The EBA Awards

This year’s EBA awards are out, and they are being talked of on pretty much every single media outlet that deals with medical tourism. Instead of talking about the total non-controversy of who got what award for what sort of endeavour, I think it may be more important to talk about what these awards are, and to speak about their relevance. Are they relevant? Should the public and would be patients care about this at all? Is this something that should or could help patients make decisions about dental treatment and about medical tourism? Let’s see what these awards are all about.

The European Business Assembly

Chances are pretty high that if you run a clinic that has been dealing with dental tourism successfully, and especially if you have been doing it for a moment, that you have NEVER in your life heard about the EBA. This organization, although doing interesting things, is not very well known. The fact that they hold awards is also noble, seeing as the categories are usually won by other clinics that are not that well known. This year, for example, the award for European Quality went to the University of Sarajevo, a great institution that needs the support. In this way, this organization is a godsend. But is it relevant?

 

Relevancy

Relevancy in this field is dictated by two things; is it popular, and can it lead to more comfortable, cheaper and in general, more desirable solutions for patients. This organization is not popular enough, but it is kind of known among people who deal in this trade, giving very meager relevance. But can these awards, and the work of this society of dentists and medical tourism folks give anything that is relevant to the patient?

Should patients care?

Yes, they definitely should. Although you can get around them and still have great work done, it may make things easier if you check their website from time to time. They may be able to suggest places that may be off the grid (like Pakistan or Sarajevo, for example), and that you may not have heard of, but that are more worth it, or can get things done quicker, or maybe have something that makes them a better candidate. This in and of itself should make them a desirable candidate, but the awards and their results should always be taken with a grain of salt, and consulting more than one source is always the thing to do if you are shopping aorund for services on the internet.