Spine Medical Tourism Overview

International spine medical tourism is where people from one country travel to another country to receive medical, surgical or dental care equal to or greater than in their own country. Domestic medical tourism is where people travel within their own country to another city or state that offers medical treatment that is not available in their area.  The most common reasons for medical tourism are affordability, access to immediate care, and higher quality of care. Other reasons patients travel are for least invasive or new technological advances in care, not offered locally.

For example, patients from Canada often seek medical attention in the United States, and internationally because they suffer from illness and care is not offered on a timely basis. According, to the recent Fraser Institute 2017 report, Canadians experienced the most extended wait times, 41.7 weeks, for general practitioner referral to orthopedic surgery.¹  Because of the long waiting times to see healthcare specialists in Canada, many individuals are suffering in pain, looking for cost-effective, and more-timely access to healthcare solutions.   These individual’s quality of life deteriorates as they suffer in pain, lose days of work and hope for medical treatment.

The International Spine Institute Spine Medical Tourism Services

At the International Spine Institute, we realize that patients are suffering daily with debilitating spine conditions. Today’s patients have become more educated on treatment options, and they are searching for alternatives to spinal fusion surgery. Unfortunately, not all spine surgeons are trained or offer least invasive spine surgery.  In addition to Dr. Rodriguez’s spine expertise and fellowship training, he has pursued additional spine training in the fields of stem cell therapy and least invasive endoscopic spine surgery.  Our less invasive endoscopic options offer pain relief, without the long, painful recovery often associated with traditional spine surgery and spinal fusion.  Our goal is to offer the least invasive spine fusion-sparing solutions to patients located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central, and South America.

For patients considering traveling for spine-related problems, the International Spine Institute offers high-quality, affordable, spine healthcare treatment. We recognize that traveling out of your state or country for spine medical care is challenging, and we want to make the experience as easy as possible for you.

In Dr. Rodriguez’s experience, patients undergoing these procedures have returned to work, play and life faster than patients that had minimally invasive spine surgery, such as a spinal fusion.

Our Spine medical tourism services provide you with one contact to help coordinate your care and ensure that all your needs are exceeded, including:

• Review of recent MRI* – free of charge to determine if you are a possible candidate for least invasive surgery.  We only request travel for appropriate surgical candidates after discussing your MRI with our surgeon. Our team will contact you to discuss his findings, and schedule an in-office physical examination to confirm a diagnosis and move forward with a treatment plan.
• Second opinion review – all records, imaging, and physical examination will be performed by Dr. Rodriguez in our Louisiana office.
• Up to 45-minute consultation with Dr. Rodriguez includes a thorough examination and consultation with your every question and concern addressed.  Dr. Rodriguez spends the necessary time needed so that you may be confident in his treatment plan.
• Global and transparent pricing – Surgeon, anesthesia and facility fees are included and arranged before travel.  Financing options are available through our partner agency.
• All appointments and travel arrangements are coordinated by our office staff, for your convenience, including, flights, hotel accommodations, pre and post office, and surgery appointments and establish follow-up care once the patient arrives home.
• Direct phone access to Dr. Rodriguez and his physician assistant during pre-operative and post-operative care.  In addition, our patient advocate will give you a phone number to reach us, which is dedicated to pre- and post-operative surgical questions or concerns.
• Post-operative virtual video-conference with Dr. Rodriguez in the privacy of your home. Dr. Rodriguez will follow-up with you online to see how your recovery is going.

For more information about coordinating your visit, call us at (225) 313-4700

* The MRI Review is an informational review of the MRI images and report that you provide to us and is not a form of diagnosis.  A diagnosis and final treatment plan for which you may benefit from at International Spine Institute can only be made after Dr. Rodriguez performs a physical examination at one of our offices in Louisiana.  The Free MRI Review has no value and will not be billed.

¹ Bacchus, B. (2017) Waiting Your Turn – Wait times for Health Care in Canada; Fraser Institute; https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/waiting-your-turn-2017.pdf