To our medical folks, why can't I select both doctor and hospital that I want

[whitestick]

Originally Posted by Billy

Understood. Medical Tourism can only fill in certain blanks. You might want to read this current piece from the Economist - Globalization and Healthcare. [/font][/size]Some interesting insights on how Medical Tourism could help shape up our system here from the competition angle. But I wouldn’t hold my breath for a quick repair. Still, this phenomenon seems to be gaining some respectable traction.

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement

Making a giant leap, along with RIT's comments about the outsourcing of the real primary care doctor, I can see where the in hospital care can be done in US or India, or other hospital, with reports back to the primary care doctor. It's going to be an interesting world as we move to global care with local control. Wonder how the insurance companies will provide for reimbursement - will they engage in currency arbitrage on your medical procedure done in India, with follow up therapy in China

[Rich_in_Tampa]

I have mixed feelings about medical tourism. On the one hand it makes a lot of sense. With careful research and a little luck, you can obtain comparable quality of care for many or most procedures if you do your due diligence. No different from here.

On the other hand, complications do occur, both long- and short term. You need to have a backup near home unless you are prepared to fly half way around the world every time something potentially related to the procedure comes up.

Most importantly, almost every cheerleader for care abroad has been relatively healthy except, perhaps, for the specific issue in question and some mild chronic illnesses perhaps. The real world isn't nearly so tidy. You need your gall bladder out, and in the hospital they discover diabetes. You are fine and one day a polyp is found but the pathology is iffy, and there is not more tissue to test. Or you develop abdominal pain during a stressful period and your primary care doctor orders a few test which show an unexpected mass in the liver. Health issues can accumulate and gyrate like the stock market.

These are not arguments against care abroad, just a caution to make sure you also have a good care network here. And believe me, if you had a stress test abroad and later develop chest pain here, the cardiologist will probably not "trust" the original resuls just for being unfamiliar or of uncertain quality control. My advice: find a great primary care internist (or GP) where you live. If a specific probem arises for which you are considering care abroad, discuss it with your PCP. Closely.

Be wary of advice about serious medical care issues from people who who have been and are healthy. Not all health care is like a root canal.

[heardoc]

Originally Posted by huusom

s and go with a single payer system. We know it works for France, Germany, Japan, etc.

Oh yeah, you're going to love the systems you think work fine. Until you need to use it. I've seen and had to use them several times, not a pretty picture. BTW, get ready for a 50 - 70 % income tax rate to pay for it.
On the other hand, given the near complete restriction on malpractice claims in those countries, Obama's plan wont stand a chance as his largest contributers are trial lawyers whose bread and butter would go down the drain if their client's could not sue.
For the American future single payer system look at the VA or Medicaid, or don't if you think it's going to be an improvement.