May 23, 2008 by Atul.

With increasing demand for “medical tourism” services, and with projected growth, why should any hospital anywhere go through the trouble and expense of getting any international accreditation?

Here are some thoughts, along with usual disclaimers ( we don’t work for or represent any accredition bodies or services in any way; we do believe that the process is healthy for hospitals and helps them to improve).

1. Provides assurance: Americans, generally speaking, look for some seal of approval. This goes back to the “Good Housekeeping” and “UL” logos. More recently, companies with “ISO-certified” won many accolades. Especially, when countries like India and Thailand did not register in the minds of many until recently, some indication of international compliance communicates assurance and predictability.

2. Provides credibility:In addition, accrediting bodies are generally independent. JCI (Joint Commission International) is seperate and claims full autonomy from JCAHO, which audits and reports on US hospitals. If your factory’s Sarbanes-Oxley certification is done by your cousin rather than an independent auditor like PWC, it would be somewhat unsettling. Since the accrediting agencies have pedigrees and audit-ready history, this allows other business stakeholders to get engaged.

 3. Provides spillover advantages:  Some of the reforms made for the accredition win can have unforeseen advantages; Hospitals may need make some changes for the hospital sections targeted for medical tourists. Many of these are not limiting their facilities exclusively for the international patients and will also have other sections or facilities for treating domestic patients (for a lot less fee). Just as General Motors (and others), when asked to comply with California’s emission standards, chose over time to make all cars everywhere compliant, in the same way, some of the improvements made by the international hospitals will benefit the home patients.

 4. Provides a platform for further trust-building:Medical Tourism is based on the premise that there are good doctors everywhere and that patients, even those paying in $$$$, have more or less the same human anatomy and physiology. In order to coordiante the post-treatment home return, there are billing and coding considerations. Having an internationally accredited facility helps the patient’s home caregiver team a headstart towards ensuring continuity of care.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

May 21, 2008 by Atul.

Whether outside the US or inside, it is important to get objective data so that patients can make an informed decision.

The US govt’s HHS has launched an advertising campaign to make folks aware about their website. Called Hospital Compare, this website-based tool provides a comparison, with pretty good user-oriented search flexibility.

 here’s a sample:

Top Hospitals 97%     Average For All Reporting Hospitals In The United States    79%  Average For All Reporting Hospitals In California    73%  KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - SANTA CLARA    92%  STANFORD HOSPITAL    87%  WASHINGTON HOSPITAL    67%           Top Hospitals represents the top 10% of hospitals nationwide. Top hospitals achieved a 97% rate or better.

 Be careful, though, as the reported data can be easily mis-interpreted by a lay person. If you look at the data, get a qualified person to help you understand the differences. Also, some/most of the information may be somewhat dated (thru 2007) and in fairness to Quality professionals, all hospitals are continuously engaged in improving to the extent possible.

Finally, this gives a picture of some parameters regarding hospitals’ performance, there are many many other aspects that you cannot capture here.

Posted in Reporting, Quality, Uncategorized | No Comments »

May 20, 2008 by Atul.

Since PreviMed has just started looking for seed funding, it is nice that we have been picked to present at the “Launch : Silicon Valley ” event in June.

It seems that over 400 startups applied and we were among the 30 that were selected.

If you would like more specifics, please contact us  .

Posted in PreviMed-General, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

May 19, 2008 by Atul.

Ask your company colleagues about “medical tourism” and they will probably give you a predictable answer. Even businesses in the health-care space are no different.

At PreviMed, we understand this trend of overseas health travel, without any false modesty, much better than most others. We believe and know that it promises to disrupt the health-care delivery value chain like never before. And that it brings some unprecedented opportunities for health-care entities and other businesses, who are astute enough to understand and embrace the change. 

So, stay tuned as we at PreviMed explore the origins, track major players, cut through the hype and see how healthcare ecosystems can engage, while still remaining patient-centered.

Posted in PreviMed-Intro, PreviMed-General, Uncategorized | No Comments »