Healthcare Abroad in Bakersfield CA
Healthcare Abroad in Bakersfield section, includes general infrmation about Healthcare Abroad Procedure, Healthcare Abroad Bakersfield Local News, Healthcare Abroad Bakersfield Surgeon Locator and other Healthcare Abroad related material.
Healthcare Abroad Procedure
Healthcare Abroad is the practice of traveling to another country in order to receive medical attention. Thanks to Internet technology, more affordable international travel, and major advances in medical science, Healthcare Abroad is becoming less of a novelty and more of a global trend Depending on the location and procedure, a medical vacation can cost 50%, 30%, or even 10% of what you would pay at home. Even when you factor in air fare, hotels, travel insurance, car rentals, shopping, and dining, many medical vacations are substantially more affordable than domestic health care is.
Every year thousands of patients take the opportunity to go to popular destinations around the world for all types of medical treatments, healthcare needs, checkups and cosmetic procedures. While affordability and time are still the main reasons why patients travel across borders for surgery, quality care and 5-star treatments are major factors as well. In fact, medical procedures abroad are often better than what you would expect from primary health care centers back home. International travel, mass communication, and more lenient trade policies make it possible for those with modest means to enjoy the benefits of world-class health care in the form of Healthcare Abroad.
Many countries offer discount Healthcare Abroad world wide. Some of the best destinations for international Healthcare Abroad include India, Thailand, Singapore and Mexico. Central and South American countries like Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil and Argentina also have top quality medical expertise to offer but also have great travel destinations where one can enjoy a medical vacation. Cosmetic surgery clinics offer services in countries such as Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Venezuela.
There are three categories that can suit prospective patients:
Elective surgery - A large number of Healthcare tourists seek out elective procedures such as cosmetic, plastic, dental and wellness treatments that are not covered by insurance plans.
Underinsured - As insurers cut back on their coverage and insurance costs increase, more individuals find themselves ‘underinsured’. High deductibles, co-payments, out-of-pocket expenses, wait-lists and limited physician choices force many patients to seek out alternative treatments. Others find that the care they need is not covered under their insurance plans.
Uninsured - These individuals, many of which are self-employed, frequently find themselves delving into their hard-earned savings to finance their medical care. According to a Harvard study, half of personal bankruptcies are related to medical expenses. Thus, Healthcare Abroad is an increasingly popular solution among the uninsured population.
Research is the first step to successful Healthcare Abroad travel. Make sure that you do your research on the following:
The Procedure: Find out about the procedure and compare your expectations with what is achievable by the surgery. Also inquire about follow-up care needed, time required for recovery, physical therapy, etc.
The Hospital: When selecting the hospital that is right for your needs, you should consider the hospital's accreditation, awards and recognitions, facility and equipments, statistics like success rates, etc.
The Surgeon: Check the certifications, training and repute of the surgeon who will be treating you.
The Destination Country: You should base your selection on quality, distance and cost.
Always work with your local doctor and inform him about your decision to travel overseas for treatment. You may need his assistance prior to the surgery for furnishing the health records required by the international hospital and post surgery for any follow-up checks that may be required.
Bring the following documents with you:
Medical Records: Medical records like X-Rays, MRI's, health histories, photographs, immunization records, prescriptions, and any other health records relevant to the surgery. Remember to carry all these medical reports and any medicines in your carry-on luggage.
Passport and Visa: You will need a passport for yourself and your travel companion (if any). Depending upon the country you are traveling to, you may or may not need a visa. Check with your destination country's embassy for the same.
Credit Cards, Debit Cards and Travelers Checks: Bring some local currency, travelers checks and one or two major credit cards and debit cards.
Driver's license: Carry your driver's license and make sure it will remain valid while you're traveling.
For each document, make copies and leave one set of copies at a safe place at home.
Keep the following contact information handy:
1. Emergency contacts like relatives and friends
2. Destination embassy
3. Hospital
4. Hotel
5. Local surgeon / doctor
6. Employer
You should allow ample time for recovery after your surgery before you travel back home. Be prepared to stay longer when advised by your doctor. In some other cases, you may not need to stay for as long as was expected.
