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Faq's
1)
What is medical tourism?
2)
What should I tell my doctor?
Should I inform my
local physician that I intend to receive medical
care
overseas?
3)
I am a small business owner, can Makeover Travel
help me develop a medical tourism
service offering
for my employees?
4)
Why should I work with
Makeover Travel?
5)
Why has Makeover Travel
selected to work with
medical centers in Israel?
6)
How did Makeover Travel select
the medical centers
in your Network?
7)
How will I correspond with my
physician prior to
departure?
8)
Can I bring along a family
member or companion?
9)
How long will I need to
recuperate before it is safe
to fly home?
10)
Can I take a vacation or
recuperate at a tourist
destination?
11)
What should I do if I need
follow up care when I
return home?
12)
How can I reach Makeover Travel when I am
abroad?
13)
Why does medical care cost so much less abroad?
14)
What services are included in my medical estimate?
15)
When are payments due?
16)
How do I know that the quality of care is excellent?
17)
What training and background do the physicians at
your partner hospitals have?
18)
What are the facilities like? Do the hospital
maintain the same standards of
sanitation?
19)
Do Makeover Travel partner hospitals have access
to the latest technology and medical
devices?
20)
How is the nursing care/staff?
21)
Will I experience language difficulties or translation
problems?
22)
How many days prior to the operation do I have to
leave?
23)
How many days after the operation can I stay?
24)
What is your privacy policy?
25)
What is hospital accreditation and what are the
benefits?
26)
What is the Joint Commission International?
27)
What is JCI Accreditation?
28)
How does JCI ensure the quality of hospitals in its
network?
What is medical tourism?
Medical tourism is the act of traveling to other countries to obtain medical care. A combination of many factors has lead to the recent
increase in popularity of medical tourism: high costs of healthcare in
industrialized nations, waiting list, ease and affordability of international
travel, improving technology and standards of care in many countries of the
world.
What should I tell my doctor?
Should I inform my local physician that I intend to
receive medical care overseas?
We encourage our patients to discuss their plans with their primary physician.
While most physicians are familiar with the concept of medical tourism, it may
be necessary for you to help educate them further on the proposition and share
some of our educational materials. It is not uncommon for a physician's initial
reaction to be skeptical, although we find that doctors generally become more
receptive to the idea once they look into the actual hospitals, physician
credentials and overall price differential.
So we recommend that you inform your treating
physician that you are considering receiving medical
care abroad. If needed, Makeover Travel will
facilitate correspondence between the physician in
your home country and the overseas physician that
you have selected to perform your medical procedure.
I am a small business owner, can
Makeover Travel help me develop a medical tourism
service offering for my employees?
Yes. Makeover Travel provides medical tourism services for both consumers and
corporations. We would be happy to help you develop a medical tourism program
for your company. With our growing network of providers and high-tech website,
it is possible to offer a wide range of medical services to employees for a
fraction of the cost. Makeover Travel offers corporate medical tourism services
for businesses of any size.
Why should I work with Makeover Travel?
Makeover Travel is the premier medical tourism
company in Israel. Makeover Travel will be your
expert advisor – a trustworthy consultant with an
established relationship with some of the finest
medical centers.
Makeover Travel is committed to ensuring that our
customers have a safe and smooth medical tourism
experience from your first call to your return home.
Our customer service staff will ensure that this
commitment is met.
Makeover Travel will provide you with access to
affordable high quality medical care. Makeover
Travel has carefully selected and screened all of
our Network medical centers. Makeover Travel's
relationships with our Network medical centers
ensure that you receive the lowest cost for your
surgical procedure.
Makeover Travel’s technology is second to none. Our
Medical Information System allows us to rapidly
provide you with a number of options for care from
different medical centers, doctors and cities.
Why has Makeover Travel selected to work with
medical centers in Israel?
Historically, Israel has had a very strong public
healthcare system.
Many physicians from all over the world travel to
Israel to train.
Many of the top physicians that were educated and
trained in Israel played an instrumental role in the
medical science development in their country.
Israel's medical community has had a historical
relationship with United States and Europe. Top
private medical centers in U.S and Europe are
staffed with excellent Israeli physicians.
In addition to a vibrant private healthcare sector,
the government of Israel actively support the
development of medical tourism. From Cabinet level,
to the Ministries of Health and Tourism, the
government of Israel is developing programs that
result in a incredible experience for the medical
tourist.
How did Makeover Travel select the medical centers
in its Network?
