Treatment Abroad’s Code of Practice Accreditation and certification provider, United Kingdom

As medical tourism grows to become a worldwide phenomenon, increasing attention is being paid to issues such as quality of treatment, accreditation of surgeons and dentists, hospitals and clinics.

Sometimes these issues are raised by surgery abroad patients, and sometimes by professional bodies such as associations representing doctors, dentists and cosmetic surgeons.

The Treatment Abroad Code of Practice for Medical Tourism aims to address these concerns and reinforce the standards which the medical tourism industry is gradually adopting.

You can view companies and providers that have adopted the Code of Practice for medical tourism.

Objectives

The objectives of the code are to:

Encourage the development of best practices amongst medical tourism agencies and healthcare providers.
Drive quality in the medical tourism sector.
Provide reassurance to patients about the services promoted on the Treatment Abroad site.
Enable us to combat some of the negative comments that may be directed at the medical tourism industry.
The code is not intended to assess or accredit healthcare providers in terms of quality of care or treatment outcomes.
The code has been developed by external consultants in discussion with our medical tourism clients.

How does it work?

The code provides reassurance regarding key issues that concern those considering treatment overseas by endorsing, through a clear and unambiguous badge, the clinics, hospitals and intermediaries that meet the standards of the code of practice.

The code is voluntary. Healthcare providers and medical tourism agencies have to demonstrate complaince with the Treatment Abroad Code of Practice, and self certify through a self assessment process, examining compliance with the code. The application is reviewed and approved or declined by external assessors.

The code is not intended to assess clinical quality and outcomes. It focuses on the business practice of medical tourism, the patient/provider relationship and the communication/information aspects of medical tourism.

Agencies and healthcare providers who have completed the self-assessment process and comply with the code may then:

Display the Treatment Abroad Code of Practice logo on their web site and marketing materials.
Be listed on the Treatment Abroad web site as complying with the Code of Practice.