American, 44, Wife and Mother of 3, and Medical Tourism Rep. undergoes Surgery In Colombia

Wednesday, September 26th was the beginning of my lowest point. My husband decided to return to our home 25 minutes away, to catch up on sleep. I could not blame him, the sleep deprivation made both of us even more frustrated, anxious, and quick to amp on each other things we did not mean. He left at 9pm and promised me he would return to me by 8am for the procedure at 9. Well, when he failed to post at 9 I started to get a bit angry at first, because he swore up and down, pinky promised, and gave his word he would be there for me. As 8 turned in to 9, I had the operators calling his cell phone and the house phone. None answered. By 9:30 I began to think that something else was delaying him. I had some help from an english speaking woman who was able to call our building security. They had no record of him leaving any time since arriving the night before, so he was still in the home. The security men knocked hard several times on the solid wood door, and no one answered but our chihuahua Sadie. More calls from me, my Mommy and Daddy, the floor operator,
the building security, made me panic. Fortunately my procedure was wisely postponed due to my hysterical scene combined withanxiety, pain, and fear......What has happened to my husband?
After another went by which seemed like a millenia. The security guard tried one last attempt to discover my husbands whereabouts. At about 11am, the message they translated was this-he simply had slept through his alarm clock, and having two doors closed between the bedroom and front door, he was so sleep deprived he was not awakened to the dog barking, pounding on the door, calls for his name, or phone calls. He slept a total of 16 hours. I envied him and was angry, relieved, distraught, and had reached unbearable levels of pain. It was the worst day of my life. I did manage to eat half a BigMac my husband snuck in as a peace offering. It was the most delicious two all beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun in the history of MacDonalds. I ate half of it before bringing it back up and into the toilet. But those fries....they were keepers.
Thursday was day 6. Quite a blur. I have to remember it, so until then. Salud!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wikipedia Defines Colombia Medical Tourism

For full definition click here

"Colombia is most likely the most underestimated destination for Global Healthcare in the Americas. Struggling with security and drug-related issues more than 15 years ago, Colombia is today one of the most thriving economies in South America and safe for tourists.^[66] Colombia's major cities like Bogota, Medellin, Cali and Cartagena are already receiving more than 1.45 million tourist each year and the numbers are increasing.^[67] Global Healthcare has been identified as one of the main drivers for economic growth in the medical sector. Patients from the Caribbean already know Colombia as a first class destination for medical procedures and cosmetic treatments. Now hospitals and facilitators are beginning to successfully convince also US-Americans of the quality of medical services provided in the country. An independent platform to compare the quality and prices of medical and cosmetic services is being supported by the government's export agency and regional initiatives.^[68] Colombia is overcoming its stigma and becoming a major player in Global Healthcare, serving needs of patients all over the Americas."

Cartagena is Host to International Medical Tourism Conference Next Year

Colombia’s northern coastal city Cartagena is likely to host an important corporate tourism conference next year.

“Successful Meeting of the Caribbean and the Islands” [SMCI] will bring together tourism businesses from Latin American, the Caribbean and North America. An estimated 6,500 people are expected to participate in the event held in October 2013.

Proexport, the government agency in charge of promoting tourism, pushed Cartagena as the host city of the conference and says SMCI decided on the tourist destination after an inspection of the city.
Successful Meetings belongs to travel publishing house “Northstar Travel Media,” whose publications reach some 50,000 readers. SMCI will allow Colombia to publicize the tourism opportunities it offers directly to a wide American market.
Successful Meetings’ advertising director Diane DiMaggio said after the 2012 visit “I really loved Cartagena and I look forward to confirming that we will be bringing the event to the city in October 2013.”
This announcement represents more good news for Cartagena which this week came out ahead of Berlin, Germany, and Venice, Italy, in a travel publication’s top ten tourism destinations for 2012
Taken from http://colombiareports.com/travel-in-colombia/cartagena/22593-cartagena-to-host-international-tourism-conference.html

American physician has procedure done in Cartegena, Colombia

How is that for your second opinion? Dr. Curtis Hunt, M.D. of Detroit recently traveled across the Caribbean to historic Cartegena, Colombia where he saved about $3,000 on a single office visit procedure. His story can be found at http://cartagenainfo.net/MedicalTourism/GastroCaribe/index.html

Got Health Insurance? Medical Tourism is Better, Here's Why

Health insurance can be confusing, disappointing, and is almost always expensive. When considering travel abroad for procedures, side-by-side cost comparisons still favor medical tourism. Studies tell the whole story.
The Commonwealth Fund, in its annual survey, “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall”, compares the performance of the health care systems in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada. Its 2007 study found that, although the U.S. system is the most expensive, it consistently under-performs when compared to the other countries.
The Commonwealth Fund completed its thirteenth annual health policy survey in 2010. A study of the survey “found significant differences in access, cost burdens, and problems with health insurance that are associated with insurance design”. Of the countries surveyed, the results indicated that people in the United States had more out-of-pocket expenses, more disputes with insurance companies than other countries, and more insurance payments denied; paperwork was also higher although Germany had similarly high levels of paperwork.

The future of medical tourism is coming!

Cartegena, Colombia is a beautiful and historic coastal town along the Caribbean coast, and next year the proud host of ‘Medical City 2012′, a metropolis of medicine, education, and healthy living for the world. With promising forecasts for the entire medical community and especially medical tourism, Medical City certainly will be beneficial to Colombia and promote visitors whether it be vacationers or those seeking life-changing surgery. Find more at http://www.cartagenainfo.net/MedicalTourism/medical-tourism.html

Comparative Knee Replacement Costs for Colombia vs USA

Comparative knee replacement costs in Colombia vs. U.S.

June 2, 2011

Medical tourism for knee/hip replacements has emerged as one of the more widely accepted procedures because of the lower cost and minimal difficulties associated with the traveling to/from the surgery.
Colombia provides a knee replacement for about $5,000 USD, including all associated fees, such as FDA-approved prosthetics and hospital stay-over expenses”.
—from “Medical tourism growing worldwide” by Becca Hutchinson, UDaily, July 25, 2005. Retrieved September 5, 2006.

“For patients without health insurance, a total knee replacement (in the U.S.) can cost $35,000 or more.”
—from http://www.costhelper.com/cost/health/knee-replacement.html

Cartagena's Medical City Promises to Increase Medical Tourism

“One of the last reasons why Colombia is the medical destination of

the future is the development of a medical supercity, the “Medical
City 2012′ project that is being build in the upscale suburbs of
Cartagena, approximately 10 kilometers from the Cartagena airport.
This project, spearheaded by Dr. Francisco Holguin, aims to provide
comprehensive services in a select group of surgical specialties
including cardiac surgery, orthopedics, bariatric surgery, dentistry
and plastic surgery. In a recent interview with Holguin, he stated,
“No hospital, not John Hopkins, not Harvard can be excellent in all
areas of medicine. But with the right programs, and the right staff, a
place like Medical City can be excellent in a few select areas.” He is
meeting with leading physicians in these areas to develop surgical
specialty programs at the new facility.”
—from ‘Colombia healthcare network future of medical tourism for
Americans’, http://www.wellnessvisit.com/mtnblog/?p=451