What is medical tourism?
Medical tourism is the act of traveling to other countries to obtain medical, dental or cosmetic care. A combination of many factors has led to the enormous increase in the popularity of medical tourism. Two of the most important reasons for medical tourism are the long waiting lists and the high costs of health care in industrialized countries.
What should I tell my doctor?
You should discuss your thoughts and plans with your primary physician and/or cardiologist. It is not uncommon for a physician's initial reaction to be skeptical although they become more receptive to your idea once they look into the actual hospital, the physicians' credentials and the overall price differential.
Why does medical care cost so much less abroad?
At our department you can receive expert medical treatment in the field of heart surgery for 20-40% less than at a hospital in your country. The cost difference depends on the fact which country and which health and medical system you are coming from to us. Over 71% of hospital costs are labor-related, according to a recent World Health Organization report, which helps explain the high costs in Western Europe and the U.S. In some other countries costs are high due to extremely high costs of medical devices and disposables used in cardiac surgery.
What services are included in my medical estimate?
Our medical package prices include department fees, physician charges, consultations, medical tests needed for this type of surgery, meal and accommodation charges. A package price can also include the quotes for travel-related charges such as airfare, transfers, and accommodation for a person accompanying the patient.
How much money can I save by going abroad for medical treatment?
Our department provides first-class medical treatment for 20-30% of the cost of comparable Western European and U.S. medical services. In the case of implantation of ICD (defibrillators) or CRT devices U.S. patients can save thousands of dollars - up to 40% even with travel expenses factored into the equation.
When are payments due?
Prior to the operation patients are only required to make a small down-payment to schedule their treatment. The remaining payment is due prior to the actual admission into the hospital. There are several payment options available to patients using PayPal.
How do I make a payment?
Our department provides several payment options using PayPal. PayPal is an account-based system that lets anyone with the an e-mail address securely send online payments using their credit card or bank account. Over 100 million people use PayPal to send and receive money. Please visit http://www.paypal.com for more information. The setup of a PayPal account is easy and free for buyers.
How do I know that the quality of care is excellent?
Quality is our greatest concern. To ensure exceptional service we perform a rigorous screening of our processes. We monitor our quality also through patient feedback and reports from international health care agencies.
What training and background do the physicians have?
Our aim is to make the department more transparent through information. You are in-vited to review our pro files to better understand the qualifications of the medical providers. We are a German-trained team, with a long working experience in German hospitals. For our U.S. patients we emphasize that almost a quarter of physicians practicing in the U.S. are foreign-trained. According to an October 2005 article in The New England Journal of Medicine, almost 22% of MDs practicing in the United States in 2004 were non-Americans trained in foreign medical schools.
What are the facilities like? Does the hospital maintain the same standards of sanitation?
Our department is working in a hospital that opened in September 2006. All medical devices needed for open-heart surgery are available and fully operational. Our patients can expect single rooms, excellent Cyprus food, no waiting list and first-rate nursing. We are doing our best to adhere to the highest standards of cleanliness and services. We are in the process of standardization and accreditation for JCI and ISO. Joint Commission International (JCI) is the international arm of the U.S.-based accreditation body Joint Commission on Accreditation for Health Care Organizations.
Do you have access to the latest technology and medical devices?
Our department is working in the hospital that opened in September 2006. All necessary equipment for heart surgery is available and of up-to-date technological standard.
What factors should I consider when choosing your hospital?
The primary consideration in choosing a hospital (and a department within) should be the quality of care and the costs. To be able to compare the costs, please contact us and ask for a quotation.
How is the nursing care/ staff?
The nurses in our department come from Germany, Cyprus, and Serbia. All of them are experienced nurses with a long working experience in cardiac surgery.
Will I experience language difficulties or translation problems?
We communicate with our patients in Greek, German, English, Serbo-Croation, and Russian. We offer local guides to assist you with translations and logistics if needed.
How safe is the information that I enter onto your website?
Any information entered on our Web site is secure. Your personal information will not be shared with anyone other than the providers you choose to share it with.
How many days prior to the operation do I have to come?
It depends on the kind of open-heart surgery you are seeking. At the time of scheduling for the operation we will advice you how many days prior to the treatment you need to be here. Typically, it is just one day.
How many day after the operation can I stay?
Your medical package indicates the minimum number of days you need for recuperation before you fly home again. Normally, after open-heart surgery you need approximately 10-14 days to recover and to be able to fly back home safely. Of course, you don't need to stay in the hospital all the time. Typically, a patient spends 5-7 days in a hotel on the seaside - under our medical observation, of course.
Can you make comparison to the other medical tourism destinations India Singapore?
For patients coming from Europe the distance to Cyprus is less than half of that to India or Singapore.
Patients coming from the U.S. should know that there are lots of hospitals with excellent services all over the world. That means you have to compare the all-around costs and the quality of the services.
Cyprus is called the Aphrodite Island, which means we enjoy excellent climatic conditions throughout the year, with lots of sight-seeing attractions for the person in your company. Of course, after the treatment you and your company can stay on, on your own, for a couple of days to recover on this beautiful island.
What are the hospital accreditations and what are the benefits?
We are doing our best to adhere to the highest standards of cleanliness and services. We are in the process of standardization and accreditation for JCI and ISO. Joint Commission International (JCI) is the international arm of the U.S.-based accreditation body Joint Commission on Accreditation for Health Care Organizations. The benefit of it for the patient is to have a guarantee that all procedures and treatments are done in full accordance with European and U.S.-American standards.
