Does the Federal Government support medical tourism?

The federal government is an enormous organization. There has not been a position transmitted by the Administration to our knowledge. However there is an arm of an important healthcare agency that has at its core, a mission to ensure patient safety for those seeking healthcare abroad.

Previous posts have discussed this in more detail, but the Joint Commission, previously JCAHO, has an affiliate arm, The Joint Commission International. It is this second body's role to review facilities and organizations abroad.

The Joint Commission International is invited to facilities in order to review their safety procedures, quality procedures, licensing and providers credentialling processes and other key organizational issues. They will render a determination that the facility is on par with US requirements or deficient in certain areas. They do not certify that the care is better or worse. Only that the safety features in quality programs and patient care problem resolution are effective and have an equivalence to those found here.

This is an important distinction. Our healthcare system is certified periodically by the former organization, The Joint Commission. They do not state that the healthcare at one facility is better than another, rather they certify that the same features described before exist and are effectively used. Loss of this certification is a death blow to a facility.

Be Well, Travel Safe,

Jim McCormick, MD
Premiere Medical Travel Company
818.917.6189