Sun and surgery Vancouver
24 Hours Vancouver - News: Sun and surgery Vancouver
By IRWIN LOY, 24 HOURS
Robert Stuart Smith walks without pain these days, but that wasn't always the case. Last year, the Vancouver realtor was told he'd have to wait up to two years for routine surgery.
"I was getting pretty crippled with my knee," the 72-year-old explains now. "I felt there had to be a better way."
So Smith did some research and found a B.C. company that would arrange for him to get the surgery at a private hospital in India. Immediately.
Smith couldn't say no.
"I respect the system in Canada," he says. "But there are options, so I looked at the options."
Faced with sometimes lengthy waits for health services, more and more British Columbians like Smith are also exploring their options, and a few companies have sprung up to meet their needs.
Burnaby's MedSolution is one of them.
"It's just now getting to the point where people are so fed up with having to sit and wait for 18 months in agony until they get the services they need," says spokesman John Knox. "People want to get on with their lives and they want to do it as fast as possible."
OUTSOURCED CARE
"Medical tourism", as the fledgling industry is being called because of its often-exotic destinations, has so far avoided the heated public versus private health care debate.
But some within the industry have already lobbied provincial and federal governments to look at medical tourism as a publicly-funded health care option.
In the U.K., lobbyists want the National Health Service to "outsource" some of its patients abroad. In a system that already delivers some health care through private insurance, the cost savings can be a convincing argument.
Here in Canada, patients can apply to provincial health ministries to seek funding approval for out-of-country surgeries, although it is not often granted.
Knox admits it's potentially a contentious issue.
"Should the government be paying people to get stuff done outside the country?" Knox asks. "Well, if it can't be done at home in a timely manner, I think a lot of people would feel that it should."
For now, Knox says the industry is taking a wait-and-see approach.
"We're heading into the election and from our point of view, we want to see how the cards line up after Jan. 23," Knox says. "Then we're going to be taking a look at who's running our health-care system and whether or not there's any room to pursue those kinds of talks."
THE NEXT STEP?
If recent polls are accurate, the Conservatives might well be the ones running the system. Its platform, like the Liberals, seeks to establish wait-time guarantees under a fully public system.
But if nothing's available within that time, patients can be transferred between provinces - or in some cases, and unlike the Liberal platform, to the U.S.
Such a plan would seem to leave the door open for health ministries to pay for out-of-country treatments. But Conservative health critic Steven Fletcher insists it's unlikely.
"I can't envision a scenario where to fly someone halfway around the world can be helpful to a patient quality-wise or cost-wise," Fletcher says.
But private hospitals in countries such as India likely disagree.
Whereas patients could shell out $40,000 for a hip replacement in a U.S. hospital, for example, the same procedure would cost less than $6,000 in India, according to MedSolution.
Even with airfare added on to the price, it's hard to argue there aren't potential cost savings for a health care system that's forever in need of extra funds.
In fact, the Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, already met with Liberal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh on at least one occasion last year to lobby on behalf of his region's medical tourism industry, according to Indian media reports.
Dosanjh, who did not respond to several interview requests, has said the meeting was a "courtesy" and is not interested in pursuing the matter.
By IRWIN LOY, 24 HOURS
Robert Stuart Smith walks without pain these days, but that wasn't always the case. Last year, the Vancouver realtor was told he'd have to wait up to two years for routine surgery.
"I was getting pretty crippled with my knee," the 72-year-old explains now. "I felt there had to be a better way."
So Smith did some research and found a B.C. company that would arrange for him to get the surgery at a private hospital in India. Immediately.
Smith couldn't say no.
"I respect the system in Canada," he says. "But there are options, so I looked at the options."
Faced with sometimes lengthy waits for health services, more and more British Columbians like Smith are also exploring their options, and a few companies have sprung up to meet their needs.
Burnaby's MedSolution is one of them.
"It's just now getting to the point where people are so fed up with having to sit and wait for 18 months in agony until they get the services they need," says spokesman John Knox. "People want to get on with their lives and they want to do it as fast as possible."
OUTSOURCED CARE
"Medical tourism", as the fledgling industry is being called because of its often-exotic destinations, has so far avoided the heated public versus private health care debate.
But some within the industry have already lobbied provincial and federal governments to look at medical tourism as a publicly-funded health care option.
In the U.K., lobbyists want the National Health Service to "outsource" some of its patients abroad. In a system that already delivers some health care through private insurance, the cost savings can be a convincing argument.
Here in Canada, patients can apply to provincial health ministries to seek funding approval for out-of-country surgeries, although it is not often granted.
Knox admits it's potentially a contentious issue.
"Should the government be paying people to get stuff done outside the country?" Knox asks. "Well, if it can't be done at home in a timely manner, I think a lot of people would feel that it should."
For now, Knox says the industry is taking a wait-and-see approach.
"We're heading into the election and from our point of view, we want to see how the cards line up after Jan. 23," Knox says. "Then we're going to be taking a look at who's running our health-care system and whether or not there's any room to pursue those kinds of talks."
THE NEXT STEP?
If recent polls are accurate, the Conservatives might well be the ones running the system. Its platform, like the Liberals, seeks to establish wait-time guarantees under a fully public system.
But if nothing's available within that time, patients can be transferred between provinces - or in some cases, and unlike the Liberal platform, to the U.S.
Such a plan would seem to leave the door open for health ministries to pay for out-of-country treatments. But Conservative health critic Steven Fletcher insists it's unlikely.
"I can't envision a scenario where to fly someone halfway around the world can be helpful to a patient quality-wise or cost-wise," Fletcher says.
But private hospitals in countries such as India likely disagree.
Whereas patients could shell out $40,000 for a hip replacement in a U.S. hospital, for example, the same procedure would cost less than $6,000 in India, according to MedSolution.
Even with airfare added on to the price, it's hard to argue there aren't potential cost savings for a health care system that's forever in need of extra funds.
In fact, the Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, already met with Liberal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh on at least one occasion last year to lobby on behalf of his region's medical tourism industry, according to Indian media reports.
Dosanjh, who did not respond to several interview requests, has said the meeting was a "courtesy" and is not interested in pursuing the matter.
Labels: Medical Tourism Destinations
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