Mexico or States

[Elisabethsew 50]

If a hospital wishes to receive medicaid and medicare reimbursement they HAVE to be JCAHO certified. In New York, over 70% of the patient population "fits" this category so you'd be hard pressed to find a hospital here that is not JCAHO certified.

Also, 2 years ago the JCAHO changed their way of doing inspections in response to public complaints that hospitals could "fix things" if they knew when a site inspection was planned. Consequently, just like the Board of Health, the JCAHO can come in ANYTIME UNANNOUNCED.

[warmmorningsun 1]

If a hospital wishes to receive medicaid and medicare reimbursement they HAVE to be JCAHO certified. In New York, over 70% of the patient population "fits" this category so you'd be hard pressed to find a hospital here that is not JCAHO certified.

Also, 2 years ago the JCAHO changed their way of doing inspections in response to public complaints that hospitals could "fix things" if they knew when a site inspection was planned. Consequently, just like the Board of Health, the JCAHO can come in ANYTIME UNANNOUNCED.

You are correct in stating that they can come in anytime unannounced (I am sorry, I was wrong in neglecting to mention this; I didn't agree to the statement above because unannounced surveys are entirely validation surveys of JCAHO's own results, not a certification survey, nor do they remove certification based on an unannounced survey.) The validation surveys also are narrower in scope and function on just a few standards. It's a validation survey between triennial surveys. It's also based in research JCAHO is doing to justify the need for their certification. As a result, findings during an unannounced survey require only a plan of action. You submit a plan of action to address findings, and that item will not be surveyed for actual certification until a regularly scheduled triennial survey.

Also, because JCAHO is a private organization, it offers voluntary accredidation. I respectfully point out that all hospitals have the option not to become JCAHO certified. Medicare and Medicaid also do not grant reimbursement based on whether a healthcare provider passes a JCAHO survey or are JCAHO accredited. They do, however, recognize JCAHO accreditation as a substitute for annual surveys conducted by state run departments of hospitals or departments of health. These annual surveys, when passed, grant Medicare certification, and Medicare certification IS required for reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. If a healthcare provider only passes their annual Medicare survey from their State Department of Health and are not JCAHO accredited, they ARE ALSO eligible to receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

I would say that if the hospitals in your area are largely JCAHO accredited, it has nothing to do with reimbursement, and instead has to do with market competition among an area where JCAHO certification is prevalent.

All that being said, for those who are irritated with me hijacking this (sorry!) go to jointcommission.org to read up if you want to be informed, and to your state department of health to read up on their guidelines. You can compare the two and decide if the state department of health guidelines are stringent enough to give you peace of mind, or if you prefer JCAHO's guidelines.

Also, I guess in speaking to the original point, the US DOES have avenues to monitor the quality of care a patient receives; either through accrediting bodies (there are also other accrediting bodies out there besides JCAHO - AOA and CHAP are two, as well as MAGNET), or state certification. If you want to read about Mexico's vision for quality, here's a good article to start with: http://www.baylorhealth.edu/proceedings/15_3/15_3_ruelas.pdf#search='quality%20of%20care%20in%20hospitals%20in%20mexico'

Above all else, RESEARCH, and be comfortable with the decision YOU make for YOU.

[Banded14yr 2]

I too would recommend Arturo Rodriguez... Love him...

Amen!

There are a lot of great surgeons in Mexico, glad I picked one of the best! :confused:

[jlm20639 0]

Hi:

New to this board, but I was banded on July 4th in Puerto Vallarta by Dr. Joya. My husband and I did alot of research on Dr. Joya and we were very comfortable with the decision to go there. I also faced the issue of no insurance "coverage", and to have the surgery done in Bend, OR where I live was/is outragously expensive.

[FunnyDuddies 6]

Just came back from mexico, and I cannot rave enough for how well I was cared for, how nice the hospital was, and how great it was to have a guest house to recuperate in after surgery. It was more than I expected, and I can't wait to go back for my plastic surgery. Dr. Sanchez and his team are absolutely fabulous, and treated me and my husband like we were family. Not just another patient. When it came time for my surgery I was introduced to everyone in the room, and the anastesiologist (sp?) gave me a kiss on the forehead as i went under. I remember saying "Gracias" to everyone as I was being wheeled out of the OR and into recovery. And they stayed on top of my walking to make sure my circulation stayed strong. It was all professional, but warm, and they treated me more like a person than other doctors I have had.

[warmmorningsun 1]

Just came back from Mexico, and I cannot rave enough for how well I was cared for, how nice the hospital was, and how great it was to have a guest house to recuperate in after surgery. It was more than I expected, and I can't wait to go back for my plastic surgery. Dr. Sanchez and his team are absolutely fabulous, and treated me and my husband like we were family. Not just another patient. When it came time for my surgery I was introduced to everyone in the room, and the anastesiologist (sp?) gave me a kiss on the forehead as i went under. I remember saying "Gracias" to everyone as I was being wheeled out of the OR and into recovery. And they stayed on top of my walking to make sure my circulation stayed strong. It was all professional, but warm, and they treated me more like a person than other doctors I have had.

