Medical Tourism is becoming a very popular concept in the United States. And, with many overseas hospitals marketing directly to U.S. consumers, many times, biased claims of providing quality healthcare cannot be substantiated.

Although there are many qualified hospitals abroad, one question still remains; how is the American consumer going to choose which overseas hospital will be best suited for their specific procedure?

For American company MedRetreat, the answer to this question lies in the opportunity of having access to a network of pre-qualified hospitals. Easy to access, pre-qualified healthcare provider options, they say,  will empower the consumer to make the best choice based on their specific needs.

Patrick Marsek, Managing Director of MedRetreat, LLC, states, "We're the first U.S. company to provide a list of qualified hospitals to Americans who want to go overseas for medical procedures, cosmetic surgery or dentistry. To date, we've had extremely positive feedback from many satisfied clients going to Malaysia and Thailand via MedRetreat.

"As a result of these successes, we've recently added five other countries to our network including Argentina, Brazil, India, Turkey and South Africa. By expanding our network to seven countries, Americans now have a more diversified selection of destinations to choose from based on their cultural preferences. Regardless of their choice, they'll find world-class, state-of-the-art, certified hospitals to address their healthcare needs."

Marsek goes on to say, "MedRetreat has invested several hundred thousand dollars in research, and, has traveled to these destinations to inspect and verify the quality of healthcare facilities abroad. Through our due diligence process, we've also identified the hospitals that do not meet the stringent criteria to participate in providing medical tourism services to Americans.

"It's quite amazing how the marketing efforts of many foreign healthcare providers have proven to be misleading. For this reason, it's very important to utilize a diligent medical tourism service agent, like MedRetreat, to prepare your medical tourism itinerary. This task should not be taken lightly. Safety should always precede price."

According to MedRetreat, the devaluation of the real (Brazilian currency) against the US dollar, has made Brazil an excellent destination for low cost, world-class medical treatment.

In recent years, Brazil has become internationally renowned for their famous cosmetic and plastic surgery clinics, where the rich and famous have been going in order to maintain their anonymity and recuperate along the pristine Brazilian beaches.

In terms of general medical treatment, Brazil has the most hospitals of any country outside the US that are fully accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCAHO), the largest US Hospital Accreditation organization.

MedRetreat says that their partner hospitals in Brazil are fully JCAHO Accredited and are among the top hospitals in all of Latin America.

Brazil is located in South America and can be reached from most US cities within 8 to 12 hours. MedRetreat offers service to three cities in Brazil: Porto Alegre, the capital of the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul; Santos, a beach town 45 miles from São Paulo city and São Paulo, South America's largest city.  

Brazil is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, with 186 million inhabitants. Named after brazil wood, a tree highly valued by early colonists, Brazil is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rain forests. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader.
 
São Paulo is one of the largest cities in the world in terms of population. This modern, fast-paced urban area is also Brazil's chief commercial and industrial center. Porto Alegre is one of the charming cities in South America. The city is known throughout the world for its famous barbecues, exciting nightclubs, and modern shopping malls.  
 
Brazil's people come from many backgrounds. About half the country's population is of European ancestry--mostly German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Many other Brazilians are of mixed African and European ancestry, and some are of only African descent. Indians, the original Brazilians, form less than 1 percent of Brazil's people.
 
Brazil shares many traditions with Portugal. It was a Portuguese colony from 1500 to 1822 and is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in Latin America. The early Portuguese colonists also brought Roman Catholicism to Brazil. Today, Brazil has more Catholics than any other nation.

MedRetreat - www.medretreat.com

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Comments (9)

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CEO
written by Guest, November 20, 2005

I have worked in Brazilian hospitals for the past 10 years and to my knowledge only Albert Einstein in SP is accredited by the JCAHO. There may be others, but I am unaware of them. I currently work with a company that is setting up hospitals to achieve JCAHO accreditation standards and have consulted with one in Rio. The quality in general of hospitals in Brazil is not good, there are some that reach North American and European standards, but they are far and few between. I hope that the quality evaluations you do are based on actual quality and not on who pays you a "propina" (bribe) to be listed, because this occurs frequently. There are many clinics outside of hospitals that do very good work, on in outpatient basis. Until Brazil itself sets up an accreditation agency and one that is not subject to the political whims of the doctors and hospital owners I would be very skeptical.

