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Surgeons group: Medical tourists should check doctors' qualifications

Patients looking to travel outside the United States for surgery should carefully consider the benefits and risks of doing so and seek out quality hospitals and physicians, the American College of Surgeons said in a policy statement released in April.

The college's statement advises medical tourists to look for hospitals that have been accredited by "recognized accrediting organizations" such as Joint Commission International. Patients also should search for surgeons and anesthesiologists certified in a process similar to that established by the American Board of Medical Specialties.

The nonprofit Medical Tourism Assn. sparked a controversy last fall when it began offering medical travel agencies a "certification" process. Officials at specialty boards and hospital accrediting agencies said the move could confuse patients.

The college also said it opposes insurers' requiring referral of patients outside the U.S. for care, and said payers should be responsible for coordinating care for medical tourists. The college's statement is similar to the American Medical Association policy adopted in June 2008.

About 6 million Americans will travel abroad for care by 2010, according to an estimate from the consulting firm Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. It is unclear how many patients are traveling for surgery, but many of the medical travel firms advertising to U.S. patients highlight the availability of procedures such as cosmetic surgery and hip replacement.

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IRB stung by investigation shuts down

A commercial independent review board that approved a phony research protocol submitted by the Government Accountability Office as part of a sting announced in April that it will close its doors. The firm, Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Coast Independent Review Board, initially said it would suspend operations until May 1 to review the faulty procedures that resulted in it unanimously approving a proposed trial for a fictitious device that fell into the Food and Drug Administration's "significant risk" category of devices.

Coast IRB said in late April that it would be "ceasing all operations in the near future," staying open only to facilitate the transfer of its clients to other IRBs. Coast is under FDA suspension as a result of the GAO investigation.

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