hair transplants abroad - what do i need to know about insurance

[andieje]

Dear All,

I have been looking into having a hair transplant in the UK or Belgium and I was wondering what I needed to know about issues such as medical insurance if I had a transplant in Belgium

Regards

 

[sweetfreedom]

Everyone has a different set of circumstances and I too was very keen on a Belgian clinic, they are the best, but after alittle research realised that foreign treatment was out of the question for me. I cannot use non-UK non-GMC registered doctors.

If you have private cover and/or occupational insurance then any medical treatment aboard could cause problems in the future. Your past medical history would also have a bearing as well.

Going abroad is a risk that nobody should take lightly and it won't be for everyone even if there are some very talented surgeons outside of the UK.

Perhaps the european clinics could offer insurance built in to the costs? That might alleviate some concerns.

 

[andieje]

Thanks for your reply. May I ask why you could not use non-GMC registered doctors? Was that because of a private policy.

what do you mean by 'your past medical history could have a bearing.' It could have a bearing on what? whether a non-UK surgeon would perform the procedure or whether you would be able to claim on the insurance if anything went wrong.

 

[andieje]

It is my understanding, and please correct me if I am wrong, that standard travel insurance has clauses to exclude travel for cosmetic surgery or medical treatment. So if you lost your luggage etc then you cannot claim.

It is also my understanding that getting medical malpractice or negligence insurance woudl also be a waste of time. To succeed in a legal claim for malpractice you have to prove that the hospital/ clinic was negligent, and that is never easy. I expect your lifestyle would be dragged through the mud. also in some countries, the concept of negligence and malpractice is not recognised by the courts. The best you can hope for is a good surgeon who will help you if something goes wrong.

I am intending to take out private medical cover and I think perhaps I should see how having a hair transplant affects that cover. I don't want to take out a policy to ensure I get good care if I get ill only to find out it is invalidated because I had a hair transplant.

 

[sweetfreedom]

Yes I have private medical care which is linked to professional insurances and life cover.

Nobody is telling me not to have foreign treatment as ultimately it's my choice what to do but that it could affect my ongoing cover built up over many years. No private medical cover in the UK would allow you to travel abroad for treatment with non UK registered docs, without all sorts of hoops to jump through and a multitide of 'get out' clauses. Hence my decision to seek treatment in the UK only.

Previous medical history would of course have a bearing. An example: if you had a scalp condition previously treated privately (i.e. solar keratosis) and proceeded with a foreign HT then I would think any future claim in that area might be void.
There is also anesthesia to consider and as you say, general travel insurance complications.

All in all abit of a minefield. In some ways I guess the less cover you've got and the younger you are the less you may have to lose.

I would be interested in comments from HT clinics on the subject of insurance and though not a nice subject, what happens when things go wrong?

 

[Bigmac]

The clinics will have their own insurance cover for anything that may happen while on their premises.

 

[sweetfreedom]

Bigmac wrote:

The clinics will have their own insurance cover for anything that may happen while on their premises.

I would hope that they would have some level of cover if nothing else to indemnify themsleves, though I would like to see the small print and also a response from a clinic here? But I think the crucial bit there is the 'while on their premises'

Most would be worried about what happens after they get home back to the UK when you can't just pop back in to see the doctor if they have problems

 

[sweetfreedom]

ps bigmac:

Thanks, I should add that assuming the clinics do offer comprehensive insurance then that should answer andieje's original post

 

[andieje]

I presume when you have a transplant you sign an 'at your own risk' disclaimer so that if something horrrible happens like all your hair falls out and never grows back you accept that this was a risk of surgery and you cannot sue the clinic. I also presume this would apply to any clinic whether in the UK or abroad so the best 'insurance' you can have is a reputable clinic who will try and correct a poor transplant result if it is , in fact, correctable.

 

[andieje]

I imagine that a good clinic would have no qualms if you requested a copy of their disclaimer to read?

 

[sweetfreedom]

It really would be good if a clinic would comment on this thread.

 

[sweetfreedom]

sweetfreedom wrote:

It really would be good if a clinic would comment on this thread.

The silence (from the clinics) is deafening

 

[andieje]

I remember seeing another thread which I don't seem to be able to find now where someone was asking about insurance issues when you go abroad. I can't remember the precise details but the thread wasn't well received. I think it was seen as a posting by some sort of 'rogue user' that comes on forums like this to scaremonger about transplants abroad.

I can assure anyone reading this thread that I only have genuine motives for inquiring about the medical insurance when having a transplant abroad. I don't have any issues with cosmetic surgery abroad if the quality surpasses that which is available in your country of residence.

 

[sweetfreedom]

Andieje, that's a good point to make and I too have only good motives. If I didn't have private medical insurance and other difficulties, and the clinics own policy was in place, I would be off to Belgium. They lead the world in FUE and the UK's playing catch-up.

I just have a horrible feeling that this subject is either feared or worse, ignored. And I would have genuine concerns.

Guess I should butt out as I won't be travelling but I was just responding about my experience with the insurers. People have to satisfy themselves about all these aspects before they commit.

 

[Sparky]

Maybe playing catch up but they are still behind Cyprus, Canada, USA and Turkey, we have a long way to go, shame considering we are very good as lots of other things.

 

[T.C]

I think UK Ht doctors in general have not kept up with others and have basically stood still while other countries have excelled with many proven results to view,the abscence of u.k docs results on the internet is not a positive point for them as when people get an average or not good result they dont want to show it to everyone. Its about time these uk docs started getting out of their comfort zone and pushed to improve their skills,maybe it is cos they can do their thing and give average/poor and a few good results sprinkled in and still get paid well and not have any comeback.

 

[sweetfreedom]

TC you make some valid points, but I think the UK clinics major too much on being very 'british' about everything and not wanting to be intrusive with photos etc.
It's also typical of our country that celebrity culture features largely with UK clinics, though that is no fault of the clinics themsleves as they don't court this as a rule.

UK clinics should employ reps like the foreign clinics do, people with real experience who can liase and collate results properly, leaving the doc to do what they do best. There really are excellent results for some UK clinics but there isn't the depth and quality of imagery the euro clinics can muster.

Thousands of great HT's are done every year in the UK and nobody hears anything about them.

 

[mountinvan]

I can only comment on US. The US legal system only allows licensed MDs (Medical Doctors) to perform HTs. MDs are highly regulated and subject to US laws on malpractice, etc. A MD cannot disclaim medical malpractice, but can disclaim a specific cosmetic result if not caused by negligence. In short, the MD must adhere to community standards for the procedure being done. Do you ever wonder why Armani does not operate in the US anymore--just pondering!