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Another JCAHO Accredited Hospital in Bra
written by Guest, November 21, 2005

I know of another high quality, JCAHO accredited hospital in Porto Alegre called Hospital Moinhos de Vento. It is an unbelieveable facility with state-of-the-art equipment and world class surgeons. Hospital Moinhos de Vento has been offering healthcare services since 1927 and has just recently entered into the medical tourism business as an affilitate of MedRetreat, LLC who is based in the U.S. You can get more information by visiting this link: http://www.medretreat.com/inde..._de_vento&

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Brazil is Awesome!
written by Guest, November 21, 2005

Brazil is my favorite place in the world, outside of the U.S. The people are so warm and friendly. I was there for about a week and made many new friends that helped to make my travel experience very pleasurable.

Ironically, I also had the opportunity to visit Hospital Moinhos De Vento, and, it is truly a top notched hospital. Very clean and updated from it's original structure built in the 1920's. They even have a French Restaurant on-site. The reason I mention the hospital is because you always want to know where to receive quality medical care in case of an emergency in a foreign country. It's one of the first things I research when spending a considerable amount of time somewhere away from home. As I will be frequently traveling to Porto Alegre for business in the future, I now feel very comfortable to go for an extended period of time.

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...
written by H. Bachman, October 13, 2006

Can you help me? I am trying to locate and get recommendations on a clinic and or experienced opthomologists who specialize in Intraocular Lens Impant surgery. How can I locate one and how can I check on their record and level of experience?

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The Best Kept Secret in Med Tourism: COLOMBIA
written by Nico James, December 11, 2006

By far the best kept secret in so-called Medical Tourism is Colombia. These people have been giving care to Europeans and Americans for years and only now because of a couple "mom and pop" websties has the public's attention been grabbed. Do NOT leave your medical care to these amateurs! Most of them have just sprung up websites and have no idea what the hey they are doing. First Care Colombia is one of the companies that consists of real professionals and send people only to inspected clinics in Colombia. I recently went down for dental work: CHEAP! CHEAP! And thank God I finally got someone to fix the tooth the right way. This poor tooth has been drilled on some many times and has leaked for years. I went down with the intention of getting a root canal and crown (which could have been done in a 1/2 hour with a computer) but they were SO SO honest and did an inexpensive repair that should have been done years ago! I can't say enough good things about First Care Colombia and thier clinic in Bogota. BTW, the lawywers will tell you be careful. That's right cuz they can't sue Colombian doctors....but then again ask yourself who are they suing here in the USA? Hate to tell you but the best way to avoid any problem here or at home is select a proven clinic with real professionals. Reputation is eveything!

NJ
Fort Lauderdale, FL USA
December 11, 2006

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Mr
written by Tim Hawkins, March 27, 2007

A list of JCI accredited hospital is on the JCI site.
http://www.jointcommissioninte...om/10241/
It doesn't seem a huge effort to check facts like this before
writing an article.
As can be seen Ireland with about 1/70th of the population
has only one less accredited hospital. Spain,Turkey and
Singapore (with a population of only 4.5 million) have more...
Don't forget that other equally respected accreditation organizations
exist. The JCI is important as it allows US citizens a direct comparison
with their own system, accredited by the JCI's parent.

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Study Medicine, Engineering and Business Studies in China,
written by China Mbbs, April 28, 2007

Study medicine in China- Language of Instruction English, study engineering and various other programs in China
medical universities in China, Engineering programs in china in English,
Traditional Chinese Medical Programs, study abroad in China.

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TURKEY
written by Steven Eldridge, October 31, 2007

As far as I know, Turkey will be amongst the top 3 destinations of the world in the near future since it already combines it's geostrategic location with
world quality standards. Medical and Plastic Surgery Tourism is already flourishing at a fast paste and I can speak of my own experience that patients
receive the best treatment you can imagine. There are several countries vying to be hubs amongst their respective regions like India, Thailand, South Africa,
Brazil/Mexico/Argentina, and Turkey for EurAsia having the best of both worlds

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Colombia is Good
written by Matt, November 13, 2008

I would have to agree with Nico from above. There is lots of good care to be found in Colombia. Another example is Medical Tourism Solutions. They are only working with established surgeons and facilities that are leaders in their fields. Worthwhile checking out.

www.medicaltourismsolutions.com

Good luck,

Matt

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