Fader Explains Extra Steps for Medical Tourist Patients

May 18, 2022 | Health Services

Eric Fader explained that certain steps can be taken in preparation of a medical tourist patient in the PartB News article, “Prepare and monitor: Take extra steps when the patient’s a medical tourist.”

If a patient plans on getting medical treatment in another country, make him or her aware of the risks involved and and precautions he or she can take. However, try to get the facts on the treatment if he or she goes without telling anyone.

Fader advises to get the patients’ shots sorted out. “These days, with COVID on top of other tropical diseases, it’s a whole new level of complexity compared to what it was before the pandemic.” He also recommends to check that the facility your patient visits is listed with the Joint Commission International, the global arm of the U.S. facility accreditation body. Fader then proposes a follow-up visit upon return.

When a patient seeks medical treatment abroad on their own, “The situation puts more of a burden on the physician to gather as many facts as possible and turns the appointment into a much more complicated encounter,” Fader says. He suggests a full set of labs and whatever other checks are dictated by the epidemiological status of the visited countries.

The patient’s impulsiveness allows for some legal protection if care goes wrong because the patient didn’t take provisions. “If the physician came across a patient on the street who had some unknown problems and tried to help them, then Good Samaritan laws would protect that physician,” Fader says. “So if the patient shows up in the doctor’s office with potentially unknown and unexpected issues [from medical tourism], if the patient were to later bring a malpractice suit, the law would have to take into account that the provider was dealt a tough hand.”

Read the full article here.

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  • Eric D. Fader





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