A private hospital in Hermosillo, Sonora, has earned international accreditation and partnered with a major U.S. insurance company to offer services to U.S. patients.
Hospital Cima Hermosillo has been classified as a world-class hospital by the Joint Commission International and is one of the first hospitals in Mexico to receive this certification, said Marcos Serrato, the hospital's medical director.
The Joint Commission International regulates and evaluates hospitals worldwide. Hospital Cima Hermosillo is one of only about 100 hospitals in the world that has such accreditation.
And last month the hospital signed a contract with Companion Global Healthcare Inc. to be included in its network so Blue Cross and Blue Shield members can seek treatment in Hermosillo, said Steven Foster, the hospital's CEO. It is one of 20 hosiptals in the Global's network.
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"With this contract any Blue Cross Blue Shield member has access to our 60 percent discount of what the U.S. price is," Foster said.
He said the contract with the U.S. insurance company currently covers about a dozen procedures, but he hopes the list will expand. The hospital is also working with several other insurance companies, but nothing has been confirmed.
Procedures covered include cardiology, gynecology and orthopedic surgeries, Foster said.
"These are typically very expensive procedures in the U.S., whether you have insurance or you don't," he said.
The hospital can accommodate 60 patients and is ranked a level-three trauma center.
Foster said patients who go to Hospital Cima Hermosillo don't have to pay deductibles for their surgeries.
"It is an option that is very interesting ... not only to individual Blue Cross Blue Shield members but also to small businesses that cannot afford to pay for expensive health-insurance programs," he said. "It's a way that Blue Cross Blue Shield has resolved the cost concerns, especially now in a time of recession."
The hospital's doctors are U.S.-trained and speak English. Surgical procedures run about 60 percent less than the average U.S. procedure, Foster said.
Currently, foreign patients at the hospital make up about 5 percent of its patients.
"We expect to increase that to a 10 or 15 percent," Foster said.
Among the amenities the hospital wants to offer to attract more patients is handling the logistics of the trip.
"We would take care of everything from the shuttle to the hotel arrangement," Foster said, "so ... everything is covered and they don't have to worry about going through customs; they don't have to worry about if they take the left or the right on the road."
The hospital also offers bilingual staff to accompany patients through the process.
"You don't need to know Spanish to come here," Foster said.
Cima Hermosillo is part of a four-hospital corporation in Mexico with facilities in Chihuahua, Puebla and Monterrey — which also holds the international certification.
Serrato said hospital officials worked for two years to obtain the certification. Foster said the hospital invested more than $250,000 and more than 13,000 hours of work.
For doctors who practice at Hospital Cima Hermosillo, the accreditation offers the potential for recruiting more patients because it raises the hospital's image, said Dr. Rafael Iñigo Pavlovich, a knee specialist.
He said while many U.S. patients already travel to foreign countries such as Thailand or India for surgery, Mexico offers the convenience of proximity.
It's an advantage the country is capitalizing on as it goes after the $2 billion U.S. medical-tourism market.
More than 20 private hospitals are in various stages of development, in border cities and resort communities in Mexico. One is planned for Puerto Peñasco, the Sonoran port four hours southwest of Tucson.
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