Category Archives: Published Articles on Medical Tourism

surgical tourism in Colombia

New series of articles

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I’ll be writing a new series of articles for the Examiner.com based on my experiences, interviews and observations here in Mexicali, MX and Calexico, California.  While the focus will be on serving the needs of the Calexico community (particularly now that there is a fast pass lane for medical travelers), I hope that all of my loyal readers will continue to support my work.

I have already published my first three articles  – and have added a new navigation section (on the side of this blog) for interested readers.

As part of this, I wrote a story about the good doctor and all of the work he is doing – including one of our recent ‘house calls’ to San Luis, in Sonora, Mexico.   It was probably one of the more difficult articles to write; due to space limitations and trying to present information in an objective fashion.  (It’s hard to present all the evidence to support your conclusions in just a few hundred words;  ie. He’s a good doctor because he does X, Y, and Z and follows H protocol according the P.”  Makes for wordy reading and not really what the Examiner is looking for.

Too bad, since readers over at Examiner.com haven’t had the chance to know that if the opposite is true (a less than stellar physician or treatment – that I have absolutely no reservations about presenting the evidence  and stating the facts about that either..)

Don’t worry, though – I will continue to provide that level of detail here at Cartagena Surgery – where the only limitations are my ability to type, and the (sometimes) faulty keys of my aging laptop.

Guia Cirugia

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I am glad to see that many of the ideals I’ve promoted in the past – objective and unbiased medical review for medical tourists and consumers are starting to take flight.

I talked with John Coffey, in Cali, Colombia about his project , Guia Cirugia earlier this year, so I am pleased to see he was able to bring it to fruition.  (Some people would see it as competition – I see it as a necessary and needed service for consumers – so I am completely thrilled!!  I just wish there were more people interested in trying to ensure that patients (where ever they come from) receive high quality care.

JCI and the big regulatory agencies don’t count in my mind – there is just too much bureaucratic BS that gets in the way of actually getting down to the nitty-gritty;

Is the place clean?

Is the doctor licensed (at all – or in the specialty where s/he is practicing)?

Do they follow the generally accepted standards and practices for prevention of patient harm?

Do they have the technology and machinery to handle emergencies that may reasonably arise from procedures performed at that facility?  (Let me tell you – if they are operating at a Motel 6, (as we have documented before) – the answer is most assuredly NO.)

So Kudos to John and everyone else at Guia Cirugia.com

Interview

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One of my recent interviews from one of the sister sites, Cirugiadetorax.org has been featured in the Alumni Association newsletter for the University of Guadalajara medical school.  You can see it here.

It’s an interview with a cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Orazio Amabile, who lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona.  (Not all of my writing is Colombia-related.)

In other news, I will be heading down south, to Mexico again for a few months to work on a new project.  I’ll have more details at my sister sites; cartagena surgery and cirugia de torax.

I am hoping to return to Colombia this summer for a brief writing project.  As the dates get closer and closer, I will post more information for my loyal readers.

Looks like Panama may bite off more than they can chew..

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In a recently published story, the government of Panama is now offering medical  insurance for all tourists to Panama for free.  This insurance is not  ‘Complication Insurance’ which is offered by private surgeons in Colombia and other countries for patients traveling specifically for medical tourism.  Complication insurance covers all possible medical complications resulting from medical procedures at the designated clinic or destination..

No – Panama is taking the European and socialized medicine approach and is offering general medical coverage for ALL short-term travelers to Panama.  (The long-term exclusion is a wise move given the numbers of Americans and other overseas residents who make Panama their retirement home.)  This insurance resembles typical travel policies in that it covers injuries, accidents and other medical situations that may occur while on vacation..  I just hope the Panamanian government hasn’t underestimated its tourists and their injury/ illness potential.

Now readers – don’t get any wild ideas.. This is not the time to stress that ‘trick knee’ while hiking to visit the Naso-Teribes..

