Nov

10

Outsourcing has many arms, each with wide reach.

In an earlier Outsourcing Opinions article, “Outsourcing helps the Health and Medical Industries”, we discussed on the business model’s effectiveness in allowing contributions from different medical and research areas of different countries in the global pool of quality medical and health services.

Now, we will see how outsourcing is again changing the way people that still get quality living despite being sick in bed.

With outsourcing, doctors could be “out” but still available for help.

“The Doctor is online, he may see you now.”

Need a second opinion? Why not outsource for one?

Outsourcing is pushing the frontier of where people can get quality medicine and professional advice, overcoming barriers.

India

With High-quality care and cut-rate surgery available in India and in other countries in the Asia-Pacific, uninsured and underinsured Americans have become tourist/patients, flying out for hip replacements and sophisticated heart surgeries, all at a discount.

Initially medical tourism was considered frightening and risky; however thanks to the world-class skill of Indian doctors and surgeons, American and European patients wonder why they haven’t thought of flying to where surgery costs are at least half than the cost it would take to do the same medical procedures in the US.

Medical tourists flock to India usually for cosmetic surgery, dentistry and elective orthopedic procedures for the knee, back and hip. Cardiac treatment and surgery dealing with obesity now is growing in popularity.

As with legal outsourcing, medical outsourcing has become a powerful driver for profit growth for India’s economy, perhaps overcoming India’s IT and BPO industries.

Australia

To cut the waiting list of patients for elective surgery, the Australian Government acquires the services of a private medical firm to perform operations in Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Despite opinions that oppose this move, citing disrespect for the professional group of surgeons working at the hospital and risks for the patients themselves, the Government would not apologize for its efforts to reduce waiting lists.

“We are putting the patients first and taking temporary action to clear the long-term waiting lists. We have increased the number of plastics and urology cases this year, and we would prefer to be able to conduct the surgery by QEH doctors, but some patients still remain on the long-term lists.”

-John Hill, Health Minister – Australia

Philippines

Using a laptop, a webcam and a headset, a medical specialist can provide consultations or diagnosis to a patient, fellow doctor or health worker thousand of kilometers away just using free online resources, like the Internet call software Skype, to provide healthcare access even to remote areas.

That is what is happening now with the National Telehealth Center of the Philippine General Hospital, Manila City in accordance to their cause to provide “telemedicine” to remote, under-served areas in the Philippines, overcoming geographic limitations to give people access to basic health services

Through cable or Wi-Fi, a medical professional on a medical mission on a far-away mountain village can access the National Telehealth Center’s website; send a query that’ll be received immediately to be studied by supervising nurses, similar to a regular hospital triage system. The nurses will then determine which available specialist in the Philippine General Hospital roster to refer the query to.

When immediate response is required, then the specialist reaches the remote doctor seeking consultation using Skype.

In the near-future, the National Telehealth Center hopes to utilize software, developed by the College of Engineering of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, which can easily exchange vital medical information like a patient’s blood pressure, temperature, electrocardiogram (ECG) results from distant and isolated provinces such as Batanes.

Telehealth is not only limited to access to medical consultation. It can also be a means to train health workers, midwives and nurses from the denizens of remote areas or assigned to live there, through video conferencing. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Knowledge to better health practices is far better, and also cheaper to acquire, than medicine or drugs.

The National Telehealth Center and its vision have given doctors the hope that they could help more people no matter where they are. Distance is no longer an obstacle to saving lives.

Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. – your outsourcing partner!

References:

  1. “Medical Tourism in India: $1 billion to the economy by 2012.” 4 November 2008. The Medical Tourist. Accessed 9 November 2008. Link here
  2. Dickerson, Marla. “Most patients can save at least half by going overseas.” 2 November 2008. Los Angeles Times. Accessed 9 November 2008. Link here
  3. Shepherd, Tory. “Doctors threaten to quit over surgery outsourcing.” 31 October 2008. Adelaide Now. Accessed 9 November 2008. Link here
  4. Tandoc, Edson. “‘Telemedicine’ means doctor is always in.” 9 November 2008. The Philippine Daily Inquirer. Accessed 9 November 2008. Link here
  5. Unmesh, Kher. “Outsourcing Your Heart.” 21 May 2006. Time Magazine Online. Accessed 1 November 2008. Link here

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