/profile/91-paullie/?do=hovercard” data-mentionid=”91″ href=”<___base_url___>/profile/91-paullie/” rel=””>>@Paullie
Your implication however that health insurance companies prejudice the health of their clients to save a dollar is a general statement that can’t be applied across the board. There are good and bad insurance companies and practices in every country as there are good and bad examples of medical facilites and assistance companies but I for one know that we would never risk the health of our clients by suggesting sub-par treatment.
We are a for profit company and we therefore have an obligation to ensure that every dollar spent is spent in the most efficient manner to ensure the best possible outcome for the client. We also have to consider our other policy holders and ensure that the premiums we charge each year are within their expectations and not inflated by unnecesssary treatments that provide no benefit other than to inflate the bill.
With reference to medical treatment in China, everyone has anecdotal evidence of medical treatment going wrong in every part of the world but I have factual evidence that in my three years in this business in Shanghai we have only been involved in three cases of alledged medical malpractice and ironically all three cases were at Western orientated facilities.
Far from suggesting Chinese medical facilities are perfect, I am simply stating that they are not as bad as many scaremongers would have you think and evacuation is of course, no walk in the park. For a case to require air evacuation it is by implication extremely serious and will certainly not be improved by any additional delay in arriving at a medical facility and the additional trauma suffered through air travel and the logistics involved.
If good quality and effective treatment is available locally it should always be considered first to maximise the chances of a complete recovery for the patient. Certain conditions such as transplants would automatically qualify for evacuation but other conditions should rely on the opinions of those qualified to make them such as the local attending physician, physicians working with the assistance company and those intending to receive the client in the offshore location. Efforts have to be focused on achieving the best overall outcome for the client.
