Health tourism checklist

With a private health insurer planning to sell offshore dental and medical packages to Australians who are looking for cheaper prices for treatment, or wanting to obtain a "free holiday" with their offshore medical visit, the Australian Dental Association has produced a consumer check-list.  ADA members are encouraged to download these for patient reference within their practices.

ADA says that Australian dentists and medical practitioners provide a level of quality of service not matched in many parts of the world. They do this in a tight regulatory environment which covers the practitioners, the surgery, the methodology of treatment delivered and the environment in which it is delivered, such as infection control, and the use of quality assured equipment.

The Association warns: "Complex or detailed procedures carry a risk. Having the work done overseas by practitioners that you are not familiar with, in an environment where you do not know the quality of education and training of the practitioner, the regulatory measures in place to guarantee safety and quality of treatment, nor the quality of equipment or products to be used on your treatment, only escalates that risk. Many of the materials used (e.g. implant components) are not available in Australia as they have not passed through the Therapeutic Goods Authority's regulations and so cannot be repaired here.

"If problems arise there may be no guarantee that the provider will remedy the situation. Would you wish to return to that practitioner anyway?"

The Australian Medical Association has issued a similar warning.