HEALTH CITY CAYMAN ISLAND
Medical Tourism Thrives in the Cayman Islands
In a direct response to the rising costs of health insurance and medical treatment in the United States, “medical tourism� is becoming a realistic option for middle class patients. A recent recipient stated that everything he spent to undergo a hip replacement in the Cayman Islands cost less than just the outof-pocket deductibles he paid for surgery in the United States five years before. The care from his medical team was top-notch and so was his vacation recovering.
In
times past wealthy people travelled to highly developed countries for specialised services unavailable elsewhere. But costs in some countries, and waiting
founder Dr. Devi Shetty said, “We have spent a lot of time carefully selecting and attracting some of the best doctors and surgeons, with world class supporting services, to our facility.”
times in others, have risen so much that patients now look for those services in less developed countries. Every year year between 60,000 and 85,000 Americans go abroad searching for high-quality health care that is both fast and cheap. The Cayman Islands is one place they’re finding it.
Coming from a well respected, independent accreditation organisation like JCI, the award verifies the high quality of the company’s health care. Since 1999 more than 410 public and private health care organisations in more than 45 countries have won the award. Health City has joined the elite.
The Caymans are three small islands in the Caribbean Sea, located between Jamaica and Cuba, still held as a British Protectorate. Health City, situated on the largest one, personifies the new trend. The year-old hospital proved its credentials when it won the Gold Seal of Approval last year from JCI, an international leader in healthcare accreditation. Health City
Health City,
Cayman Islands is a collaboration between Narayana Hospitals in India and Ascensión Health Alliance in the United States. Both are dedicated to providing quality services affordable to all. Narayana is one of the leading health care chains in India with 32 hospitals, many targeted to the poorer population.
Ascensión is the largest, non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, also targeted to helping the poor and elderly. Asención operates over 100 hospitals and 250 care centres in the U.S.
operating, the hospital is expected to grow to 2,000 beds over the next 12 years, mostly serving international patients. (Cayman Islands population is only 1,500.)
to
A renowned heart surgeon, Dr. Shetty (formerly Mother Theresa’s personal physician) brought
international, regional, and local patients, as well as cardiology, orthopaedic, pulmonology, medical oncology, and paediatric endocrinology services. From the 104 beds currently
the initial medical team with him from India, already highly trained, which helped reduce start-up costs. From 100 employees the hospital now has 174, mostly international,
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but aiming to hire more locals. They have also started an educational system, whereby the hospital takes on and trains 2,000-3,000
medical students. And they are working with the local nursing school to give nurses handson training.
Not only does this set-up result in increased skills and good jobs for locals, but it also helps keep costs low. With low operating costs, Health City doesn’t have to charge patients as much for services. As Dr. Shetty acknowledges, “A solution is not a solution, if it is not affordable.” According to Project Director, Gene Thompson, who heads the development project, the hospital’s greatest advantage is its threepronged approach: Providing the highest quality treatment, at the lowest possible cost, with the best possible service. He said that nowhere in the world is that combination matched better. Built on efficiency, the company is a role model
for countries and medical companies around the world that are struggling with high health costs. All of its health providers are committed employees with interest in productivity, streamlining procedures, and improving health care. Robert Peart, MD, the CEO of Kaiser Permanente Medical Group frets that Health City “has American health care providers watching closely and anxiously.”
• Building the current facilities for about 1/3 the average cost of hospital construction in the United States. • Providing an all-inclusive flat rate ahead of time for every type of procedure and the services that support it. Billing patients only once for all services. • Publishing their prices, so patients know the cost of their treatment before they incur it. • Utilising the latest IT solutions for keeping track of patient care and hospital costs. • Providing a daily profit/loss statement to executives, so they can see how much care they can afford to give away to poorer patients. • Marketing their services to insurers and employers, who can negotiate large-scale contracts to send their patients and workers to the Caymans. In spite of local criticism the government of the Cayman Islands helped Narayana establish itself there. It offered tax breaks and lower insurance premiums, and accredited the licenses of Indian medical practitioners. Former premier McKeeva Bush recognised that medical tourism will boost the island’s economy and stated that he was “glad Dr. Shetty did not bow out while he was being criticised.” After six years of working out arrangements, they signed a contract in April of 2008 and moved forward to build the hospital.
Pearl also wrote recently in Forbes Magazine that “the operational approaches in Dr. Shetty’s hospital are about 10 years ahead of those used in the typical U.S. hospital.” He was referring to such practices as:
In spite of the JCI award given to Health City last year, the development process has not been a bed of roses without thorns. Some of its challenges have included getting people
to understand that “island� doesn’t mean third rate or developing country. Thompson stated in our interview with him, that building confidence in the hospital is key to its success. Winning JCI certification has been a gamechanger in that regard. Logistics is also an issue. The Caymans are islands, hence most of their goods ship in from other countries. Hospital staff must take into account the extra time that takes, and make sure to order well in advance of the
time goods will be needed. They also must keep equipment replacement parts and extra emergency supplies on hand. And heaven forbid that there should be a hurricane that devastates local crops! The Cayman Islands benefit in numerous ways from the hospital. Health City purchases nearly all of its food locally. Its patients and those accompanying them use local transportation to get back and forth between the hospital and their hotel/s and to tour the country. As tourists, they spend money on hotels, accommodations, and buying the
work of local artisans. Some patients require long re hotel stays. For them, Health City has already built 44 u
The hospital and its extended units is designed to be eco sustainable. The JCI award, the economic benefits to th hire locally, and the hospitals efficiency all attest to the a highly successful future for Health City.
ecoveries needing housing, rather than units of housing and plans to build more.
onomically, socially, and environmentally he local community, the preparations to meeting of those goals. This speaks of
Corporate / General Offices: Health City Cayman Islands 1283 Sea View Rd Grand Cayman, KY1-1005 Tel
: 1 345 640 4040
Emai : info@healthcity.ky/ 1 345 945 4040 http://www.healthcitycaymanislands.com/
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