combination of at least two of the following components-transport, accommodation and other tourist services".

Thus, it is a facilitator of medical tourism a travel agent? Some would say ... Yes!

And if so, come from package travel regulations and my new business facilitation, Magical Travels doctor may have some problems. This means that my company will be monitored:

What can I say in my site or brochure. The nature of any contracts that I do. The information that you provide to the consumer. Price changes. Safety in case of insolvency. IE. You must be connected.

Regarding the latter, when someone books a holiday in the United Kingdom, many will look to see if the ABTA travel company (Association of British Travel Agents) adherent. This means that the company put a link to an institution authorised on the basis of its turnover. The minimum is £ 20.000 loop.

Even if you pay the connection, you cannot join ABTA, unless you comply with the code of conduct and random inspection.

Let's compare this with the business of travel medicine, an industry that was once described last year by Avery Comarow, as "the Wild West of Medical Care Abroad".

Anyone can set up as a travel agent/facilitator of doctor. There is no regulation. There is no compulsory code of conduct. Anyone can join one of the associations as MTA or TAG E RAG. There is no necessary link.

So that the industry was do to fix the problem?

In the perfect world, we need an ABTA travel medical world-adequately perform a true representative of the Board, that responds to their accession, which publishes an annual report and financial statements, which only accepts Members that meet clearly defined criteria, which inspects Member facilities at random and which requires all members to bring a significant title for the protection of medical travellers.

Likely?

I doubt it.

What is more likely ...

Grows the medical travel, especially on a background of Government controlled by initiatives such as the European directive on Cross Border Healthcare, Governments will begin to regulate medical travel facilitators and agents. Bodies like the ABTA in United Kingdom and similar organizations in other countries likely to favor and support this.

"What makes a medical travel agent any different and exempt from the Regulation of?", they say.