If you’re planning on medical travel, be aware of medical standards of excellence in care. Cheap surgery abroad doesn’t mean inadequate training or experience. Quite the contrary. Medical standards and accreditations in countries around the world offer baby boomers and other citizens health and wellness tourism options, treatment abroad and surgery abroad that meets and often exceeds medical standards of care in the U.S.

The most well-known accreditation agencies in the world are the:

• Joint Commission and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, (JC and JCAHO)
• The International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua)
• The Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC)
• The Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA).

Global healthcare in destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, India, South America, Egypt, Jordan, Hungary, Turkey and Croatia also see the need to show high standards and quality of medical care, and have taken steps to be accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) as well as the Society for International Healthcare Accreditation (SOFIHA) based out of Britain.

Other International Accreditation facilities include:

• The United Kingdom Accreditation Forum (UKAF)
• Australian Council for Healthcare Standards International (ACHSI)
• Canadian Council on Health Services Regulation (CCHSA)
• Joint Commission International (JCI)
• Trent Accreditation Scheme – aka Trent (U.K., Europe, Hong Kong, Malta, Philippines)

International accreditation standards are focused on patient care, continuity of care, referrals, discharge protocols and procedures, follow-ups, and transfer of patients to other facilities or specialists. The accreditation process ensures that medical providers as well as hospital and medical facilities are able to identify and determine medical needs of patients before they are admitted.