Apollo Hospital in Bangalore, India, has changed its name to Apollo International Hospital in an effort to boost its medical tourism draw. Foreigners account for about 10% of the facility's patient base. The hospital touts advanced technology and recognition from international health insurance companies.
Malaysia's medical travel industry is benefiting from the recent political turmoil in Thailand and its price advantage against Singapore. Research shows medical tourism in Malaysia will remain this way despite the current economic times.
Discoveries from stem cell research could lead not only to breakthrough treatments for scores of conditions like diabetes, Parkinson's, heart disease, and multiple sclerosis, but they also holds the potential for unlocking how diseases manifest and could bring new preventive therapies to the masses.
Just days ago, the FDA approved the first human trial of an embryonic stem-cell therapy for 10 patients paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. This is exciting news for many who suffer with lifelong diseases or injuries. These poor souls are frustrated by the seemingly glacial pace of research and the political and religious debates that have limited federal funding.
Indeed, as Time magazine points out this week, many of today's leading stem cell scientists are conducting research abroad in Britain, Singapore, China, and other destinations where the government is more supportive and receptive. Thanks to modern technology these clinical researchers have networked across the globe to advance their discoveries well beyond the hype.
As legitimate and ethical research has emerged abroad, private stem cell clinics have also set up shop in countries friendly to their business. Numerous clinics around the world are aggressively marketing unproven and perhaps risky stem cell interventions directly to patients, according to the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
No one has figured out how many patients have sought stem cell therapy abroad, but experts suspect they number in the thousands. Far too many of these desperate people are paying thousands of dollars on stem cell injections based on empty promises and patient testimonials.
ISSCR says the new guidelines were created by a multidisciplinary task force of stem cell researchers, clinicians, ethicists, and regulatory officials from 13 countries. The group warns: "The marketing of unproven stem cell interventions is especially worrisome in cases where patients with severe diseases or injuries travel across borders to seek treatments purported to be stem cell-based 'therapies' or 'cures' that fall outside the realm of standard medical practice. Patients seeking medical services abroad may be especially vulnerable because of insufficient local regulation and oversight of host clinics."
Private clinics that market stem cell tourism without real evidence these therapies work threaten more than just the patients they treat; they run the risk of casting the medical travel industry as a whole in the role of the snake oil salesman. Often in this space I discuss the rising demand for medical travel options, but ethical considerations of medical travel will continue to be debated for a long time to come.
Bottom line, the spirit of caveat emptor has no place in medical travel or the healthcare industry as a whole.
View Rick Johnson's profileNote: You can sign up to receiveHealthLeaders Media Global, a free weekly e-newsletter that provides strategic information on the business of healthcare management from around the globe.
U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) will reintroduce a bill that would create a trust fund to pay physicians for patients who create personal health records. The proposal would require that the Department of Health and Human Services establish regulations for Web-based PHRs, such as making possible the exchange of health data with other sources and providing de-identified data for public health analysis and research.
The Veterans Affairs Department has agreed to pay veterans $20 million as part of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed after a data security breach in 2006. Veterans were exposed to possible identity theft when the VA lost their personal health information. Veterans will be compensated upon proving emotional distress or expenses paid for credit monitoring.
Motion Computing and Sig-Tec have announced that they have created a partnership to deliver solutions for mobility, information security, and clinical workflow for healthcare providers. The partnership comes after several joint client initiatives at major healthcare and academic organizations where the companies implemented solutions that improve workflows, free up resources, and improve patient experiences, according to a release.