How much does it cost to hire a medical travel facilitator? This is a question that is worth bringing up on our blog to make things clear. It is also helpful to know what a medical facilitator does, and services it delivers.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to facilitate means to make things easier. A facilitator is someone who helps to bring about an outcome by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance, guidance, or supervision. In the field of medical travel where there may be very many unknowns, the service for medical facilitator can be vital.

Your medical travel facilitator should provide these 4 very important services.

1. Listen and assess your medical needs and requirements.
2. Present you with medical facility choices as a result of thorough research of hospital/treatment center, its credentials, and credentials of its doctors. If you would like to talk to any of the treating specialists, it should be easily arranged via phone or video conference.
3. Take care of all the logistics of your medical appointments and travel plans as well as follow up arrangements when you are back at home. Ideally, the facilitator should visit each medical facility he/she works with to vet it personally. Health Vantis does this with each and every surgical center or hospital that we recommend to our clients.
4. Treat your personal and medical records with confidentiality and according to the rules of the province you reside in.

In addition, your medical travel professional should be able to assist with referrals for medical complications insurance, medical financing, travel insurance and medical escort services if such is needed or desired.

What does a service like this cost? In general, it is 10-15% of the cost of your medical procedure. If you are going for a second opinion or diagnostics, the fee may differ. If you have come across facilitators that do the work for you for “free”, please keep in mind that it is not really “free”. In our next week blog, we will talk about “free” medical facilitation services, what to watch for and who really ends up paying for the service.