Most of the people who embark upon journeys seeking for medical care can make mistakes that make them regret afterward.
And that error is not planning adequately for your health travels. These people have their version of necessities, and they think they would require something, often overlooking the critical points.
The purpose of this article is to highlight some of these points so that people can be better prepared when making health travels.
Tourism for health reasons or medical doctor is one of the trends that have been developing in the last decades in the Central American region, and Nicaragua has also joined the list of countries that promote it.
This article uses the term “tourism” so that there is a displacement of the person a place that has a closed infrastructure, but people should keep in mind that those who travel are primary customers of a service.
The treatment they get dramatically differs from the freedom casual tourists enjoy, as indicated by the website Geomedical, experts in health tourism.
A study by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), funded by the Business and Employee Program on Health Tourism, indicates that in the last 30 years more awareness has They represent this type of tourism and began to outline as destinations the Central American countries.
A movement began to emerge from the primary markets of the United States, Canada, and Europe for less developed countries that still maintain intact their natural characteristics and of different and authentic cultures that today combine with medical and welfare services and procedures, the study indicates.
Doing your research
The first thing that is most important is that you should do your homework on the place that you are about to visit for your treatment.
You should try and find out as much as you can about the area such as the weather, the food and cultural heritage of the people there.
This information will help you to get prepared both mentally and physically, and you can pack accordingly.
It is always good to be informed regarding the local laws to save yourself from any inconvenience.
Preparing the necessary documentation
As we continue, this article will elaborate on the importance of having the required documentation. Before you can plan your flight and book a ticket, you must ensure that you have your passport and visa ready.
Furthermore, if you require any other documentation at the place where you are about to go, then you have to take care of those matters before you can move on to making the travel arrangements.
This point is not just limited to traveling abroad. Even domestic trips might require some documentation, and you must make sure that you fulfill all the requirements.
Collecting your medical history
Test results and medical history are essential tools for any medical professional to diagnose your condition and suggest the appropriate treatment correctly.
Keeping this in mind, if you decide to go on health travel, make sure that you visit your previous doctor to gather all the information mentioned above.
Medical history, in particular, will give your doctor an excellent idea about how you will react to specific treatment methods and would help him/her in deciding what the best route to adopt is.
Consulting the insurance agent
Many people often overlook the fact that they may have some cover from the insurance policies regarding health travels.
Therefore, it is always a good idea to consult your insurance agent and find out whether the insurance company will bear some of the expenses of your treatment.
If this is the case, then you can save a lot of money which you can later use for any other avenues.
How much luggage?
When you embark upon such a journey, treatment is the primary concern, and therefore you would not have time to go around an alien city to buy the necessities that you require.
Therefore, you should think long and hard to decide what things you would require there to save yourself from any inconvenience. And on the other hand, it is also essential that you do not burden yourself by packing excess of luggage which you might not necessarily need on your trip.
Arranging for a mean of communication
And finally, to communicate and commute in a foreign country, you must be familiar with the local language. Therefore, it is always a good idea to arrange for a translator beforehand.
You can also try and locate neighborhoods where people can understand your writing so that you have a better chance of expressing yourself.
These are the main reasons why a patient decides to travel:
Costs: The savings when going to receive health care are very significant. The profit generated by the health systems of countries with high values in their health services could mean an increase in population coverage and an increase in the efficiency of health systems.
Availability: For millions of people around the world, travel is the only option to get specialized care. The more specialized the care, treatment or service, the more common it is for people to travel.
Experience: Some places have more experience doing certain types of procedures than others. People like to seek more and more highly specialized areas even though they get the same service in their city of residence.
Privacy: In this case, people want to have total privacy in their health problems. It is very common among people of public interest, politicians, entrepreneurs, models, actors and actresses, presenters and people in general who wish to have a trip with total privacy.
Tourism and health care concepts linked in such a way that either together or separately they affect the economies of countries and are an essential part of social policy since health is not only an indicator of human development.
But also a resource to stimulate economic growth to achieve development, the tourism sector is essential for the survival, and economic growth of the countries of Latin America and much of our continent know the enormous potential that tourism offers to their economies.
Health is a factor that often goes unnoticed when planning a trip, despite being a fundamental part since it is considered both the receiving population and the tourist that travels, either for health reasons or recreation.
In a tourist destination, people must pay for attention to different determinants of health problems, related to their geographical location, the environment, social dynamics, waste destination, etc.
