Recent news about the death of a Finnish citizen following cosmetic surgery in Turkey has brought medical tourism into public awareness in Finland. However, this phenomenon is by no means new - people have sought various health and beauty services while traveling for as long as humans have been traveling. Globalization has accelerated due to easy travel, but especially the internet as a marketing channel and artificial intelligence have further lowered barriers to competition.
The phenomenon is driven by income differences between clients and service providers in different countries. It can now safely be said that medical tourism is here to stay - it affects the entire society and requires both policymakers and patients to be aware of its potential problems.
Travel and healthcare services have developed along two main trends, both of which involve challenges. The model where a provider from a developing country offers services in a developed country is easier to regulate and monitor for patient safety than the reverse situation - when a client from a developed country travels abroad for treatment.
A surgeon who comes from abroad to perform operations in Finland using rented facilities and then disappears when questions of licensing, taxation, or complications arise is unlikely to sustain long-term operations. In contrast, a patient who travels abroad for treatment is entirely subject to the laws and regulations of the destination country.
Every patient must decide for themselves which services to seek. When considering treatment abroad, it is important to clarify all matters concerning personal safety and finances in advance.
Before making any financial commitment to a procedure, it is essential to meet and make a treatment plan directly with the person who will perform the operation - the operating plastic surgeon. During the consultation, one should confirm the qualifications of the surgeon and the rest of the surgical team. If the clinic lacks official accreditation, it is necessary to assess the clinic’s general hygiene and equipment standards and, for example, find out how serious emergencies are managed during surgery and where the patient could be transferred for intensive care if needed.
It is important that the surgeon personally explains the risks and possible alternative procedures. The information should be provided both orally and in writing. The so-called “informed consent” process is part of good medical practice. Ideally, communication should take place in the native language of both parties, but even abroad, both parties should at least be able to speak and understand the working language fluently. Using an interpreter increases the risk of misunderstandings. Written information is nowadays easily available in multiple languages.
It is also wise to confirm key practical details, such as whether a written surgical report or discharge summary will be provided and whether a follow-up appointment has been arranged. When the clinic is far away, it is especially important to know how post-operative wound problems will be handled and what happens if the result is unsatisfactory.
Since the national patient injury insurance only covers incidents within one’s home country, having a separate private insurance policy is practically essential. One should check whether the insurance covers not only the surgery itself but also travel, accommodation, and any possible follow-up treatment or corrective surgery back home.
Since 2006, Siluetti Hospital has been the only Nordic clinic accredited to the American QUAD A standard, which served as the basis for the European service standard CEN 403, approved in 2015.
Information about accreditation can be found at https://www.quada.org/accreditation-standards.
The qualifications of a European plastic surgeon can be verified at https://realplasticsurgeon.eu/, and for surgeons elsewhere in the world at https://www.isaps.org/discover/find-a-surgeon/.