Medical tourism is on the rise and you’ve decided that you want in on the action. We can hardly blame you; the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has revealed that you can save between 40%-80% on the price of your cosmetic procedure simply by receiving it abroad. However before you begin packing your bags, and setting off for a hospital in a far flung exotic destination, pay particular notice to these top tips to best prepare for your medical treatment abroad.
Do Your Research
It’s amazing just the breadth of cosmetic treatments that are offered overseas. Liposuction, Tummy Tuck, and a FUE hair transplant Turkey are just some of the suggestions that will pop up when you type ‘cosmetic treatments abroad’ into Google.
And with easy access to all this information, you have no excuse to not complete thorough research on your desired treatment.
You would have likely seen the horror stories of botched procedures abroad; however those complications could have been avoided if the patients had done a little background reading on the clinics.
Thanks to public directories, online reviews, forums and social media you can gather objective information on the clinic you intend on receiving treatment from abroad and find out whether they are regulated, speak English and employ professional staff.
Find & Arrange Your Medical Records
If the physicians or surgeons are legitimate, it’s likely that they’ll need some form of medical records to carry out your treatment. For this reason it’s best to find any files you think might be relevant to your procedure and photocopy them, so that you can take them abroad with you.
This can include anything, from CT scans you might have received in the past, to your current repeat prescription, pre-existing conditions and any medication you might be allergic to etc.
If for some reason or other, you believe you may have misplaced these files, you can contact your GP, explain the procedure you intend on receiving to them, and they can print out the appropriate paper work.
Make Sure You Can Afford It
Although, medical treatment is substantially more affordable abroad than it is in the UK, it still requires careful planning to ensure that you have the financial stability to afford your desired procedure.
Don’t forget unless it’s included within your treatment’s package, you have to account for flights, accommodation and expenses amongst many other expenditures, all of which can build up.
For this reason its best that you create a budget so that you and your bank account can both be prepared for the trip abroad. We’d even advise that you take a pre-loaded card, with some extra cash meant only for absolute emergencies to keep on top of your overall spend.
Have A Full Proof Disaster Plan In Place
As much as it’s something you don’t want to think about, it’s important that you at least have a logistical plan in place should the worst happen and complications occur in the aftermath of your treatment.
This should cover your return flights, insurance arrangements and where exactly you’d receive emergency medical care if you so required it.
So there you have it, our top tips for preparing for medical treatment abroad. We hope that our guidance serves as a valuable resource when you eventually come around to organising, booking, paying and receiving your procedure abroad. Happy Travels!
We are happy to present this collaborative post to offer valuable information to our readers.