Meanwhile, Costa Rica is making a pitch for more corporate clients such as Pepsi-Cola.  These multi-national corporations can potentially bring hundreds of millions of healthcare dollars by diverting their employees to medical tourism destination such as Costa Rica.  (Like Colombia – Costa Rica is an ideal destination for North Americans due to proximity, quality and diversity of services available.)

The future of medical tourism: the glass ceiling

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The International Medical Travel Journal has a new article that questions the notions that ‘the sky is the limit’ in the medical tourism industry.  This article discusses the belief that many investors have that as long as there is a new shiny facility, medical tourists will flock..  In reality, the market for medical tourism is fairly narrow, particularly for American medical tourists – who are the ones most likely to open their wallets and pay cold hard cash for surgical procedures overseas.  (That’s because medical care in many other countries is less expensive for residents – so why travel and pay cash for something you can get at home for relatively little expense (even if it requires waiting.) Many of these Americans are uncomfortable or unwilling to travel to more exotic locations – as Dubai has found out first hand.

Of course, plastic surgery and other elective procedures are a little different.)  But most Europeans, Canadians etc.  aren’t going to have to fork over 100,000 for heart surgery (or be uninsured) so the pool is limited.

The other class of medical tourist – the wealthy residents of countries that may not have elite services is also a mixed bag,  Many of these patients are going to elect to go to ‘big name’ American facilities despite the cost – for a specific level of care.  They may seek out specialized procedures that are unavailable or even illegal in their home countries – but that market is smaller than most of us realize.

It’s a good article that brings a dose of reality to the concept of medical tourism as a ‘cash cow’ route to easy and limitless cash.  Medical tourism is not for everyone, as investors are finding out.

New article at Eternal Beginning blog

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Eternal Beginning is book review blog by avid reader (and fellow writer), Christine Cunningham.  (It is also the title of her first book.)  Christine was kind enough to feature the Bogota book on her blog.

Bogota Surgery Podcasts

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As part of our continuing efforts to bring medical tourism and travel information to people in a multitude of formats, we are planning to begin a series of podcasts featuring physicians and topics discussed here at Bogotá Surgery.

Come back soon for more information on our latest endeavor.

American Presidental candidates in favor of medical tourism as part of health care solution

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In this story at Forbes.com – commentator Avik Roy discusses Rick Perry’s position supporting medical tourism, free-market health care, and health insurance to cover patients internationally.  Mr. Roy also discusses how these ideas would benefit the average American.

While I stay out of politics myself – and many people consider Rick Perry and several of the other potential candidates to be far from center – the Governor of Texas seems to have a good grip on the issues facing many of his constituents such as ballooning unemployment and a lack of health care access and affordable health options.

Medical tourism library

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Recent Articles about Medical Tourism

This page will be frequently updated and contains stories from a variety of sources.  It’s a mix between media articles, patient and industry blogs and ‘scientific’ and medical journals.

Note: ‘Medical’ articles are often heavily weighted against medical tourism (but consider the source – as the majority are written by UK and USA physicians.)  However, many of these articles bring up important points to consider prior to considering medical travel, such as quality control , patient safety and objective measurements (and other issues that we have discussed here before).

For more on patient safety issues – see my sister site, Cartagena Surgery.

I have also omitted patient perspective/ ‘testimonial’ type stories for the most part – as we’ve discussed here and on Cartagena Surgery – first-person narratives are not helpful in that patients themselves often do not have all of the necessary components to provide recommendations.

Medical Tourism: the element of cost – Healthnews.com

Crime, drug wars threatens Mexico’s medical tourism – opinion article

A portable medical health record – for medical tourists and other travelers.  A paper talking about a new free application to assist travelers in maintaining portable health records, and how this may change the face of health care, and consumer expectations/ safety.

An excellent overview of the issues involved in medical tourism – including quality of care, cultural issues and informed consent.  (this is a British article and focuses primarily on medical tourism to Thailand, India).  However, all of the issues raised in this article are addressed in the Bogotá book.

A review of the literature surrounding ‘the patient experience’ of medical tourism’

A nice article talking about the availability and quality of medical tourism information available on the internet (something we’ve talked about many, many times.) Of course the name of the article, “Nip, Tuck and Click” does give a hint of the writers bias against medical tourism.

Bogota! a guide to medical tourism

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is mentioned on another site – talking about finding reputable and safe surgeons for medical tourism. 

It’s a website (Escape from America) that helps Americans find information about living and retiring overseas.  Pretty nice to be recognized for our hard work.

Of course, the irony of it – is that my parents are ex-pats themselves and were just recently awarded permanent citizenship for their contributions to their new community.  Not this writer though, I love to travel but I love my country for all it’s faults – it is my home.  I may leave for months at a time on projects like this one – but I will always return.

 

 

 

Independent Authors & Writers

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Excited to report that I have received “Book of the Day” on Independent Authors & Writers.org. You can check out their facebook site here.

I’ve also added a link to their blog, here at WordPress.

As many of my long-time readers know, it’s very difficult to get books like this published by commercial publishing houses – since it’s considered a ‘niche’ title with limited marketing potential.  Of course, I hope to prove them wrong but I am grateful to organizations like the Independent Authors for giving unknowns like myself a chance to be discovered by the reading public.

For all my Colombian readers, I am bringing copies down to Bogotá next month – they will be available at Authors Cafe – Calle 70, No. 5- 23.  (Otherwise, it’s about 30 dollars to have a copy of the book shipped from the US.)

Bogota Surgery and the International Medical Travel Journal

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Thanks to the eagle-eyed reader who notified me that portions of one of my articles “Bogotá hospital offers hope to abdominal cancer patients” (originally published on Colombia Reports.com) was featured in the article, “Agencies promote Central and Southern American medical tourism.”

I’ve asked them to provide a link to the original article so readers can get more information on the topic.

Update: 29 June 2011: Here’s a link to the new article on Treatment Abroad (which is an International Medical Travel Journal sister site) that gives their readers the information they really need. (The name of the doctor, of course!)  It’s a summary of the original Colombia Reports.com article. They still haven’t cited the ‘borrowed’ content on the original article, or provided the name of the physician doing the treatment (Dr. Fernando Arias) but I guess it’s an improvement.

New article on Yahoo!

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New article posted on Yahoo!  (associated content).  Most of you have heard me talk about the topic before – it’s usually one of the first questions I heard when interviewing surgeons down in Bogotá – but I wanted to publish something where the rest of the world could see it..  (Colombia as a destination for American medical tourists – five reasons why..)

Interview with Dr. Borraez, Bogota Bag: 27 years later

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One of my new articles on Dr. Borraez has been published to Yahoo! (associated content section) – it’s shared content with the site..  I’ve also written two other articles, one of original content, so I’ll let you know if they get published.  I thought it might get a little more exposure this way.  I’ve written this trio of articles for Yahoo! as a trial run, so we’ll see how it goes..

Note:  Due to recent changes at Yahoo! this article link has changed.  I have updated the link to the new article link. Please let me know if you have difficulty accessing this article.

Colombia as a medical tourism destination: my experiences & observations

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I submitted an article on Colombia as a medical tourism destination to Yahoo! for publication.  The article discusses several of the factors I’ve mentioned before, and includes my observations from the last several months.  We’ll have to wait and see if they think it’s suitable for publication.. Of course, if they reject it – I’ll be sure to post it here, for all of you and your critiques..

New article at Colombia Reports.com

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Bogota’s Hottest Young Surgeons is my latest article on Colombia Reports – talking about some of the great young surgeons here in the capital;

1. Dr. Juan Pablo Umana (cardiac surgeon)

2/3. Dr. Ivan Santos and Dr. Freddy Sanabria, (plastic surgeons)

4. Dr. Costanza Moreno (orthopedics)

5.  Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon (thoracic surgeon) and

6. Dr. Jose Felix Castro (general surgeon)

and some of the things they are doing (which all of my loyal readers already know all about!)

