Thursday, February 4, 2016

Getting a Second Opinion in a Third World Country

Press release by Kathy Jordan, CEO for NC Medical TravelFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Kathy Jordan, 336-608-5636Clemmons, NC: February 4, 2016 –We all know that getting a second opinion for any medical or dental treatment or surgery is a smart idea.  What many people do not realize, is that in many cases, that second opinion in the USA is not so much different from the first opinion. However, what we have found as a medical travel company, is that people are often spared unnecessary surgery, or are recommended to have an alternate treatment,  by traveling outside of the USA for that second opinion.  As an example, my own daughter is a college student at UNC, Chapel Hill. She was told by two dentists in NC that she needed her wisdom teeth out.  She took her x-rays to a well qualified dentist in Costa Rica, who recommended to her that she not have her wisdom teeth removed.  Wow! That was a shocker.  Having had the wisdom teeth of my two older kids removed, and my own removed, and my husband’s removed in NC, here was a dentist in a 3rd world country telling us that it was not at all necessary. Of course I googled this, and found an article in the NY Times, among other articles, that reinforced exactly what the dentist in Costa Rica had told her:  that the crowding of the teeth would not be made worse, and that unless there is pain or disease the teeth could remain, and that there may be stem cells in those teeth, and that there are always risks associated with any surgical procedure that are best avoided when possible.  In other words, leave well enough alone.  The outcome for removing the teeth, could result in complications, nerve damage, or even death.http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0
Of special interest in this article, the dentist referenced was a local practitioner from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was quoting those same unfounded statistics that we had always heard and led me (as a parent) to the decision to remove the wisdom teeth of my other two children. I trusted the dentists, and had no reason to disbelieve their statistics.  My daughter’s decision to go to Costa Rica was because she wanted to save $3000 on the surgery, but in the end, she saved $4000 and also was spared needless surgical pain.  As a consolation prize, she was able to spend her money shopping at the Multiplaza Mall in San Jose, go on a couple of nice tours,  and enjoy some great meals and hotels. She came home smiling with all her teeth. Another example that comes to mind is a man who was told that he needed orthopedic surgery on his shoulder. He went to Costa Rica expecting to be told the same thing as in the USA. Instead, he had some physical therapy there ($35 a session as opposed to $350 a session in the USA) was told to swim 2 hours a day, and that would fix it.  As a medical travel company, we have frequently encountered the amazement of people when they speak to specialists that we refer them to, who tell them that surgery is not necessary.  Meeting the doctors, seeing the hospitals, and then googling a bit is enough to convince anyone of the value of a second opinion, even if that second opinion comes from a third world country such as Costa Rica.  (Costa Rica, by the way, ranks higher than the USA for quality of health care by the WHO.  Many specialists and surgeons are trained in the countries that rank above Costa Rica and the USA. I see this when I review their profiles for our clients. What we find are typically attitudes and practices more in line with countries with socialized medicine, that put a priority on long term positive outcome and avoidance of unnecessary procedures.)Isn’t that worth a short inexpensive flight to Costa Rica?About NC Medical Travel to Costa Rica:NC Medical Travel (internationally known as MediRica) is a USA-based company with an open-to-the-public office in Clemmons, NC. They help both individuals and businesses to significantly reduce costs for healthcare. They put the cost savings of medical travel within reach while being more convenient and much safer than unaided medical tourism. This is accomplished though various means, including finding trustworthy and skilled Costa Rican partners, performing background checks on these partners, answering questions from USA residents, and when needed guiding guests personally.Their website is www.ncmedicaltravel.com/
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