June 25, 2008 by Atul.

Having just returned from the AHIP mega-event, just wanted to put a graphic showing how US health plans have come into existance, along with salient, triggering events along the way.

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June 17, 2008 by Atul.

If you had any doubts about AMA’s acknowledgement, acceptance for this trend, then, you owe it to yourself to read the press release issued by AMA today.

Of particular interest are the 9 guiding principles, meant -but not exclusively - for the patients considering this option.

a) Medical care outside of the U.S. must be voluntary.

(b) Financial incentives to travel outside the U.S. for medical care should not inappropriately limit the diagnostic and therapeutic alternatives that are offered to patients, or restrict treatment or referral options.

(c) Patients should only be referred for medical care to institutions that have been accredited by recognized international accrediting bodies (e.g., the Joint Commission International or the International Society for Quality in Health Care).

(d) Prior to travel, local follow-up care should be coordinated and financing should be arranged to ensure continuity of care when patients return from medical care outside the US.

(e) Coverage for travel outside the U.S. for medical care must include the costs of necessary follow-up care upon return to the U.S.

(f) Patients should be informed of their rights and legal recourse prior to agreeing to travel outside the U.S. for medical care.

(g) Access to physician licensing and outcome data, as well as facility accreditation and outcomes data, should be arranged for patients seeking medical care outside the U.S.

(h) The transfer of patient medical records to and from facilities outside the U.S. should be consistent with HIPAA guidelines.

(i) Patients choosing to travel outside the U.S. for medical care should be provided with information about the potential risks of combining surgical procedures with long flights and vacation activities.

As some of you already know, PreviMed’s products and business models endorse and embrace these guidelines. For instance, from day 1, PreviMed has preached that dealing with accredited facilities is the way to go.

We plan to present, in the near future,  specific commentary on each of the AMA’s guding principles.

Posted in trade groups, PreviMed-General | 1 Comment »

June 14, 2008 by Atul.

In today’s Crain’s New York Business, there is a good article by Gale Scott titled “Aetna plans offers cheaper surgery overseas”. 

The piece also talks about AMA and their approach and we would urge caution against categorizing AMA as a single monolith.

The overall approach validates our thrust here at PreviMed, where, as we said n the recent press release, we are “up-leveling the medical travel trend”.

More from the latest press release:

PreviMed’s products will enable insurance companies and self-insured businesses to engage in the medical tourism space to offer value-added, safety-focused treatment options - along with tremendous cost savings - to their members, employees and patients.

Posted in insurance-companies, PreviMed-General, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

June 8, 2008 by Atul.

Paul D. Johnson in his blog today talks about “Things to consider before your medical trip“. While the focus is on plastic surgery treatments and intended for consumers, it paints a decent and balanced picture about how medical tourism is steadily progressing, how overly negative media coverage has reduced etc. It seems that Paul is associated with a Mexico-based plastic surgery firm.

Our read about the list of countries is different from Paul’s, although both Panama and Costa Rica have very impressive (and experienced) medical talent.

Again, PreviMed’s focus is very different from most participants in this space as we are a business-to-business startup, helping insurance companies and self-insured businesses engage in this space.

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June 5, 2008 by Atul.

A recently launched website www.flyfreeforhealth.com - seems to be based in Singapore - talks about travel to different hospitals for treatment without paying air-fare but after being pre-approved for the treatment, which seems to be mostly cosmetic in nature.

Of course, this is of no particular interest to PreviMed as we are a business-to-business system maker and have no direct connection with any consumers or patients and really want to stay away from the cosmetic and the retail-type treatments.

It is interesting though how this got positioned in their local business press and how (if you scroll down on that article) it got an angry response from a reader.

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