It was a different style of writing than I am used to – but I enjoyed it, and hope to do another article in the future.

Update: After getting a few requests – I’ve re-posted the article here.  (But, I’d appreciate it if you went to Colombia Reports anyway, so the editors can know how many people are reading the articles – and hope that they will publish more in the future!)

From Colombia Reports.com

Bogota’s Hottest Young Surgeons
Don’t let their youth fool you. These young Bogota surgeons are well versed in the latest technologies and the newest surgical techniques, and are changing the face of, and bringing new sophistication to the capital’s medical community.

Colombia news - docDr. Juan Pablo Umana, 46, Cardiac surgeon

A Bogota native, Dr. Juan Pablo Umana, with his Stanford education, quintessential rugged good looks and a refreshing outlook, brings a California flavor to Fundacion Cardioinfantil, where he has been the Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery since 2004.  He, along with Dr. Nestor Sandoval have ushered in a new era of Cardiac Surgery in Bogota with a expanding and state-of-the-art cardiac surgery service line.  Notably, in 1997, Dr. Umana along with Dr. Memhet Oz invented the first mitral clip for percutaneous valve repair. During surgery, he is focused, meticulous and unflappable.  Despite being the most senior of the surgeons listed here, he is just hitting his stride.

Colombia news - doc

Dr. Ivan Adolfo Santos, 41, Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Ivan Santos operates at Clinica Shaio, and is one of a trio of celebrity plastic surgeons here in Bogota. Genetically blessed, he looks ten years younger than his 41 years. In spite of his boyish good looks and shy nature, Dr. Santos is a confident and talented surgeon; more importantly, he gets results. Watching Dr. Santos operate is similar to watching a symphony conductor orchestrate classic music composures with 160 musicians. He never misses a beat, and he is simultaneously aware of everything around him. With his precision in the operating room and aggressive post-operative therapies, patients recover faster, with less pain, and leave his office looking and feeling their best.

Colombia news - doc

Dra. Constanza Moreno Serrano, 40, Orthopedic Surgeon

Dra. Constanza Moreno is orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand and microsurgery such as digital reattachment after traumatic injury, reconstructive surgery and correction of congenital deformities. After training with the famed Dr. Harold Kleinert and Dr. Breidenbach III in Louisville, Kentucky, she returned to Bogota in 2005.  She is currently developing a hand transplant program for victims of landmines. Next week, she is presenting her proposal at the International Hand and Composite Tissue Allotransplantation Society in Atlanta, Georgia.

Colombia news - doc

Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon, 39, Thoracic Surgeon

Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon is a man of action; operating at several facilities across Bogota. Trained in Hong Kong, Dr. Garzon excels at the more difficult thoracic cases. As one of just a few board-certified thoracic surgeons in Colombia, he is using video-assisted thoracoscopy to able to treat complex disease with minimal incisions.  He is also teaching this technique to surgeons across Colombia. During cases, he is relaxed, controlled and ready for anything.

Colombia news - doc

Dr. Freddy Sanabria S., 38, Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Freddy Sanabria, a young Richard Gere look-a-like, makes his own pretty women as one-half of the Sanabria plastic surgery practice. Trained at the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University, he brings skill, dedication and the latest cosmetic innovations to a well-established surgical clinic. While operating, he is confident, focused and detail oriented, and his surgical team anticipates his every need.

Colombia news - doc

Dr. Jose Felix Castro, 37, General Surgeon

Dr. Jose Felix Castro is a staff surgeon at Clinica del Country. This magna cum laude academic scholar is one of a few of the talented young general surgeons in Bogota who have embraced single port laparoscopy, which means abdominal surgery without a scar. While Dr. Castro is the youngest of our line up, he brings a wealth of experience to the operating room.

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New Article at Colombia Reports

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Read my latest article at Colombia Reports.com:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/14923-bogota-hospital-offers-hope-to-abdominal-cancer-patients.html