International Medical Tourism Laws
Having a strong medical tourism facilitator contract in place is one of the most important steps when facilitating patients. But what is a facilitator, and what is their role in the medical tourism industry? As a medical tourism facilitator, it is your job to develop and maintain great relationships with accredited hospitals, doctors, and clinics. You also want to have attractive destinations to promote in order to get your patients excited about traveling abroad for these medical procedures. Once you have developed these relationships, it’s time to go look for potential patients who are interested in traveling abroad for medical tourism.
Legal Issues In Medical Tourism
But before you start promoting a hospital, doctor, or clinic, you’re going to want to make sure you have a medical tourism facilitator contract in place. The same goes for the patients. It’s essential to have a medical tourism agreement in place before you start coordinating trips for patients, or setting up arrangements and handling medical records. It’s vital that you have a medical tourism contract in place to protect your company, as well as to protect the patient. Facilitation contracts will make or break your medical tourism company, and determine whether you thrive and grow, or whether you crash and burn. I truly believe that a proper medical tourism facilitator agreement is what separates the great medical tourism facilitators and everyone else in the medical tourism industry.
The reason I tell medical tourism facilitators not to partner with hospitals before they have an agreement in place is because it leaves you vulnerable. It’s the same thing with patients. You don’t want to coordinate any trips for the patient before you have a medical tourism agreement in place.
Related Article: A Guide to Legal Issues in Medical Tourism (Video)
Medical Tourism Contracts
When it comes to patient waivers contracts, your agreement with the patient is going to outline the services that will be provided to the patient, as well as services you won’t be providing. The patient should know that you’re a facilitator and not a healthcare provider. You do not provide any healthcare treatments or advice, you are simply organizing the trip for the patient so that they have a clear understanding of who’s doing what. You should also have clauses in your agreement which lets the patient know that they understand the risks involved with their medical treatment, whether that’s related to medical tourism or medical procedures in general, it should all be outlined in black and white on the contract so the patient understands exactly what they should and shouldn’t expect from you.
The reason a medical tourism facilitation contract is so essential is because certain things that you outline in the contract are going to affect things like what quality of doctor works on your patients. It can affect things such as how much commission you get paid or when you receive payment for your services. The agreement affects a whole host of things. If something goes wrong during the medical procedure, the contract needs to outline who is liable or responsible.
When it comes to the quality of doctors that’ll be working with your patients, you need to have your demands laid out in your agreement. As a medical tourism facilitator, it is your job not only to partner with credible hospitals, but also to advocate for your patients to make sure they’re working with the best doctors. You have to keep in mind that these patients are trusting you, and trusting that you’re working with accredited institutions, so you want to make sure your agreement with these hospitals outlines what you expect when sending patients to their organization.
If you’re new to medical tourism, looking to get more resources on medical tourism, or thinking about becoming a medical tourism facilitator, check out our Facilitator Gold Membership, which has all these contracts and much more.
Our legal contract templates were written by lawyers who specialize in medical tourism and global healthcare. Contact us today for more information.
THE MTB ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP HAS THESE READY-MADE CONTRACTS AND MUCH MORE!
*These pre-made agreements were drafted by legal professionals and individuals experienced in the medical tourism industry but are only examples to be used as guidance for medical tourism facilitators, healthcare providers, and the clients they serve. As an example, the contract may not meet the needs of your circumstances and must not be relied on as legal advice or guidance. Any recipient of these forms should seek legal counsel or other professional guidance to ensure their rights are protected. No attorney-client relationship or other fiduciary relationship of any kind is created between the recipient of these forms and the provider of these forms, its drafters, users, or any other related entities. The provider of these forms expressly disclaims any liability for errors, omission, or any other direct or indirect results arising from its use.
