Medical Tourism
Medical tourism for knee replacement is becoming more and more popular with patients who are willing to travel to receive the best medical treatment they can get in the USA. We have a dedicated Total Joint Center at HonorHealth – Osborn here in Arizona. Dr. Stuart C. Kozinn is the medical director of the Joint Center. The term “medical tourism” refers to the increasing number of people travelling to other countries for specialty medical care. Sometimes the motivation is lower price, and sometimes it is for “higher quality” than can be found near home. Many patients without traditional medical health insurance will shop for their “best deal” in order to get a needed procedure. We are hosting a medial tourism program here in Scottsdale, Arizona (which is a very nice place to live AND visit! ) We expect many of our international patients to come from neighboring Canada and Mexico, but have entertained guests form other countries as well. We have had many travelers seeking the new direct Anterior total hip procedure, as well as rotating platform minimally invasive total knee replacement, as these procedures are specialized and not done in all areas. Remarkably, some of our anterior hip patients can even be treated on an outpatient basis (which is also a significant cost savings). (read here!)
National medical tourism is on the rise as well, as patients are willing to travel within the USA to get specialized procedures. Click here to read Dr. Kozinn’s CV:Stuart C. Kozinn MD. 2015 CV
Why Do People Travel to the USA for Knee Replacements?
Of interest, both Canada and Mexico have “government run” national health systems. (Hopefully “Obamacare” will not lead us to the same in the US!) These can lead to long delays, such as in getting an “elective” joint replacement surgery. Canadians have often traveled to Scottsdale during the winters traditionally to get out of the cold weather. Special prices have been developed in partnership with Scottsdale Healthcare Hospital to provide discounts to cash paying patients. Unfortunately, Canadian Health Service insurance will no longer pay for elective surgery in the USA. Call us at 480-994-1149 for the all-inclusive price from the hospital for a maximum 3 night stay for an Anterior Hip Replacement. – The surgeons fee, anesthesiologist fee, and possibly some laboratory testing pre-operation would be added to this cost. This may be more than prices quoted in other far away countries, but there are additional “quality” and “safety” issues to consider in some countries. We run a highly rated Total Joint Center at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn ( now renamed HonorHealth) – and are dedicated to maximizing the success of your procedure. Obviously, no guarentees of success can be made to any patient, as any surgery can have an unpredictable complication. These risks will be discussed with you during your consultation with the surgeon during the informed consent process.
Dr. Kozinn, Claudia (Joint Center nurse), and Tim – a happy SHC Joint Center total knee patient!
We have many patients who travel north from Mexico to have their knee, shoulder and hip surgery here. We will arrange for a Spanish speaking interpreter if needed to help you. The hospital does accept many of the private Mexican insurance plans that are available. We can give you the names of other satisfied patients who have travelled to Scottsdale and are now happy that they did!
If you are from outside the USA, please call Gerry McCann in our office at 480 994 1149 ( Email Gerry or Jill at sjcbilling@gmail.com ), to find out more about how we can help you get the joint replacement you need. We can also use the negotiated discounts that Scottsdale Healthcare has arranged with many local Hotels and Resorts, including the world famous Phoenician Hotel. Dr. Kozinn treats all out of area patients as VIPs, and he will work dilligently in your behalf to try to have all of your needs met. ( Dr. Kozinn will give you his direct contact information to stay in touch after your surgery and for a period after you return home.)
More information will be added to this site over time to help you make your decision. In the mean time, Please visit out main practice website at www.ScottsdaleJointCenter.com for more general information about our practice and your expectations about recovery from Joint Replacement surgery. Read more under the Patient Information tabs to learn about total hip and total knee surgery.
A very informative article on international travel outside the United States was published recently on the first page of the NY Times. Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/health/for-medical-tourists-simple-math.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0 It does exagerate the US costs, and certainly magnifies the surgeon’s fees in the US, but still it has some good information to consider. It is true that everything is somewhat negotiable, so please call if you want to know what the current “best price” is at Scottsdale Healthcare Hospital for a cash paying traveller without US health insurance.
