New standards for cosmetic surgery in Europe

The Health Tourism Blog has moved to the IMTJ web site. You can now find the Health Tourism Blog here in future.I will continue to post the first few paragraphs of the blog posts here. You can find the full version of this blog post on IMTJ:

Here's an extract of the latest blog post: New standards for cosmetic surgery in Europe


The recent PIP implants controversy has raised more concerns about regulation, operation and standards within the cosmetic surgery industry. In the UK, the Guardian newspaper has recently highlighted private cosmetic clinics that employ surgeons to carry out breast enlargements, nose jobs and tummy tucks who do not hold qualifications as plastic surgeons within the NHS (Private cosmetic clinics employing 'unqualified' surgeons).  There are also concerns about the quality standards and practices of cosmetic surgery clinics both within the UK and across Europe. A new European Standard on Aesthetic Surgery Services represents a significant move to address these shortcomings.

Regulating the cosmetic surgeons

In general, cosmetic and plastic surgeons who carry out cosmetic surgery at one of the private hospitals owned by UK groups such as Nuffield, BMI and Spire hospitals will hold an NHS consultant position, usually in Plastic Surgery or ENT Surgery - NHS consultants who do some private cosmetic surgery work. In contrast, many of the surgeons working for the cosmetic surgery chains such as Transform, Harley Medical Group and the Hospital Group are not NHS consultants.
The British Association of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has raised concerns about the influx of cosmetic surgeons into the UK from Europe. The BAAPS President told the Guardian, "We very often get applicants from Europe. Although they automatically get on the specialist register, the quality of training they have had is in no way equivalent to a trainee in the UK and they are often not deemed suitable for an NHS post".

According to Transform, "Qualifications obtained in other parts of Europe are at least the equal to those obtained in the UK" and said it was "completely untrue and highly misinformed" to suggest otherwise.
In June 2011, the European Commission published a Green Paper, “Modernising the Professional Qualifications Directive”. This Directive, adopted in 2005, sets the rules for mutual recognition of professional qualifications between Member States.  Consultation on this paper has now closed.

Read more about this in the full version of this blog post on IMTJ: New standards for cosmetic surgery in Europe

Why the medical tourism industry must do better...much better

To keep things simple, this blog has moved to the IMTJ web site. You can find the Health Tourism Blog here in future. Here's an extract of the latest blog post entitled: Why the medical tourism industry must do better...much better

Whilst the medical tourism industry continues to sing its own praises and tell itself how great it is.... consumers are telling a different story. The 2011 Medical Tourism Survey being conducted by European Research Specialists on behalf of Treatment Abroad raises some concerns about the quality of treatment and customer service that the industry delivers to patients.

As results of the latest Treatment Abroad Medical Tourism Survey 2011 come in, we’re beginning to get an idea of how patients view the medical tourism experience. So far, we’ve managed to generate 860 responses to the survey from patients who went to more than 60 countries.  Each respondent completes a fairly detailed online survey that takes them around 5-10 minutes. The results are being analysed by an external research market researcher. (Find out more about the Treatment Abroad Medical Tourism Survey 2011). The aim is to generate over 1,000 survey completions to provide valuable insight into the medical tourism experience.

We’ll be releasing the full results and report in 2012, but I have taken a look at the “story so far” provided by the research. The bad news is that since the previous survey was conducted two years ago, the industry hasn’t got any better at what it does. Initial analysis, suggests that it has got worse. Patient satisfaction levels are down. When asked:

• “How satisfied are you OVERALL with your experience of going to another country for treatment?”

...only 65% of the patients say that they are “Very Satisfied”, and 20% say they are “Quite Satisfied”.
These results are disappointing; they are well below what you see when you research satisfaction levels for patients visiting private hospitals and clinics in their own countries.

.....Continue reading this medical tourism blog post on the IMTJ web site.

A code of practice for medical tourism

At Treatment Abroad, we have introduced the first medical tourism code of practice for healthcare providers. The "Code of Practice for Medical Tourism" aims to encourage best practice in medical tourism through a commitment by healthcare providers overseas to a voluntary code of practice.

The standards of business practice and customer service in the medical tourism indutry are variable. But having said that ...they are probably much higher than many critics of the industry suggest. (In our recent survey of 650 medical tourists, 97 per cent of patients said they would be willing to travel abroad for treatment again).

The Code is an opportunity for agencies and healthcare providers to reassure patients considering overseas treatment that they are adopting best practice.

If the medical tourism industry continues to grow, it needs to adopt some common standards and best practices. Hence the Code of Practice for Medical Tourism. Healthcare providers and agencies who sign up to the Code will be identified as adopting a “best practice for medical tourism” and will be recognised on http://www.treatmentabroad.com/.

In addition providers who are approved will be able to display the Treatment Abroad accreditation mark on their website and patients will be able to access accreditation details online.

In order to receive accreditation, organisations are asked to demonstrate best practice in a number of areas covering provision of information, the patient experience and contractual terms, conditions and guarantees. The application will be reviewed by an independent consultant.

We believe that this is a positive step for the industry and offers a chance for providers to demonstrate their commitment to best practice in dealing with patients from overseas.

Further information about the Code of Practice for Medical Tourism is available at:www.treatmentabroad.com/medical-tourism/code-of-practice