So glad to hear things went well for you! Congratulations!

[em1125 0]

I am so happy to hear things went well with you in Mexico. Congrats! I can't thank you enough for sharing your experience. It is truly helpful. I am in the appeal process and I'm getting extremely impatient. If the appeal doesn't get reversed, I am going to self-pay. I have a wonderful surgeon in NY but he comes with a hefty price tag of $23,000 including hospital fee. My husband wants me to have it in NY and just self pay but hearing such wonderful things about Mexico is truly making me think. I have only heard wonderful and positive feedback from from LBT. It means so much.

Congrats again. Be well.

Regards,

Emily

[LaurieJane 0]

I have mine doen in Tijuana Mexico BY dr. sergio verboonen. It cost 9200.00 and that included everything but airfare. The doctors were great and the little hospital was great.

[sharlacoates 0]

i had my done in mexico by dr sanchez and it was 8500.00 and that did not include my airfare. airfare about 550.00

[Ptowler1234 0]

Hi Sherry,

I just came back from Monterrrey, and was very please with everything. I heard about the procedure from my sister who is a RN and went on the Web to get info. I came upon Dr Rumbaut site and decided to go with them. I sent in the deposit and all the arrangements were done via email. Remember I have never done this before but was at peace.

Well, when I got to Mexico everything was what they emailed me and on a scale of 1 - 10, I give them a 10. They were nice and friendly. Where the hotel is there is a Applebees, supermarket (like a walmart) and a strip mall. Not to forget a movie theater, which speaks in english - I'm told. The hospital is state of the art.

I never venture out like this but wanted to live and didn't have any insurance. This was the best decision I made. Be at peace, God will bless you.

Pam

[NewSho 20]

As I've posted at great length, I'm not necessarily a fan of going to Mexico for surgery.

The facilities, aftercare, and quality vary (here and abroad, of course) but you do lose some flexibility with having chosen a surgeon that's far away.

Having said that, the only doc in Mexico that I'd ever consider, is Dr Rumbaut in Monterrey, Mexico.

He's fabulous, he stays accessible via phone, he's internationally renown, he's banded himself, he's easy on the eyes :nervous , and he has extensive American ties.

Plus his patients are well-welcomed by US surgeons and frankly not all Mexican band surgeons are well regarded by their American counterparts.

Sound harsh? Sorry I'm just being frank.

So my vote is US based if possible, but if not, Mexico only with Rumbaut.

[ready2bthin 2]

There are many experienced and well known doctors in Mexico. Most that I've read about will give you their phone number for any problems, etc. Don't let one person's opinion (especially if they didn't even have the procedure done in Mexico) influence you. You must do your own research, interview your doctor, get recommendations (and not just from someone who works for the doctor), count the cost, decide if you will travel back to Mexico or find a local physician for follow up and fills. There may be some docs who won't see Mexican banded patients, but the smart ones will as they know that most Mexican doctors have more experience than they do. As a matter-of-fact, many U.S. docs have been proctored by Mexican doctors or the person who proctored them was. Again, do your homework, and be aware that this is a big business in Mexico and now the U.S. There are some that will spread untrue things to sway you to a particular doctor. Be aware of this. I recently learned this as I was looking into lapband. Also, there is a yahoo group for Mexicanbandsters. Join up there. There are people on that group from all the different doctors in Mexico. I've been banded just over 3 weeks with all going well. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions regarding my "Mexico experience".

[vintagehound 1]

I had surgery in Mexico July 21st 2006 with Dr. Kuri. The hospital was new and very, very nice! I am going back this week for my first fill, under fluoroscope by my doc. It is a $7.00 cab ride from the border to the hospital. My surgery was $9000.00 and included the hotel. I researched a lot about the lap band and the surgeons doing the surgery before I had it done. The thing is, it was not approved in the US till 2001, so the doctors that are experienced at it in other countries are the same ones training the US docs how to do it. The number of surgeries done by the docs in Mexico seemed to me to be more than the numbers done to date by many US surgeons. Dr. Kuri has done more than 2500 lap band surgeries, that is a lot. Other docs in Mexico have done that many or more! One Doc, Ortiz I think, wrote a book about lap band surgery. I have not read it, but heard it is great. For me, it was a surreal and overall great experience to go to Mexico. Good luck to all future bandsters!

Zoe

down 10 lbs since surgery day

1st fill this week

[Lab Rat 0]

Anybody who is obese has co-morbidities and/or pre-exsisting conditions. You should be ready to discuss all of these with your follow up doctor either here or in Mexico. Or course I agree with gadetlady and believe the surgeons here in the US are the best choice. Why go cheap when it is your life is someone elses hands. And YES I paid cash ($16,000).

[GeezerSue 7]

Why go cheap when it is your life is someone elses hands. And YES I paid cash ($16,000).

Well, I went "cheap" because "Mr. Cheap*" had done 1400 bands and "Mr. High Rent Newport Beach, CA**" had done about 30.

Paying three times as much for 2% of the experience just didn't compute for me.

*Rumbaut

**Quebbeman