Makeover Travel selected its Network medical centers
based upon a number of criteria. These criteria
included a review of their international, domestic,
clinical and service credentials; the credentials of
the physicians and their history of working with
overseas patients.
In addition, Makeover Travel's management personally
conducted site visits to all of the medical centers
that participate in our Network. Some of the main
factors that we reviewed on-site were the
credentials of the physicians, the use of technology
and the modernity of the laboratory and diagnostic
equipment.
How will I correspond with my physician prior to
departure?
We will assist you in communicating with you
physician. Initial communication is usually in the
form of a telephone call with further communication
usually taking place by email and/or telephone.
Can I bring along a family member or companion?
Yes, many medical tourists have a companion
accompany them overseas.
How long will I need to recuperate before it is safe
to fly home?
Your recuperation time is dependent upon your
medical procedure. You will be advised of your
expected recuperation time prior to your departure
and your treating physician will advise you when you
can safely fly after your surgery.
Can I take a vacation or recuperate at a tourist
destination?
Yes. Your physician will advise you when it is
appropriate to take a vacation or recuperate at a
tourist destination. Israel has many beautiful
destinations and we would be happy to make your
post-surgical travel arrangements.
What should I do if I need follow up care when I
return home?
As stated above, Makeover Travel recommends that you
inform your treating physician that you will be
receiving medical care abroad. It is important that
your physician be aware of your upcoming medical
care so that you can receive any needed follow-up
care upon your return.
How can I reach
Makeover Travel when I am abroad?
All patients can reach Makeover Travel through our website, email or direct phone
line. Additionally, those who elect to use a local guide will have full-time
service and assistance from our carefully chosen patient liaisons.
Why does medical care cost so much less abroad?
Patients can receive expert medical care for 60-70% less cost at our overseas
hospital network. Fees in the U.S. are driven by labor overhead, administrative
expenses, and insurance contracts. Over 80 percent of hospital costs are labor
related according to a recent World Health Organization report which helps to
explain some of the cost advantages for countries with low labor costs. Makeover
Travel eliminates these burdens by connecting patients directly to hospitals,
allowing us to offer premier services at prices unavailable in the U.S. Quality
has always been our primary concern at Makeover Travel. Our continued success depends
entirely upon our reputation for world-class surgical services.
What services are included in my medical estimate?
Our medical quotes factor in hospital fees, physician charges, an initial
consultation, medical tests as specified, anticipated meal and accommodation
charges based on the expected hospital stay, registered nurse coverage and a
follow-up consultation after your medical treatment is complete. Each quote will
accompany specific terms and conditions for the quote. Separate quotes will be
provided for travel-related charges like flight, transfers and accommodation.
Login to request a quote from our hospital partners or to use our free cost
estimator tool.
When are payments due?
Prior to the actual medical treatment, consumers are
only required to make a small down-payment to
schedule their treatment.
This payment will ensure us that you will travel and
will allow us to make all the reservations for you
(hospitals, medical team, hotel...)
How do I know that the quality of care is excellent?
Our continued success is dependent on our reputation for providing quality care
at discounted prices, so the quality of our partner hospitals is our greatest
concern. We only work with internationally accredited hospitals that meet or
exceed our high standards of care. To ensure exceptional service, Makeover
Travel
performs a rigorous screening and selection process through on-site visits and
extensive research. We also monitor the quality of our providers through patient
feedback and reports by international healthcare agencies.
What training and background do the physicians at your partner hospitals have?
At Makeover Travel, we aim to make healthcare more transparent through information.
As our customer, you are invited to review our physician profiles to better
understand the qualifications of Makeover Travel medical providers.
When patients compare Makeover Travel physicians to doctors in
the US or UK, patients find that the qualifications are often superior. In
fact, many patients do not realize that each year hundreds of Israeli physicians
travel in the US, Europe or Latin America to train
physicians or train in foreign medical
schools.
What are the facilities like? Do the hospitals maintain the same standards of
sanitation?
The facilities at our partner hospitals are immaculate. Makeover Travel carefully
screens our partner hospitals to ensure that they adhere to the highest
standards of cleanliness and service. Our patients can expect deluxe rooms,
delicious food, internet access, no wait-lists and excellent registered nurse
coverage. Our hospitals are internationally accredited like JCI, which ensures
that they adhere to the highest standards of sanitation and care. Joint
Commission International (JCI) is the international arm of the US-based
accreditation body Joint Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare
Organizations (JCAHO). In JCI, there are 565 standards divided into 197 core
standards that must be met to achieve accreditation
and 368 other standards that lead organizations to
best practice levels. These standards are further
divided into 1033 measurable parameters, which focus
on aspects such as patient safety, patient rights,
facilities, and physicians` credentials besides
policies and procedures of the organization. To get
accredited, a hospital will have to fully meet most
of these parameters and the remaining ones at least
partially.
