Regulations

Despite what some websites may tell you, regulations and more importantly, proper regulations are a central question among people in the medical tourism industry, and clinicians scramble to fulfill international standards as well as local ones.

Regulation Abroad

In every country, there are regulatory bodies that check to make sure that private medical institutions uphold the countries minimum standards. These institutions make yearly or biyearly inspections of private medical facilities, and shut down the ones who lack the necessary equipment, staff, or services. Hygiene violations and violation of the special rules that countries implement to guarantee safety are also issues that can get clinics shut down. Some special rules include having a readily available fire exit, having autoclaves and other sterilizing equipment in a separate area, having rooms and spaces be the correct size in order to function properly, and of course having contaminated and sterilized equipment too close to each other.

International Standards

Americans and Western Europeans usually have issues with trusting the government standards of a country where they are going to get cheaper treatment, and thus are still not too keen on going to a foreign dental clinic to get treatment. There are several international standards by which one can operate, and you can even get into dental clinics that are regulated, or routinely inspected and checked by institutions residing and having the standards of a Western country. International standards are checked by enforcement agencies such as the ISO, the biggest and most rigorous agency to provide such accreditation. You can look and see if the clinic you chose has the standards you are looking for, by checking if it has been regulated by the ISO, and if they have, you know that you are dealing with a dental clinic that has met certain (very high) standards, both in terms of service provided and in terms of facilities.

If you are still unconvinced, and think that the ISO or other, similar international healthcare accreditation organizations do not mean anything, then perhaps getting health care abroad is not a good choice for you, and you need to find out more about the regulatory systems and the specific inspections made, and the standards that are upheld. You can do that by checking the ISO website:

http://www.iso.org/iso/home.html

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