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For reasons unrelated to price (a surgeon on the faculty at Yale who was a classmate of a physician friend) my wife had a double knee replacement done in a regional hospital in Connecticut. It was by and large a great experience. The hospital was brand new with the latest facilities and equipment, Due to lower patient loads the patient care was unlike anything ever experienced in the city. She was walking within a day. After a week she was transferred to a nearby top-rate rehab facility, and within two weeks she was able to come home and walk up the stairs to our house unassisted. She never used the walker provided. In contrast, the prescribed home physical therapy was next to useless. Two plus years later she has no negative after-effects. She compares that with a colleague who had the same procedure done locally, was out of commission for six months, has had several follow-up procedures and is still not fully functional more than three years later.
The downside? It was impossible to have her own pre-op blood drawn locally for an out of state operation so she had to make several trips to Connecticut. It was tough to make hospital visits. Controlled substance prescriptions written by out-of-state physicians could not be filled in NY pharmacies. We've also made a couple of follow-up trips, which we usually manage to combine with some R&R.
We've since referred several people to the same physician, most of whom have had the procedure done there.
Years ago I also had an emergency compound fracture treated by an orthopedist at a small rural hospital (he was called in from his 4th of July barbecue). When I had follow-up care in the city, the orthopedist marveled at the quality of the work and when I told him who had done it, he said, "ah, he's the best."
The moral: New York isn't necessarily the center of the medical universe (although many of the best out there seem to have trained here).

For Joe Becker:
The site is http://www.healthgrades.com

What was the web site that rates hospitals?

Interesting to hear Mr. Baker's crisp Canadian accent. Does that tell you something about the direction we should be heading?

Inexpensive Dental work can be found in NYC at one of the local dental schools.
Yes, students do the work and it is a longer process than if you went to a "regular" dental office.
Every step the students take is supervised by licensed dentists. If the work to be done is complicated, then the work is done by the senior students or the resident students.
The cost for an upper implant can be $1000. Much less expensive than on the market.
Good luck.
P.S. For women, the NY Presbyterian at 168th St has a breast cancer screening clinic sponsored by Avon.
212.851.4516

All due respect to Mr. Baker, but I hope that reform of the US medical system puts him out of business by better pairing patients with facilities.

When you travel outside the US, you often lose your ability to sue for malpractice.

According to certain guide books, Hungary has very good dental care.

When it comes to dental treatments abroad, the problem--I've heard from a number of U.S. dentists--is not a lack of expertise on the part of the dentists, but the fact that the materials they use, including composites and amalgams that remain in the mouth, may be sub-par and or even dangerous.

That's odd $100K for carotid artery. I had both done, one was 90% clogged and was replaced with vein from my thigh and both surgeries cost NOWHERE near that amout and St Vincent's in NYC.

Great for saving money, but what if you have a complication after you come home? You end up in my ER having undergone some procedure and your surgeon is on the other side of the country. Maybe I can get in contact with that person, but the local surgeons are reluctant to take care of other doctors complications. Not ideal.

for dental work - my nyc dentist said I needed about $8000 of work. I had a friend who really liked his dentist in philadelphia. I took the train down for a consultation & returned for the work which ended up costing $5000 & he was a wonderful dentist.
my advice ask around for a referral out of nyc but close enough to commute to.

So how do you get back to New York after your hip replacement in Kansas?

Take the train?

Regarding dental, I just had my teeth cleaned in Buenos Aires, Argentina (my parents are from there, so we go every year). It cost ~$50, as opposed to the $290 that my dentist charges (I don't have dental insurance). My mom had a couple fillings replaced and a cap put in.

If people need implants or other major dental, people should look into foreign countries where dental care is top-notch and much cheaper (even factoring in airfare and living arrangements).

In response to the dental implant question, NYU Dental school provides low cost care. Also, a facility called the Ryan Center.

i heard mexico has great dentists and withe the 13.8 pesos to the the dollar nowadays....

Also Maroc has great dentist.

Retirement homes abroad is another topic....

I made a trip to Serbia and got magnificent dental work done for $400 + $900 flight. It included a root canal and porcelain cap, 5 cavities and a wisdom tooth removed. I trust ZERO dentists in New York/US.

What about something small like removing sebaceous cysts from the scalp or elsewhere? Would this be worth pursuing through this company?

I used to live in Cambodia, where there are a few good clinics, and both my boyfriend and I had a bunch of dental work done before we left to come back to the US. We saved a bunch of money, and when we got back dentists here were surprised by how good my boyfriend's gold crown was.

I've also heard many stories of people flying to Bangkok to get plastic surgery - they go on vacation to Thailand and come back looking "rested". The whole trip ends up costing less than getting surgery done in the US, the medical facilities over there are consistently high-quality, plus patients get the added benefit of discreetly convalescing in a tropical climate.

There is a vast difference in the quality and experience of different surgeons. Mr. Baker is talking about price and cost, but why should we potentially sacrifice quality for cost?

-Chris

What's the death rate for coronary bypass in an otherwise healthy 70 year old man in your hospitals?

This is GREAT -- an Orbitz for medical care -- we trust the airlines with our lives even at the lowest price -- whey not medical care.

Some surgeons and hospitals have better outcomes than others.

Do you give your clients the success rates, mortality rates, and complication rates for your doctors and hospitals?

Here's an interesting report on the issue: http://trimarkpublications.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0230-6081_ITM