Just a few years back, medical travel and tourism was the province of a small and select group of hospitals and medical facilities; and the United States was better known as a destination for international patients, not as a country from which patients went elsewhere for care.

Today, the infrastructure of medical travel and tourism is global. Consumers led the way and the medical and business communities have expanded to cater to the growing demand. In that context, BridgeHealth’s announcement of a global network of providers puts it at the leading edge of providing international care but patients in the U.S. shouldn’t be surprised. Providing for increased choice in destinations, facilities, surgeons, doctors and pricing is part of what medical travel *does*, as a phenomenon, as it grows.

– the moderator

DENVER - Responding to the growing demand among employers, health plans and other stakeholders for a comprehensive, “world-class” network of international healthcare centers of excellence, BridgeHealth International, Inc. (BridgeHealth) today unveiled its initial system of providers comprised of over 25 hospitals and 600 physicians, dentistsand health professionals in ten countries. With a focus on serving businesses and individuals for the delivery of international medical care, BridgeHealth developed its World-Class Provider Network™ to offer an extensive range of medical and dental procedures, a wide choice of hospitals and destinations, and options for accessing providers with experience, expertise and high standards of safety.

“The BridgeHealth network is the first-of-its kind in the industry, bringing to the marketplace a best-of-breed option for delivering high quality care and treatments to medical travelers,” says Victor Lazzaro, Jr., CEO of BridgeHealth. “Backed by decades of executive experience in healthcare delivery, BridgeHealth has assembled a network of breadth and depth, with a focus on promoting provider choice and offering a superior client experience. As the recognized leader and innovator in medical travel, we are committed to growing this international system while always maintaining the highest degrees of integrity and concern for quality.”

The BridgeHealth network represents the widest range of choices now available for medical travel, offering patients a vast array of options.

“Some Americans may choose to travel to exotic locations including Singapore or India while others may prefer to be closer to home and opt for Mexico or Panama,” continues Lazzaro. “We offer a broad menu of medical and dental procedures – meeting needs as varied as orthopedic procedures, cardiac surgeries, and bariatric operations. Our goal is to match patients with their location of choice, meet budget expectations, and arrange for the highest quality care available in a specific country. This is all made possible by assembling the most extensive network in the industry.”

In qualifying hospitals and facilities for participation, BridgeHealth utilizes criteria that include:

• Reputation for quality
• Indicated experience in selected procedures
• Accreditation status
• Ability to provide clinical data
• Agreement to participate in our quality assurance and reporting program
• Customer service orientation
• Excellent nurse to patient ratio
• Choice of geographic location
• Familiarity with the needs of international patients
• International standards in clinical delivery and patients’ rooms
• World-class medical infrastructure and equipment

“Hospitals in our World-Class Provider Network™ have often achieved recognition from an international accreditation group,” says Lazzaro, pointing to agencies such as the Trent Accreditation Scheme (TRENT based in UK-Europe and Hong Kong), Joint Commission International (JCI based in the US), Australian Council for Healthcare Standards International (ACHSI - Australia), Canadian Council on Health Services Regulation (CCHSA - Canada) as well as the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), an Australian-based organization providing international healthcare accreditation.

Through its international business-to-business operations, BridgeHealth serves health plans, insurance carriers, employers, third party administrators, and individuals accessing benefits via voluntary benefits plans, health card programs or Consumer Directed HealthCare Plans (CDHP). BridgeHealth also assists consumers seeking medical travel options, and with the acquisition of Medical Tours International (MTI), operates one of the most robust direct-to-consumer platforms for the coordination of medical travel.