Understanding the cost of a treatment or surgery

This section will hopefully help you understand what you will be spending most of your money on and allow you to create a comprehensive budget. There are two main types of expenditures during a medical journey: medical costs and non-medical expenses. As a note, the cost-calculations listed below are for patients that lack insurance, and are using other means to pay for their trip.  For patients whose insurance policies include medical tourism, you need to find out from your network manager what is included and what isn’t covered in your policy so you can appropriately budget for your trip.

A few hospitals in medical tourism destinations offer package prices when it comes to the medical expenses—this package deal will include a lump-sum payment that is inclusive of all the various factors that are listed below. It would be beneficial for a medical tourist to seek for a facility that offers this package price as it will help you avoid paying individual charges for different aspects within a hospital. It can also help you to steer clear of overspending unnecessarily.

If your facility does not offer a bundle deal for the medical expenses, these are the various factors you should be aware of as they will be likely to show up on your medical bill.

Cost of medical treatment when budgeting for medical tourism

Treatment for any disease or medical condition involves consultation with the medical practitioner, diagnostic tests and subsequent visits before a treatment is finalized. All these factors directly or indirectly contribute towards the total cost of the treatment. The factors that significantly contribute towards the total medical treatment costs are listed below. You are recommended to consider these factors while researching for the right doctor and facilities.

Cost of physician fees when budgeting for medical tourism

The fees charged by the physician are one of the major factors that contribute towards the total medical costs. It is one of the most expensive aspects of medical travel that need to be budgeted for prior to travelling. The higher the skills or specialty of the physician, the higher the fees you are likely to incur. It includes pre- and post-consultation, actual treatment and the related procedure. Each of these different charges contributes significantly towards the total invoice value.

Additional charges can also come up if the patient develops any complications or discomfort. This happens when surgery is involved. The doctor is likely to warn you of any possible complications during the consultation phase. For example, a diabetic patient will need additional care to stabilize their blood sugar before a cataract operation can be performed. Here the physician is forced to monitor other vital parameters to ensure the operation is successful. Patients that have complicated conditions will require extra time and effort from the physician resulting in extra charges being billed to compensate for the additional labour—in situations like this, it becomes difficult to stick to the original budget.

Cost of anaesthesiology fees when budgeting for medical tourism

Anaesthesia is a vital medical requirement for all surgical procedures.  Sometimes (especially if you have not opted for a package price), the fees for anaesthesia are charged separately and likely to be higher if a complex operation needs to be performed. Medical treatment requires the patient to pay fees to the anaesthetist which are additional to the charges from your treating doctor—so patients should find out about these charges to accurately budget for them. It is usual practice that the physician or hospital will recommend an anaesthesiologist who is attached to the facility. 

Doctors administer two different types of anaesthetics – local or general. A dentist might choose to give local anaesthesia for a root canal to numb the pain. A surgeon is likely to utilize general to ensure that the operation is successful. How much anaesthesia is to be administered is critical as it could affect a patient’s recovery and cause severe complications in the event that you have been given the wrong dose.  There are different rates for the two types of anaesthetics. The fees for the anaesthetics include fees for the anaesthetist and the administration of the drug. It also includes the care during the procedure as well as the post-operative care.

Anaesthesia is a very vital aspect, thus you should aim to select a hospital that boasts competent anaesthetic facilities including state-of-the-art anaesthesia equipment.

Cost of surgical implants when budgeting for medical tourism

A major amount of money spent on certain operations involves the cost of surgical implants. Some surgeries require high-tech implants such as artificial pacemakers, or more common inserts such as silicone for breast augmentation. A medical tourist availing a procedure that would require medical implants should inquire about their cost prior to the procedure in order to accurately budget for them.

Cost of consumables when budgeting for medical tourism

Consumables are non-reusable items that are utilized during the procedure and for surgical dressing. Examples of this include sutures, gauze, cotton, gloves etc. The number this amounts to varies from facility to facility. If you are interested in budgeting for this, you should inquire from the international patient department or directly from your treating doctor.

Cost of prescription drugs post-treatment when budgeting for medical tourism

In many cases patients need to follow up with medicines long after the completion of the medical treatment. After the patient is released and all the discharge procedures are completed, the hospital is not responsible for providing prescribed drugs. Patients have to bear the expenses of the medical bills of all the prescribed drugs by the treating doctor. This is very vital for the full compliance of the procedure. Some conditions may require lifelong medication and some can be ceased once the patient is fully recovered.