Medical Tourism FAQs About Doctors and Dentists

• Where Was This Doctor or Dentist Trained?

• Is the Dentist or Doctor Licensed?

• Is There an Independent Body That Maintains Safety Records and Other Important Data Regarding Hospitals and Practitioners?

• How Many Medical Procedures Has This Doctor or Dentist Performed?  How Recently?  How Successfully?

• Is This Dentist or Doctor Board Certified in His or Her Specialties?  How Recently?

• Does This Doctor or Dentist Receive Regular Training through Seminars, Forums, Functions, and Coursework in His or Her Specialization?  If So, How Often?

• How Can I Check the Safety Records of the Hospital, Doctor, or Dentist?

• Do I Get to Pick My Doctor or Dentist, or Will I Be Assigned One?

• Will I Have Round-the-clock Nursing Care during My Recovery?

• Is It Necessary for Me to Bring My Own Nurse?

• Will I Be Expected to Tip Hospital Personnel?

• If Healthcare Is So Good in This Country, Why Do So Many Medical Practitioners Study Abroad?

Where Was This Doctor or Dentist Trained?

As you begin researching your medical tourism options, you will soon discover that many doctors, dentists, and nurses received their training at premier medical universities around the world.  In some cases, the names of these institutions will be quite familiar, while in other cases, you’ll have difficulty just pronouncing them.  Keep in mind, however, that just because a medical practitioner didn’t receive his or her training in your native country doesn’t mean that he or she isn’t qualified.  You’ll need to research the legitimacy and credibility of whatever school(s) did the training. 

The simplest way to determine the certification and training of your provider is to ask the medical facilities directly.  Simply send them a quick e-mail, and they should get back to you relatively soon.  If they don’t get back to you, it might be best to explore other options. 

Another way to determine certification and training is to search for the medical provider’s name on Google or your favorite search engine.  Alternatively, you can check the medical facility’s Web site to see if it has brief biographies of its staff members.  If you’d like to be especially thorough, you can contact the medical practitioner’s school or program to verify his or her graduation status.
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Is the Dentist or Doctor Licensed?

Very rarely will you find unlicensed medical practitioners working in professional hospital settings.  Although very few countries approach medical malpractice with the same “fervor” that the United States does, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t hold healthcare and safety in the same regard.  This is especially true for medical facilities that promote themselves as “medical tourism hotspots.”  Because their business is largely dependent on foreign patients, they typically want to make sure that their doctors, dentists, and nurses have all their relevant paperwork in order. 

However, licensing varies from country to country, so the exact standards and regulations might be a little different from what you are used to.  If you have specific questions about the quality and legitimacy of a practitioner’s license, you should consult the issuing agency and find out what requirements and restrictions they have for everyone in its network.
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How Many Medical Procedures Has This Doctor or Dentist Performed?  How Recently?  How Successfully?

Again, this is information that the medical facility should be able to provide when asked.  If you have trouble getting responses to emails and phone calls, you should consider going with another medical facility altogether.  As a general rule, if a medical facility doesn’t respond quickly to potential patients and clients, it probably won’t respond quickly if you have a medical complication after your procedure is completed.  It’s best to stick with those hospitals, dental offices, and wellness centers that address your concerns in a timely fashion.
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Is This Dentist or Doctor Board Certified in His or Her Specialties?  How Recently?

Just because someone is certified as a physician or dentist doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is qualified in every single branch of medicine.  You don’t want a pediatrician performing back surgery, and you don’t want an oncologist cleaning your teeth.  Again, these are questions and concerns that the medical facility should answer promptly.
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Does This Doctor or Dentist Receive Regular Training through Seminars, Forums, Functions, and Coursework in His or Her Specialization?  If So, How Often?

Medical knowledge grows at an exponential rate, and the training that a physician or dentist received 5, 10, or 15 years ago may no longer be adequate in today’s health care industry.  As such, medical practitioners must constantly update their skills by: 

• Subscribing to medical journals
• Publishing scholarly works
• Attending seminars regularly
• Completing coursework
• Joining medical associations, forums, and other related organizations

Ask the medical tourism facility whether or not it requires periodic training for its doctors and dentists.  And if so, how often?  You can also develop a general sense of how involved a medical practitioner is by Googling his or her name and seeing how many trade functions, articles, citations, and scholarly works come up.  This is no substitution for direct questioning, but it can help you learn more about each dentist or doctor.
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How Can I Check the Safety Records of the Hospital, Doctor, or Dentist?

Most of the high profile medical tourism destinations around the world are very proud of their success rates and safety records.  So if you ask about them (and you certainly should), they should be able to direct you to the appropriate sections of their Web sites where inspections, safety records, success rates, and other important statistics are kept.  And of course, a Google search of the hospital’s name coupled with search terms like:

• Success rate
• Malpractice
• Mortality rate
• Safety inspections
• Legal action
• Law suits
• Settlements
• Error rate

will probably help you develop a much broader view of the relative safety standards that the doctor, dentist, or hospital has.
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Do I Get to Pick My Doctor or Dentist, or Will I Be Assigned One?

This ultimately depends on the medical facility, your specific condition, and the timing of your visit.  It’s very rare for a hospital or dental office to refuse a patient’s request for a specific practitioner.  But if your medical condition warrants a different type of specialist, or if your preferred doctor is unavailable for the procedure, you might have to go with whatever practitioner the hospital recommends (assuming you approve).  This is why planning your trip well in advance is a good idea.  Make the necessary reservations as far ahead as you possibly can to ensure that you receive treatment from the doctor(s) or dentist(s) that you want.
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Is It Necessary for Me to Bring My Own Nurse?

Depending on your particular medical condition, you might feel more comfortable bringing a nurse or healthcare provider with you.  This is especially true if you require walking assistance, wheelchairs, heart monitors, oxygen tanks or any other medical equipment that needs constant attention.  Keep in mind, however, that your nurse’s certification won’t necessarily transfer over to other regions of the world.  He or she might be able to provide administrative healthcare support outside of the medical facility, but once you are admitted, the hospital or dental staff on-site will handle the vast majority of duties and responsibilities. 

If you are a relatively healthy and mobile individual who doesn’t typically need nurse support back home, you can probably get away with not taking a nurse with you.  Most of the reputable medical tourism facilities have excellent nurses on hand who can take care of whatever medical needs you might have.  If you are unsure, however, it doesn’t hurt to call ahead and alert the necessary parties to your specific medical requirements.  For a more detailed discussion involving traveling medical personnel and portable equipment, please read our section on Traveling with Disabilities.
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Will I Be Expected to Tip Hospital Personnel?

Tipping is a personal decision, and we would never want to tell anyone that they absolutely should not tip.  But as a general rule, hospital personnel will not expect tips or gratuity since most medical bills will already have service charges, taxes, and VAT included in them.  If you’d like to show your gratitude, following up with a nice note, testimonial, or flowers would be more appropriate.
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If Healthcare Is So Good in This Country, Why Do So Many Medical Practitioners Study Abroad?

There are probably a number of reasons why so many doctors, nurses, surgeons, and dentists in medical tourism countries receive their accreditation and training elsewhere.  Some enjoy studying and working abroad simply for the experience.  Others do it for financial reasons.  Name recognition, however, is probably the biggest reason.   

Although many medical universities in countries like India, Singapore, and Thailand can compete with some of the best schools in the US or Europe, they don’t always have the international recognition that schools in the West do.  By receiving their training abroad, doctors, dentists, and nurses from “medical tourism hotspots” enjoy the benefits of multicultural learning and international exposure.  In many ways, this makes them more employable and marketable, no matter where they decide to work.
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