The future of health care talks about a 'sea of change' in the field. That means that what we know about health care today is obsolete. I want you to be 'future thinkers' in health care. One example would be: Health care could be outsourced to foreign countries due to the high costs of certain procedures?....Nursing homes in the U.S. currently charge between 3,000 and 4,000 dollars per month. You could live in a nursing home on a costal area of Mexico or Central or South America for 1,300 a month. Is this a viable option? You could have transplants or plastic surgery overseas for 1/3 the cost in the U.S. Is this really a viable option? Think about health care, as a health care manager, in GLOBAL TERMS. Interesting, isn't it.
UPDATE
Yesterday I received information from AARP that identifies Americans are going overseas for health care procedures due to insurance and costs. Two examples include a person from FL who went to Thailand for spinal stenosis surgery. The total bill was $4,618.03 for services that would have cost him at least $14,000 out of pocket at home. The person was so pleased with his care by a U.S. trained doctor at Bangkok’s “Bumrungrad International Medical Center” that he says he won’t seek medical care in the U.S. Another person had double by-pass surgery, said he was treated as a guest as well as a patient, and his surgery cost less than $17,000 and his insurance covered all but $3000. Stateside he estimates he would have had to pay up to $20,000 out of pocket.
He was one of an estimated 500,000 Americans treated abroad in 2006. As U.S. health costs have soared, ‘medical tourism’ has morphed in recent years from an obscure phenomenon into a global industry. Thailand remains a top destination, with Bumrungrad (a JCAHO accredited facility) alone treating over 64,000 Americans. Other countries that cater to foreign patients include Singapore, Hungary, South Africa, Dubai, Costa Rica and Brazil. A person from Alaska gave up their health insurance when premiums soared to over $1000 a month. Needing hip surgery at $40,000 to $60,000, the person used “Med Journeys” a health travel agency, and had the procedure completed including travel for $15,000, in New Delhi.
People are doing extensive research before committing to overseas medical care. Can health care be outsourced? Apparently it is occurring. We need health care managers who are committed to addressing the competition. Gosh, health care management careers are going to be fun…………..
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I am more and more convinced that there are huge changes coming to our healthcare system. I don't know if we can even imagine all of it. We do need to be future thinkers. What are other businesses doing? Outsourcing is big, and I can see that more of this is right around the corner. Why shouldn't people go overseas for care if they are convinced that the care is good and that the cost will be better? There was an interesting show on (oh it was something like nightline or 20/20) just this subject. It told about some women who went to a country in South America for cosmetic surgery. They had several procedures done at a total cost of less than what they would have paid for one procedure in the US.
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