Thursday, August 23, 2007
Nutty News Edition
Because these news bulletins qualify more for the wierd news section than for medical tourism. First up is Lululemon Athletica, a company which manufactures 'yoga wear', including eco-friendly yoga mats and a lot of other kinds of wear. Seems they're sponsoring 'Yoga on the Hill' sessions in Ottawa, Canada. These sessions have it seems, created a buzz, and people are ready to go to the mat for 'Ottawa on the Hill' yoga sessions and a spot of tourism. Let's just call it Yoga tourism. Lululemon being a company with dozens of offices in North America and Canada, a $200 million IPO, and an inhouse stretch fabric formula called Luon, I sent an email to their spokesperson, asking for a few clarifications, including how the company came to be named 'lululemon' and asking if they have any advice regarding clothing wear for medical tourists. No reply as yet.
Also, some nail biting news from the Netherlands with Alain-Raymond van Abbe, Director of the Institute for Pathological Onychophagy claiming to have a treatment for curing nail biters.
"So many have applied — there are about 2 million Dutch people who admit to being biters, about 6 million in Britain — that he is booked up until December. Until recently sufferers were subjected to foul-tasting creams, hypnosis or acupuncture. Dr van Abbe's patented device — the Preventor — comes with a bit of psychobabble but relies mostly on the simple but effective method of not allowing gnashers to come into contact with nails."
And this takes the cake. "The run back lasted 10 minutes before the guide screamed "stop". All three stopped. An elephant appeared in the bush in front of them. It was trumpeting loudly. The guide then screamed "run". He gave no indication in which direction the parties should run. The plaintiff ran. She remembers falling down. She was unable to outrun the elephant. She went under a bush. The elephant caught up with her..."
If you're on an African safari, come face to face with an angry elephant, and your tour guide screams 'run', you better be able to outrun the tour guide.
Lastly ( this is not nutty news ), the AOS insurance company in Barbados is offering malpractice insurance cover for the medical tourism industry. "New insurance coverage is now available to protect individuals should medical malpractice occur while seeking healthcare services in a foreign country.....AOS has also developed a group version of the PMMI product called GMMI (Group Medical Malpractice Insurance) to be used in the growing group insurance market. This product will provide a much needed level of security that before now was missing for the medical tourist."
I checked out their website. I sent them an email. No reply. For the record, I didn't find the website too impressive, and something about the whole setup seems a bit out-of-tune for an insurance company. According to their online premium calculator, if you opt for a dental implant ( anywhere/worldwide ), and you purchase PMMI cover worth $100,000 from AOS Insurance, it costs you $45. Doesn't seem too much of a risk to invest $45 into insurance cover. Still, can't say I know much, or anything, about them, so please use your own common sense.
Update 1 : A few news links came up, which I thought were print worthy, but not enough to merit a new post. First up, Phil Galewitz, writing for the Palm Beach Post, writes about people going abroad for elective surgery. "In Costa Rica, a nose job costs $1,600 compared to $3 ,000 in the U.S.. A face-lift costs $2,100 in Costa Rica, compared to $4,000 in the U.S."
On balance, the article is fairly interesting, until one reaches down to the comment section, where an anonymous lawyer lets rip against Galewitz. "A nose job costs $3000 in the States??? Who did you do your research with - a vet??? I cannot believe the irresponsibility of this little vignette....Your headline should be “Want to tempt fate, go to a 2d or 3d world country to get your surgery on the cheap!...1st, Costa Rica is “not overseas” - it is just south of the US border IN CENTRAL AMERICA. 2d, have you ever been to Costa Rica - I have and I need to tell you that the standards of hygeine at these “surgical retreats” aimed at the naive surgical tourist trade (predominately from the US) is SUBPAR at best (as are the credentials of the majority of medical staff you’ll find at these centers)."
Press TV reveals where the royals from the middle east travel to for medical treatment. "Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah has had a surgery in the US, as more Arab officials and leaders are undergoing various surgeries abroad."
Marianne Mattera of Medpage Today publishes a survey of 456 American physicians, who say they would wish patients a "bon voyage" if they want to travel overseas for expensive surgery or treatment not available in the U.S.