Healthcare Abroad carries some risks that local medical procedures do not have. If complications do arise, patients might not be covered by insurance or be able to seek compensation via malpractice lawsuits. New insurance products are available that do protect the patient should a medical malpractice occur overseas. Some Healthcare Abroad destinations provide some form of legal remedies for medical malpractice. However, this legal venture is unappealing to the Healthcare Abroad tourist. Advocates of Healthcare Abroad Travel advise prospective tourists to evaluate the unlikely legal challenges against the benefits of such a trip before undergoing any surgery abroad.
Some countries, such as India, Malaysia, Costa Rica, or Thailand have different infectious diseases than Europe and North America, and different strains of the same diseases compared to nations such as the U.S., Canada, and the UK. Exposure to disease without having built up natural immunity can be a hazard for weakened individuals, specifically for gastrointestinal diseases (e.g. Hepatitis A, amoebic dysentery, paratyphoid) which could weaken progress, also mosquito-transmitted diseases, influenza, and tuberculosis (e.g., 75% of South Africans have latent TB).
Travel soon after surgery can increase the risk of complications, as can vacation activities. For example, scars will be darker and more noticeable if they sunburn while healing. Long flights can be bad for those with heart (thrombosis) or breathing-related problems.
Since diseases run the gamut in poor tropical nations, doctors seem to be more open to the possibility of infectious diseases, including HIV, TB, and typhoid. There are cases in the West where patients were consistently misdiagnosed for years because such diseases are perceived to be "rare" in the West.
For hospitals and doctors seeking to provide Healthcare Abroad services, there is the risk of being sued by an unsatisfied patient, so medical indemnity services such as those provided by the Medical Protection Society are essential.
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More Bakersfield info...
Bakersfield Get out About an hour's drive east of town on Highway 178, the Kern River/Lake Isabella area is popular for fishing, kayaking, camping, and boating activities, and in winter there is downhill skiing at Alta Sierra-Shirley Meadows.
Drive about an hour east on Highway 58 to see Tehachapi and its large wind farm, or the historic railroad loop near Keene.
Wasco, just north of Bakersfield, hosts an annual spring Rose Festival that attracts visitors from all over southern California.
Retrieved from "http://wikitravel.org/en/Bakersfield"ViewsArticle Discussion Edit History
Bakersfield Get around Bakersfield is a car-based city with poor mass transit options, so driving your own car or renting one is probably wise. The Golden Empire Transit (GET) bus system is fairly limited, and taxis are expensive and uncommon.
Plastic Surgery News...
- The Archives of Internal Medicine has featured a study to determine if an anticholinergic risk scale (ARS) could be used to predict the risk of anticholinergic adverse effects in a geriatric evaluation and management (GEM) cohort and in a primary care cohort.
Researchers evaluated the medical records of 132 GEM patients retrospectively for medications included on the ARS and their resultant possible anticholinergic adverse effects. Additionally, 117 patients in primary care were prospectively enrolled, and the relationship between the ARS score and the risk of anticholinergic adverse effects was assessed using Poisson regression analysis.
According to the researchers, higher ARS scores were associated with increased risk of anticholinergic adverse effects in the GEM cohort (crude relative risk [RR], 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-1.8) and in the primary care cohort (crude RR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.5-2.4).
Additionally, after adjustment for age and the number of medications, higher ARS scores increased the risk of anticholinergic adverse effects in the GEM cohort (adjusted RR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6; c statistic, 0.74) and in the primary care cohort (adjusted RR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.5-2.5; c statistic, 0.77).
This paper provides a table of the anticholinergic risk scale (ARS) which provides scores (ranging from 1 to 3, with 1 being low risk of aticholinergic effects e.g. with paroxetine, and 3 implying high risk, such as those observed with amitriptyline) for various drugs and their likelihood to cause an anticholinergic adverse effect. (Anticholinergic adverse effects included falls, dry mouth, dry eyes, dizziness, confusion, and constipation.)
- Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with more hospitalizations, longer hospitalizations and greater mental healthcare utilization in urban primary care patients. These findings appear in the current issue of Medical Care.