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Code of conduct

Posted by Julie Munro on August 19, 2011 | No Comments

What is a code of conduct for medical tourists?

Medical travelers should always expect any organization that treats medical tourists, from hospitals to “recovery” hotels and medical travel companies, to have a code of conduct in place, on their websites and/or on site at their locations.

This code of conduct serves as the organization’s promise to the medical traveler that all staff follow established rules of conduct and service that are in the best interests of the medical traveler. In particular, a code of conduct usually addresses issues of importance to patients, namely ethical business practices, personal moral conduct, and the ground rules by which the organization functions.

Why is a code of conduct for medical tourists important?

A code of conduct offers a standard by which a medical tourist can measure companies and hospitals against each other, and against the important standards of medical tourism such as privacy, safety, security and honorable, ethical behavior by the company itself and its employees.

It tells you what you can expect from this hospital, clinic or company.

It’s a public statement by the provider of standards and policies they observe. If, for some reason, any of these standards or policies are found wanting, the company can be held accountable in the public arena.

MTQUA code of conduct

We operate with this code in all our business and patient care practices. You are welcome to use this as a model for your own Code of Conduct.

We are committed to the highest ethical, legal and professional standards and work with professionals who share this commitment.

We conduct ourselves with honesty and integrity in our dealings with and on behalf of our clients. We are accountable for our conduct and for compliance with applicable laws.

We treat everyone with respect and dignity, and make no distinction based on medical condition, age, gender, disability, race, color, religion, national origin or place of residence.

We are committed to the ethical and compassionate treatment of clients and compliance with accepted policies and statements of patient rights.

We use confidential information only to carry out our work and do not share such information with others unless duly instructed by the client or required on behalf of the client. We place the interests of our clients above our own.

Read the Medical Traveler’s Bill of Rights.

Finding Quality at the Top 10 World’s Best Hospitals For Medical Tourists™

Posted by Julie Munro on January 31, 2010 | Comments Off

Hospitals from around the world are considered annually for the MTQUA Top 10 list of the World’s Best Hospitals for Medical Tourists™.

The Top 10 list | Criteria for selection

The general environment for medical tourism

Asia continues to be the top medical destination in medical travel. Asian medical destinations continue to offer more and better medical procedures and care than most other medical destinations.

However, the competitive environment is changing. Europe and the Middle East are now making it easier for medical travelers especially the growing numbers from Africa to access well-priced treatment. The continuing entry of more and better hospitals around the world and the energy by some government tourism boards in promoting medical tourism are forcing both providers and patients to review what makes good value in medical tourism and where and how to best get it.

International hospitals and medical tourism

Not all top hospitals around the world are keen to take international patients who live in other countries. The investment in treatment and care that is required is often considerable so they carefully evaluate the extent of their participation in medical tourism.

American hospitals are generally not seen as open or caring of foreign patients or medical tourists as hospitals in Europe and elsewhere. Their priorities are directed at domestic patients. Some renowned exceptions that attract international traveling patients for specific medical needs include the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Why select the Top 10 World’s Best Hospitals?

MTQUA annually publishes the list of the top 10 World’s Best Hospitals for Medical Tourists™. We choose to recognize hospitals around the world that best meet MTQUA criteria for quality in patient care management for international traveling patients.

This list of leading hospitals for medical tourism is issued by the Medical Travel Quality Alliance to help patients, hospitals, and medical travel companies better understand the important factors that create an outstanding medical experience for a medical tourist.

Criteria for selecting the Top 10

All 10 hospitals on the list of the World’s Best Hospitals for Medical Tourists™ provide medical treatment and care for medical travelers that is of the highest quality and with advanced technology. All have outstanding local and regional reputations.

Many of these top 10 hospitals have international accreditation from any of several accreditation agencies. Others may not have international accreditation but have stellar international reputations and other qualifications for medical quality and patient safety.

In selecting the hospitals for this list, MTQUA considers more than high quality medical treatment. Quality of treatment and care for medical travelers goes beyond accreditation, high tech equipment and luxurious settings. Our criteria for selection includes communication, transparency, privacy, security, marketing, ethics and leadership.

View the 2018 Top 10 list.

Hospital profiles are here.

Home

Posted by Caroline Bodanis on June 17, 2009 | Comments Off

Medical tourism rewards those who choose to travel by providing excellent medical treatment and care at a price they can afford.

But with the rewards come more and greater risks of getting the desired results.

Medical tourism is more than finding a good hospital that offers extras like hotel bookings, transportation services and special foods.

Medical tourists have come to expect these extras, and many treatment centers are more than happy to provide these extra comforts.

Just as traveling for medical treatment to a foreign land cannot be treated like a vacation, neither can it be treated like a visit to your local hospital or clinic.

Medical travel creates risks for patients that are different from those had they been treated at home.

This is not a reason to stay home. This is a reason for those who treat and those who are treated to become smarter and better about understanding the problems, lowering the risks and getting better outcomes.

Five medical travel destinations present unreasonable and unwarranted harm to medical travelers and health tourists.

Do’s and don’ts for the best medical travel journey

What medical tourists must know about surgery abroad

World’s Best Hospitals For Medical Tourists

What is medical tourism?

Best practices in medical tourism

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[Infographic] Value In Medical Travel

worlds best hospitals for medical tourists