BOSTON – Global healthcare is providing lower costs and quality that may not be found in developed countries, say two experts in the area.
Robert K. Crone, MD, and John Helfrick, both affiliated with Harvard Medical International, a not-for-profit subsidiary of Harvard Medical School, spoke at the recent HIMSS Virtual Conference on the effects of global healthcare on the U.S. economy.
Crone outlined an emerging economy, made up of a middle-class population that is becoming more self-sufficient in providing healthcare through private and government organizations. This population, he said, is living longer, has greater purchasing power and is willing to pay out-of-pocket for healthcare.
Because they are willing to do this, they understand the value of quality care, he said.
Crone said the rise of the middle class is spurring the development of privately financed regional centers of excellence. These centers are specialty-focused and do not compete with surrounding health systems, but rather coexist with them. They capitalize on the lower costs of labor and are able to bring costs down.
Crone pointed out that Wockhardt Mulund in Mumbai, India, took only 18 months “from the first shovel to the first patient.”
Most importantly, he said, these centers are willing to institute a “culture of quality.”
“They are willing to have a corporate culture from the beginning … willing to benchmark globally. They are always striving for “better, faster, cheaper,’” he said.
Helfrick said the United States is looking toward these emerging economies for healthcare – which is where medical tourism comes into play.
Josef Woodman, author of "Patients Beyond Borders," said the first thing that people should look for in overseas hospitals is accreditation.
“Accreditation is a process, not an event,” Helfrick pointed out. It means that the organization is committed to continuously improving the safety and quality of the care that it provides to its patients.
Since 1999, he said, accreditations have “skyrocketed.” What this means for U.S. hospitals, he said, is a negative impact on revenue and a physician and nursing shortage that will be exasperated because accredited facilities will recruit U.S. physicians and nurses to work overseas.
The United States and other developed countries depend significantly on international medical graduates, Helfrick said. Also, he pointed out that for the first time the U.S. medical licensing exam can be conducted outside the United States in Dubai.
Crone said the biggest strike against us is that we limit outcomes reporting and talking openly about quality improvement that we see occurring in emerging economies.