Medical tourism

Before you make any plans to have a medical, cosmetic, or dental treatment overseas, you should talk to your doctor about the medical procedure and the risks.

Insurance and costs

It might be cheaper to have a medical procedure in another country, but as with all travel, you should be prepared for the unexpected. Make sure you tell your travel insurance company about your plans to receive a medical procedure outside of New Zealand.

You are responsible for the cost of your treatment, and costs incurred if something goes wrong.

Medical standards and practices in other countries

If you are travelling to a country where you don’t speak the local language, it may be difficult to communicate with healthcare professionals about your care.

You should also be prepared for hygiene and medical practice to be different to those in New Zealand. For example:

• Diseases like hepatitis B and HIV can be transmitted by medical equipment that hasn’t been properly sterilised.
• Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be more common in some countries than others.
• Blood products might not have been screened for blood-borne infections.

Medication standards can also be different. Poor quality or counterfeit medications are a problem in some countries.

You should also consider what will happen if there are complications from your medical procedure. Does the country you’re travelling to have capacity to provide intensive care? Will you need to be evacuated to New Zealand if an emergency happens?

Recovery

Make plans for your recovery period after a medical, cosmetic, or dental treatment. You should take someone you know with you and communicate your wishes to them in case they need to make decisions on your behalf.

Remember that flying after surgery may increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis.