Medical Safety In Medical Tourism.

Malpractice and Liability

It is crucial that procedures and operations are performed by accredited healthcare specialists and facilities. This is important because of the resulting legal implications of malpractice and liability associated with the care provider should anything go amiss. Due to the differing laws and regulations regarding the duty-of-care that healthcare institutions comply with, it is easy to be left in the dark when it comes to your responsibility and rights. You should check with the insurance details and cover offered or provided to you by the relevant agency or medical facility, and make sure that you understand the contents of any consent form that you are asked to sign. In all cases, you should consult either a specialized medical tourism agency that can provide all the information you need to verify the credentials of the medical service provider, and if possible, contact them directly to do so.

Accreditation

The advantages of accreditation are becoming very apparent as patients seek information and assurance about the quality and standards of services being offered by medical tourism agencies and institutes. This is typically not an issue for major and well-established clinics and facilities, but due to the demand for products and services to cater for an increasingly diverse range of patients, many smaller operators are looking to get in on the market.

The Joint Commission International, or JCI, is one of the more recognized providers of international healthcare accreditation services to hospitals all over the world.  Although this is a private company, its extensive and expanding operations of healthcare accreditation in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America provides a consistent and standardized measure of healthcare services for consumers.
To gain JCI accreditation, international hospitals must demonstrate and meet a number of service quality criteria. JCI accreditation has been designed to meet all requirements for approval by the United States government.

Apart from JCI, there are a number of other accreditation organizations around the world that provide a similar service for healthcare service providers, including:

• The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards or ACHS
• The Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation or CCHSA
• The Trent Accreditation Scheme (Trent Accreditation Scheme or TAS) in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong