Turkey has been actively promoting itself as a medical tourism destination for Americans and Canadians over the last year or two. The value of the Turkish Lira is quite low compared to the US Dollar making prices in Turkey even lower than Mexico's! But, Medical Tourism should be less about price and more about value, bang for the buck, promises made and expectations met.

In this episode, we'll talk to Krystina about her recent dental tourism experience in Turkey. In part one, we will find out about her "Top-Down" sales experience during her research and planning phase in connecting with a medical tourism 'facilitator' company to help her organize her treatment in Turkey. These call center agents can be very friendly and reassuring, making the patient feel sure that their "Bottom-Up" experience, once they step off the plane in the destination country, will be just as attentive as the sales process was. In part 2, we will hear how accurately her expectations were met after her arrival in Turkey, starting at the airport!

Today’s podcast is a follow-up discussion with Christina and Caren Wilson-Elliott, LME (Licensed Medical Esthetician and Recovery Specialist) on the last podcast that was a short review of the book, "The Innovator's DNA - Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators" by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton Christensen.

The book talks about the 5 Skills that Disruptive Innovator’s employ, namely:

Associational Thinking, Questioning, Observing, Networking and Experimenting.

Since we’ve both read the book and see the applicability to our own care model development, we were inspired to go a bit deeper and talk about these skills/traits as a way to … . ‘Build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete!’

If you're involved in healthcare or medical tourism and this podcast resonates with you, you might be interested in joining your tribe and the IMTCC's Medical Tourism Integrity Initiative. Find out more here.

If you're a patient that is curious, uncertain... or frustrated, we can help!

Email me at: christina@imtcc.org

And remember, in the words of Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has!

In this bonus short episode, Christina does a short review of the book, "The Innovator's DNA - Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators" by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton Christensen.

For all its faults and bad apples, Medical Tourism - as the ultimate free market answer to the broken healthcare delivery system - has had the freedom to successfully employ the 5 skills discussed in the book but perhaps not enough of the 'industry players' have had the COURAGE to buck the status quo and consider implementing a 'new model that makes the existing model obsolete,'... YET!

If you're involved in healthcare or medical tourism and this podcast resonates with you, you might be interested in joining your tribe and the IMTCC's Medical Tourism Integrity Initiative. Find out more here.

If you're a patient that is curious, uncertain... or frustrated, we can help!

Email me at: christina@imtcc.org

And remember, in the words of Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has!

Back in 2012, I was a guest on Ilene Little's radio show called, "Know Before You Go." In this previously archived interview, we discuss a variety of topics that will be of interest for both patients AND providers of Medical Tourism services. We start with reviewing some surprising survey results of Medical Tourism Patients from 2012 done by Keith Pollard of IMTJ. We then discuss the business of 'medical tourism facilitating' - where it's been, where it's going, where it could be doing better and ultimately, the need for a rebranding and a pivot to a transparent service model based on Patient Advocacy and service instead of sales!

We finish by discussing the vision of the IMTCC (International Medical Travel Concierge Council) and why, even now, 10 years later in 2023, it is a 'patient-centric' model whose time has come and one for ALL of healthcare to embrace!

To share your feedback or learn more, email me at christina@imtcc.org, or the website, www.imtcc.org. If you are interested in the IMTCC's Medical Tourism Integrity Initiative, click here.

Blessings and thanks for listening!

Today we discuss what we're calling, "Wide-Awake Lipo" so as not to refer directly to the clinics and providers that are performing these procedures but, if you are doing any research online for plastic surgery or liposuction, I'm sure you've encountered this trend. In our "Insidious or Oblivious?" episodes, we take a look at particular stories or procedures or anything of interest that we think has an insidious slant (something with a certain amount of malice, perhaps) or oblivious slant (as in lack of information/understanding, intentional or not) or element to it. We are both passionate patient advocates and champions for the GREAT surgeons we've had the privilege to work with and who have taught us so much in the realm of cosmetic and plastic surgery and esthetics!

You can connect with us at:

Caren Wilson-Elliott L.E. (caren@theyouth-ingrx.com) or Christina deMoraes (christina@imtcc.org)

If you're a patient considering Plastic Surgery, you have OPTIONS! But we know those options can seem overwhelming and intimidating and even downright risky! But WE ARE HERE TO HELP - whether you are looking to cross country, state or county lines!

For more than 20 years now, as a Patient Advocate and a Medical Concierge, hand-holding patients through their entire experience, there is simply nothing more rewarding than helping someone thru and TO the transformation that Plastic Surgery, Weight Loss Surgery (and others) can provide… IF, it’s DONE RIGHT… and that means educating yourself and asking questions and yes, being skeptical sometimes! Before becoming an Advocate and hosting hundreds of patients in BRAZIL for plastic surgery, I was a patient MYSELF first so... I know what the journey is like. With this podcast, I hope to share some wisdom, advice, experience and stories with my patient-peers as they go on this empowering journey of transformation.

In today’s maiden episode I’m joined by my co-host Caren Wilson-Elliott, Licensed Esthetician in Appearance Enhancement and Plastic Surgery Recovery.