Patients have many decisions to make when traveling for medical care. Assisting patients and their travel associates in making informed choices about their international health care needs is the reason the International Board of Medicine and Surgery (IBMS) exists.
“After personal frustrations with the cost and approach to healthcare in the United States, I sought other options for medical care. This experience inspired me to organize IBMS, a professional online web registry which validates membership with documentation of licensure, specialty certification, hospital affiliation (if applicable),” says Kalin.
IBMS members are physicians, surgeons, dentists and other healthcare professionals in the global healthcare community whose qualifications have been reviewed and have established and maintained a professional standard of patient care, as well as Centers of Healthcare Excellence meeting those same rigorous standards.
Communication with the members of the IBMS is through electronic media, Internet and voice communication. Upon evaluation, members are linked with certification of membership to the International Board of Medicine and Surgery, whereby potential patients from around the world may evaluate these healthcare providers as a possible match for their particular medical needs, thereby enabling the public to make informed decisions.
“Since establishing IBMS, the IBMS Board of Advisors and I have reviewed the qualifications of physicians and facilities in Costa Rica, Venezuela, Israel, Thailand, South Korea, and the U.S.A. Through extensive interviews my colleagues and I have investigated medical and health-related opportunities and forged international relationships,” he explains.
Recently, within the last several years, the Joint Commission International has been accrediting hospitals throughout the world to help ensure accountability and confidence in medical care, and in order to reduce the risk for patients has raised issues of physician selection, follow up medical care, treatment of possible complications, and communication with the primary physician.
The International Board of Medicine and Surgery is not an accrediting organization, but complements the Joint Commission International and other accrediting organizations by helping to fill a void in the global healthcare infrastructure.
Kalin further points out that the International Board of Medicine and Surgery works closely with a U.S. multi-specialty physician organization to promote and provide assistance and referral networks for the medical need of those seeking pre and post medical care through the organization’s extensive membership.
It also assists to facilitate Board Certification in the U.S.A. for purposes of insurance reimbursement (for physicians and surgeons practicing beyond the borders of the United States), develop and facilitate professional medical relationships and services nationally and internationally, create and coordinate professional meetings and journals attractive to international membership, potentiate growth of professional programs, and contribute to leadership and a greater professional standing in the U.S. and international healthcare communities.
Medical tourism/travel companies coordinate and facilitate patient arrangements. This can include coordinating the patient’s needs including medical contact, travel arrangements, accommodations, recovery, and ancillary activities. These companies work independently from the IBMS and help to recruit physicians, surgeons, dentists and other healthcare professionals.
The confidence of knowing a professional medical organization has reviewed professional qualifications of physicians, surgeons, dentists, Centers of Healthcare Excellence, and other healthcare professionals within the global healthcare community, and offers the coordination of pre and post medical evaluation/treatment, allows the representative to be able to offer additional peace of mind with regard to continuity of the patient’s medical treatment.
A medical tourism/travel company is also entitled to attach the IBMS healthcare travel affiliation mark, thereby enhancing the credibility of the company’s selection of medical providers, and is promoted through linkage with www.healthtravelservices.com, www.emedivacation.com, and www.medivaction.com., independent affiliated global healthcare travel sites.
Patients should consider Board membership as only one factor in selecting a physician or surgeon, and Board membership alone does not necessarily indicate competence or patient compatibility. Patients ultimately have the responsibility for selecting their physician and/or surgeons. The International Board of Medicine and Surgery disclaims any warranty or liability with regard to any member’s listing in the IBMS website or any other website found through the use of this website.
The Board is not an educational institution, and membership with the Board does not confer on any physician legal qualifications, privileges, license to practice medicine or certification of competency. Standards of membership are clearly distinct from those of licensure, and Board membership does not indicate total qualification for practice privileges nor imply exclusion of others who are not members.
Additionally, the Board does not purport in any way to interfere with or limit the professional activities of any licensed physician nor desire to interfere with the regular or legitimate activities of practitioners of medicine/surgery. The Board has no intent or function in defining requirements with regard to who shall or shall not perform medical or surgical procedures. The Board does not censure or review ethical problems.
Membership currently is available for 1-5 years and includes certificate of membership, online registry with certification mark linking to an existing website or webpage for professional presentation, coordination of pre and post medical evaluation/treatment, medical tourism/travel companies to facilitate and coordinate patient arrangements, and a relationship with a U.S. multi-specialty physician organization to facilitate Board Certification (in the U.S.A.).
IBMS is actively recruiting physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other healthcare professionals, specializing in medical tourism, developing pre and post evaluation/treatment referral networks, and facilitating Board Certification in the U.S.A. for purposes of insurance reimbursement (for physicians/surgeons practicing beyond the borders of the United States).
IBMS is a member of the Medical Tourism Association and therefore is extends the opportunity to Medical Tourism Association members and attendees of the World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress for a complimentary professional courtesy (free) listing of physicians, surgeons, dentists by MTA’s recommendation on our website www.ibms.us.
Professional courtesy listing (free) of Physician Name, Specialty, Country, and Email address is offered to all physicians, surgeons, dentists, Centers of Healthcare Excellence and/or other interested healthcare professionals.
Professional courtesy listing (free) of non affiliated Medical Tourism Facilitators, including Name/Company, Country, and Email address, is also available on the IBMS website, as well as www.healthtravelservices.com, www.emedivacation.com, and www.medivaction.com, independent affiliated global healthcare travel sites.
Should a hospital or clinic be interested in having distinguished physicians, surgeons, dentists, or other healthcare professionals join as a group, a representative of IBMS would be available to visit the facility, make a presentation about the benefits of membership, distribute certificates of membership, and answer any additional questions.
Email a list (on excel spreadsheet): name, country, specialty, email address of your physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other healthcare professionals. Consider selecting at least 25 distinguished healthcare providers for a minimum 2 year membership, and a representative of IBMS will arrange to meet with these physicians, surgeons, and/or dentists, deliver certificates of membership, explain benefits of membership, review facilities, and discuss needs of members.
Registration online is available at www.ibms.us. Upon review, membership will be determined, and upon acceptance, the member’s website is linked with an IBMS certification mark, and the member becomes entitled to services of the IBMS.
Renée-Marie Stephano is Chief Operating Officer and a Founder of the Medical Tourism Association, Inc., an international non-profit organization that serves international healthcare providers and medical travel facilitators in the global healthcare industry. Renée-Marie is an attorney licensed to practice law in the states of Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and has a background in litigation and health law. She is also Editor of the Medical Tourism Magazine, a journal serving the global healthcare industry. It can be found online at www.medicaltourismmag.com. Renée-Marie may be reached at
Renee@MedicalTourismAssociation.com
