One of the biggest concerns that both insurers and potential medical travelers have about going abroad for health care has to do not with going out of the country, but with care locally, in the United States. Who will make sure a prospective medical tourist is fit for travel and an appropriate patient for a chosen destination? Who will care for the patient postoperatively when he or she returns home?

Usually, patients work with their own primary care physicians to obtain pre- and post-operative care, before and after traveling abroad for surgery or treatment. Presumably, these doctors and surgeons will work with their counterparts overseas if necessary, sharing information, particularly in the event of any postoperative complication.

“Presumably” being the key word, here. In real life, the hand-off of a patient’s care from one healthcare facility to another, from one doctor to another, is not always seamless. That is why BridgeHealth International’s announcement yesterday of a partnership with Passport Health is so important. Combining the services of the two companies makes the medical part of medical travel that much safer, providing true end-to-end care for the patient.

See the full news release here:

BridgeHealth Partners With Passport Health

or, as covered by MarketWatch.com

BridgeHealth International, Inc. Partners With Passport Health to Provide Continuum of Care for Medical Travelers

The most important thing for consumers to know, probably, is that Passport Health, which counsels 60,000 clients each month, has 166 locations nationwide in 35 states. That’s a big network in the United States, now supporting medical travel and tourism through BridgeHealth International.

“BridgeHealth is well-positioned to optimize the medical travel experience, providing personalized guidance and expertise that helps individuals to address every aspect of their journey to better health, including options for accessing care prior to leaving the United States and upon their return home,” says Victor Lazzaro, Jr., CEO of BridgeHealth. “This partnership further strengthens our program offering and provides BridgeHealth clients with peace of mind before, during, and after their medical travel excursion.”

For more information on all this, contact BridgeHealth.

A question for our readers: How do you see U.S. healthcare evolving and changing to provide support for medical travelers? Clearly, it’s starting to happen …