Today’s New York Times has a fascinating look at how U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-MA, arrived at the decision to have surgery for a malignant brain tumor. Reading it, I was struck by the fact that, in many ways, Kennedy’s process was apparently much like that which is recommended to medical tourists and travelers. Initially, doctors and surgeons in Massachusetts suggested that the tumor, discovered May 20 after the senator suffered a seizure, was inoperable. Ultimately, Kennedy gathered opinions from leading experts from six or more medical institutions and chose to have surgery. He did not have it in Massachusetts, but rather flew to North Carolina for surgery at Duke University on June 2. According to The Times, “… whether the surgery was justified or not, that Mr. Kennedy had it at Duke embarrassed the Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard teaching institution.”

Further, from The Times:

“Several doctors not connected with Mr. Kennedy’s case said in interviews that they admired his resourcefulness in getting more opinions simultaneously. At the same time, these doctors said many average patients gained competent advice, without a command performance, by sending pertinent records to experts for their opinions.

“Many patients search the Internet for medical information and ask that their scans and other data be sent electronically or by overnight services.

“Then such patients visit, call or write the consultant.”

So — Senator Kennedy apparently sought multiple opinions, did extensive personal research and ultimately chose a treatment plan not recommended locally. He flew to where he could get the surgery he needed. The process described by The Times, above, is not at all dissimilar to what responsible medical travelers go through to get the care they need.

It is not dissimilar to what any patient requiring medical care goes through, whether they travel for care or not. Patients in the United States, increasingly, take responsibility for their own medical decisions. It represents, over time, a fundamental change in the doctor-patient relationship.

There is nothing “average” about Sen. Kennedy, of course, who has extraordinary experience in healthcare and extraordinary resources. There is nothing “average” about his brain cancer, either, and my heart is with him and his family.

I don’t know what Sen. Kennedy thinks of medical travel and tourism. He has fought, much of his political life, for improved healthcare for all Americans; and I am sure he would argue that everyone has a fundamental right to healthcare, that it should be available to all. But that philosophy is not contradicted by the notion that, sometimes, one might choose to travel for surgery.