Do
Makeover Travel partner hospitals have access to the latest technology and medical
devices?
Our partner hospitals generally have
state-of-the-art facilities and all the latest
equipment you would find in Western hospitals. Most
of our hospital partners have latest equipments,
like the 64-slice CT Scan. Patients can even assess
the latest technology for themselves.
How is the nursing care/staff?
Our Partner hospitals offer excellent registered nurse coverage. Patients often
find that the ratio of nurses to patients is significantly better than that of
Western medical centers.
Will I experience language difficulties or translation problems?
Your physicians and nurses speak fluent English, Russian, Hebrew, French,
Arabic, Spanish so patient should have no
trouble communicating with nurses and physicians at our partner hospitals. All
patients can reach Makeover Travel through our website, email or direct phone line.
Additionally, Makeover Travel offers local guide in selected cities to help you in
any translation and logistic services.
How many days prior to the operation do I have to leave?
It depends on the medical procedure. At the time of quote, our hospital
providers will advice on how many days prior to the treatment you need to be
there. Typically, it is just a day.
How many days after the operation can I stay?
Patients can stay as long as they like after their treatment is complete. Many
choose to travel around their destination country and tour the major sites after
their medical treatment. Your medical quote will indicate the minimum number of
days you need for recuperation before you fly home when they send your treatment
quote. This duration may vary depending on your treatment and recovery.
What is your privacy policy?
We adhere to the strictest standards of patient privacy. All of our forms and
processes are secured. All your personal data that you enter or access in our
website is SSL encrypted and requires user name and password to access.
Makeover Travel will not share your personal information with anyone without your
authorization. Refer our privacy statement for further information.
What is hospital accreditation and what are the benefits?
Accreditation is a process in which an entity, separate and distinct from the
health care organization, usually non-governmental organization, assesses a
health care organization to determine if it meets a set of standards
requirements designed to improve quality of care. Accreditation is usually
voluntary. Accreditation standards are usually regarded as optimal and
achievable. Accreditation provides a visible commitment by an organization to
improve the quality of patient care, to ensure a safe environment and to
continually work to reduce risks to patients and staff. Accreditation has gained
worldwide attention as an effective quality evaluation and management tool.
Source: www.jointcommissioninternational.com
What is the Joint Commission International?
This is a United States based hospital accreditation organization that makes
sure accredited hospitals have state-of-the-art health care facilities and
technology along with advanced transportation and communication systems. JCI
accredited hospitals' health care standards, professionalism and quality of
their doctors are equivalent if not superior to those you find in the United
States of America. Joint Commission International (JCI) extends the Joint
Commission`s (JCAHO) mission worldwide. Through international consultation,
accreditation, publications and education, Joint
Commission International helps to improve the
quality of patient care in many nations. Joint
Commission International has extensive international
experience working with public and private health
care organizations and local governments in more
than 60 countries.
Source:
www.jointcommissioninternational.com
What is JCI Accreditation?
In response to growing interest in accreditation and quality improvement
worldwide, the Joint Commission launched its international accreditation program
in 1999. Joint Commission International accreditation standards are based on
international consensus standards and set uniform, achievable expectations for
structures, processes and outcomes for hospitals. Joint Commission
International`s standards for hospitals clearly define the principals and
processes needed to assess the key functions of acute care organizations and
associated ambulatory settings.
Source:
www.jointcommissioninternational.com
How does JCI ensure the quality of hospitals in its network?
Coverage From Patient Entry to Discharge
Assess the quality of patient care from the time a patient enters a facility to
discharge. Utilize this data to plan and implement changes that create optimal
care.
Assessment for All Aspects of Management
Bring efficiency and best practices to all phases of management, from clarity of
leadership’s responsibility and accountability to critical facility managed
processes and board strategic planning.
Two Levels of Compliance
Measure performance against both the core requirements needed to achieve
accreditation and additional standards that lead organizations to best practice
levels.
Creates a Culture of Patient Safety
Implement standards that focus on patient safety and risk reduction in clinical
processes.
Assessment and Improvement for These Key Functions
Access to and continuity of care
Assessment and care processes
Education and rights of individuals
Management of information and human resources
Quality leadership
Infection control
Collaborative integrated management
Facility Management
Source: www.jointcommissioninternational.com |
