Why Healthcare Standards Vary Abroad and What to Do About it

It is not simply the case that in rich countries you can automatically have access to the best standards and methods of healthcare in the world, and that in poorer nations you will be at greater risk because standards of medicine are basic.  However, many ‘first world’ nations’ politicians would have you believe that this is the case…

As an expatriate one has to take one’s health very seriously and look beyond the media bluff that over-inflates a country’s standards of healthcare and you need to take the necessary precautions to ensure that no matter what, you will be able to pay your way out of trouble if you fall ill.  In this article we’re going to get a bit political about it and examine why healthcare standards do vary abroad, and what you can do about it.

If you’re going to live overseas you need to do a certain amount of research into the variations in standards of care available across the nation and region you will be in, and what’s more, you’ll be well advised to not only get a decent health insurance policy and plan in place, but to personally stay well abreast of your own state of health and look after your own wellbeing with commonsense measures.

Imagine if you were moving to live and work in the UK as an international resident – you would learn that after paying British income taxes and NI contributions that you could have access to the greatest health care system of them all – the NHS.  Internationally lauded to the point at which if ever anyone publically damns the institution they are shot down in flames by the British press and the British government!  My goodness, with such powerful and vociferous, united backing, the NHS must indeed be the pinnacle of health standards available globally.

Not so my friend, not so.  For example, if you’re a pregnant mother who smokes and you present at a maternity ward with worrying symptoms such as reduced foetal movement you will be treated immediately and your health concerns taken very seriously indeed.  If on the other hand you present as a low risk mother to be with no previous problems throughout pregnancy but displaying the same symptoms, you will be ignored and your baby will subsequently die.  You think this is an overstatement?  A made-up story designed to illustrate a point?  No I’m sorry dear readers, it is my own bitter experience and it is fact.

And aside from my own bitter experience – lets look at other issues within the NHS that have had media coverage recently – cruel staff, underfunding, MRSA, over paid and ineffective managers, poor hygiene standards and a postcode lottery for access to essential cancer fighting drugs or even fertility treatments.  Therefore, coming to the UK an expatriate might believe they will be well cared for if they fall ill – but they could be sadly mistaken.

Imagine therefore what it is like for an expatriate Briton going to work for VSO and ending up in a nation such as Mozambique where AIDS rates are incredibly high and standards of healthcare available rudimentary at best and excessively expensive at worst.  Or what about an expatriate professional going to live and work in America?  Still the most powerful nation on the planet – albeit not as rich as it once was – and a country where over 50 million people are believed to have no health care entitlement at all as they are uninsured.  Yes, President Obama is seeking to address this issue, but it certainly highlights the fact that no matter where you go in the world, your access to essential medical treatment can be compromised.

So, why do healthcare standards vary abroad?  They vary because of money, they vary because of staffing resource issues, they vary because of hygiene standards, levels of corruption, one nation’s ability to afford certain drugs and equipment and another’s inability to afford good doctors.  They vary if a doctor or medical professional is paid on performance, or whether there are certain targets to be met such as reducing the numbers of c-sections performed on women – even those at risk.  The healthcare lottery around the world is affected by so many terrifying and even seemingly ridiculous issues that you really do have to take it upon yourself to look after your own health.

To do so you need to do your own research into what you are and are not entitled to in your new nation and what is and isn’t available in your new country.  You then need to look at which health insurance companies will offer you a decent, appropriate and perhaps even scalable level of cover in your given nation…and whether the company will actually step up to the mark in an emergency, help you find a doctor and agree to pay for treatment up front so that you can get the care that you need.

In addition to this you need to take care of yourself – you need to take exercise, stop smoking, cut down on alcohol and fatty foods – you need to wash your hands after going to the toilet, wash fresh fruit and vegetables in clean water.  In other words, think – think carefully and logically and act with common sense both at home and abroad.  And if you do develop a condition, learn about it, learn how you can help yourself and don’t always assume a doctor knows best.  You know your own body and you know your own health from an holistic point of view – so ensure your concerns are heard and your needs are met.

Finally, it should go without saying that you have a real obligation to find out what type of health insurance you need to ensure you are as well protected and covered as possible when you move to live and work or retire or travel abroad.