When it comes to patient experience in the healthcare industry, there is no such thing as too great a scope. Administrators need to be considering the needs of patients from all over the world.

We live in a global marketplace these days and - the COVID-19 pandemic notwithstanding - international travel is more accessible than at any other point in history. Granted, we've had a year and a bit of staying indoors - but, now things are starting to open up again, we're going to start seeing much more travel for both leisure and business.

This means healthcare providers will need to consider how they provide their patient experience to not just people from the local area, but potentially all over the globe - something which has the potential to bring unique challenges along for the ride.

Medical Travel Services

The Global Healthcare Accreditation Program (GHA) was set up to focus on the experiences of travelers when it comes to their medical and wellness needs. It acts as an independent body which can work with healthcare providers to validate quality, increase visibility, and implement sustainable business models for providing travelers with medical services.

"GHA's international standards for medical travel (accredited by ISQUA) and professional norms have been developed in consultation with leading global experts in the industries it represents, including health providers, insurers, and employers committed to establishing best practices," says GHA on its website. "GHA has accredited and certified top hospitals around the globe seeking to enhance the patient experience for medical travelers and improve business performance."

Obviously COVID has had a massive impact on the scope of the GHA's remit, but at its core it has kept true to its mission statement. And now its attention has turned to Los Angeles, California, and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Once again named one of the best hospitals in the US by US News & World Report, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is renowned for its patient experience and the quality of its medical care. Rated highly in 13 adult conditions and procedures and holding the #1 spot for geriatric treatment, Cedars-Sinai acts as both a regular and teaching hospital.

The 896-bed tertiary hospital and Level 1 trauma center operates across 40 locations and meets the healthcare needs of over a million people each and every year. Now, the California-based healthcare provider has been awarded accreditation by the GHA for a three-year term for its medical travel services program.

"Cedars-Sinai is a world-class teaching facility and a renowned center of medical research. As a result, we provide exceptional care to the people of our community, and to patients from across the country and around the world," said Dr. Heitham Hassoun, Vice President and Medical Director of Cedars Sinai International in a press release. "Our goal is to ensure that all patients - regardless of their region or country of origin, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status or religious background - have access to high-quality healthcare services, compassionate care and personalized support throughout their healthcare journey. We are very pleased to have achieved GHA accreditation which underscores our commitment to the wellbeing of traveling patients and their companions."

Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre offers prioritized treatments for medical travelers in its cardiac, cancer, and orthopedics departments, and offers services in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish - four of the most widely spoken languages in the world. There are few things more frustrating - or potentially life-threatening - than trying to explain complex medical concepts or describe symptoms to someone who doesn't understand what you're saying, so the fact Cedar-Sinai offers services in these languages is bound to greatly boost the patient experience as well as the quality of care and clinical outcomes.

"The assurance of quality and transparency in medical travel goes beyond the care delivered in the actual healthcare facility," said Karen Timmons, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Healthcare Accreditation Program. "It starts from the point of inquiry for the service and destination through arrival to the destination, and admission, discharge from the organization and stay at a hospitality site prior to travel back to the home base and through to ongoing communication after follow up service has been provided. We congratulate Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for achieving GHA Accreditation and for its commitment to supporting the needs of medical travel patients."

Final Thoughts

With the world beginning to tentatively open up once again, international travel is bound to be high on the priority list for many of its citizens. Thanks to medical travel services such as the one being put forward by Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre and accredited by the Global Health Accreditation Program, those people can be reassured that, should they face a medical emergency whilst on holiday or business, they will be in the best hands possible.

You can hear Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre's Chief Patient Experience Officer, Alan Dubovsky, speak at NGPX 2021, taking place in December, at the JW Marriott Palm Desert Resort & Spa.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.