Recently we came across a lady enquiring about heart surgery for her father. She had written to many hospitals in different countries. It was a very long and stressful experience for her since she had to repeat the same story all over again whenever she approached a different hospital or a surgeon. She had to share information and medical reports and had to follow-up with the hospitals for opinions and cost estimates again and again. She was running out of time since her father’s health was deteriorating. She spoke to many people including her friends and family members. All that she could manage is to know what surgery is required for her father and a tentative quote. It was not just about the cost, she had many other questions that had still remained answered. She was finding it very difficult to make a decision. She had concerns and said, ” Could you kindly give us break down of possible costs. Besides, still, am , interested in knowing the difference between open heart surgery and heart bypass surgery ( CABG ). What’s the exact state of my father’s health, because the concerned people do not labour to give simple understanding of patients conditions in the lay man’s language. We need to get well prepared with at least estimates of finances so that we don’t have regrets later on.”
These are some of the very common concerns that normally we come across. These concerns are not limited to a specific population or location.We find it everywhere across the world. Today it has become easier for us to buy mobile phones or cars. We can search, find, compare things before making a choice. We know where to go and how to make our choices. But do we know what to do when it comes to medical care ? Where to go ? Unless we understand medical care, the providers of care and know our options, it becomes very difficult to make an informed decision. On internet the information is cluttered and when we ask our friends and relatives we get different answers. At the end of the day we are confused.
Before even getting into cost and other details, the first thing that we should know is, whether we really need surgery or not ? The right people to answer this question are the qualified surgeons and not any person or random information from the internet. It is the qualified surgeons who can tell you whether you really need surgery or not. Things become much clearer when we avail opinions from multiple surgeons. So the first step should always be reaching to to multiple surgeons and asking their opinions.
Hinfoways is a platform that has been created to connect patients with surgeons and hospitals across the world. This will help patients to find & connect with multiple surgeons and hospitals online, avail medical opinions & other relevant information ,compare things and make informed healthcare choices.
Disclaimer: The content provided here is meant for general informational purposes only and hence SHOULD NOT be relied upon as a substitute for sound professional medical advice, care or evaluation by a qualified doctor/physician or other relevantly qualified healthcare provider.