Update 2 : Oxford business Group publishes an interview with Dr Ahmed Mubarak Al-Marques, Chairman, General Authority for Health Services (GAHS) of Abu Dhabi. "According to a statement issued by Sheikh Rahmatulah, a representative for the Middle East Tourism Authority, approximately 62,000 UAE nationals alone sought medical treatment in Thai hospitals in the first seven months of 2006, resulting in a large loss of revenue for local hospitals."
Also, some nail biting news from the Netherlands with Alain-Raymond van Abbe, Director of the Institute for Pathological Onychophagy claiming to have a treatment for curing nail biters.
"So many have applied — there are about 2 million Dutch people who admit to being biters, about 6 million in Britain — that he is booked up until December. Until recently sufferers were subjected to foul-tasting creams, hypnosis or acupuncture. Dr van Abbe's patented device — the Preventor — comes with a bit of psychobabble but relies mostly on the simple but effective method of not allowing gnashers to come into contact with nails."
And this takes the cake. "The run back lasted 10 minutes before the guide screamed "stop". All three stopped. An elephant appeared in the bush in front of them. It was trumpeting loudly. The guide then screamed "run". He gave no indication in which direction the parties should run. The plaintiff ran. She remembers falling down. She was unable to outrun the elephant. She went under a bush. The elephant caught up with her..."
If you're on an African safari, come face to face with an angry elephant, and your tour guide screams 'run', you better be able to outrun the tour guide.
Lastly ( this is not nutty news ), the AOS insurance company in Barbados is offering malpractice insurance cover for the medical tourism industry. "New insurance coverage is now available to protect individuals should medical malpractice occur while seeking healthcare services in a foreign country.....AOS has also developed a group version of the PMMI product called GMMI (Group Medical Malpractice Insurance) to be used in the growing group insurance market. This product will provide a much needed level of security that before now was missing for the medical tourist."
I checked out their website. I sent them an email. No reply. For the record, I didn't find the website too impressive, and something about the whole setup seems a bit out-of-tune for an insurance company. According to their online premium calculator, if you opt for a dental implant ( anywhere/worldwide ), and you purchase PMMI cover worth $100,000 from AOS Insurance, it costs you $45. Doesn't seem too much of a risk to invest $45 into insurance cover. Still, can't say I know much, or anything, about them, so please use your own common sense.
Update 1 : A few news links came up, which I thought were print worthy, but not enough to merit a new post. First up, Phil Galewitz, writing for the Palm Beach Post, writes about people going abroad for elective surgery. "In Costa Rica, a nose job costs $1,600 compared to $3 ,000 in the U.S.. A face-lift costs $2,100 in Costa Rica, compared to $4,000 in the U.S."
On balance, the article is fairly interesting, until one reaches down to the comment section, where an anonymous lawyer lets rip against Galewitz. "A nose job costs $3000 in the States??? Who did you do your research with - a vet??? I cannot believe the irresponsibility of this little vignette....Your headline should be “Want to tempt fate, go to a 2d or 3d world country to get your surgery on the cheap!...1st, Costa Rica is “not overseas” - it is just south of the US border IN CENTRAL AMERICA. 2d, have you ever been to Costa Rica - I have and I need to tell you that the standards of hygeine at these “surgical retreats” aimed at the naive surgical tourist trade (predominately from the US) is SUBPAR at best (as are the credentials of the majority of medical staff you’ll find at these centers)."
Press TV reveals where the royals from the middle east travel to for medical treatment. "Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah has had a surgery in the US, as more Arab officials and leaders are undergoing various surgeries abroad."
Marianne Mattera of Medpage Today publishes a survey of 456 American physicians, who say they would wish patients a "bon voyage" if they want to travel overseas for expensive surgery or treatment not available in the U.S.
Update 2 : Oxford business Group publishes an interview with Dr Ahmed Mubarak Al-Marques, Chairman, General Authority for Health Services (GAHS) of Abu Dhabi. "According to a statement issued by Sheikh Rahmatulah, a representative for the Middle East Tourism Authority, approximately 62,000 UAE nationals alone sought medical treatment in Thai hospitals in the first seven months of 2006, resulting in a large loss of revenue for local hospitals."
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