Staff training

Many hospitals and clinics entrust their good name and reputation to good intentions.

A welcoming smile, an airport pick up, and a choice of menus are important but are not the stuff of good medical practice for international patients and medical travelers.

At the heart of appropriate care for medical travelers is developmental awareness of what really is expected of the receiving medical facility.

Acquiring an understanding and proficiency for your staff will assist all staff in understanding the needs and attitudes of the "international patient", diminish the potential for incidences of misunderstanding and assist with the development for an appreciation from the patient's perspective of obtaining and receiving health care services in a land foreign to them.

Staff training includes coaching in cross-selling, aftercare, payment and billing requests, dispute resolution. Discussions with professional staff include professional responsibility within the medical facility, and their scope of professional interaction with the patient.

Multi-cultural staff training

Multi-cultural staff training begins with the initial contact: appropriate communication, price quotes, bookings, conversion rates, description of the facility and medical personnel.

Following this, training continues with treatment information, length of stay, payments, insurance liaison, medical reports to home-country physician, cross-cultural patient management, and religious sensitivity.

Specific needs for certain patients are discussed: medical needs of gastric bypass patients, for example dietary requirements and management in a foreign environment, and emotional well-being; aftercare needs of plastic surgery patients, for example compression garments, patient responsibility in care.