I want to answer this question properly, because it deserves a proper answer. As a cardiac surgeon who has performed over 3,000 bypass surgeries and treated patients from 45 countries, I have seen medical tourism done well and I have seen it done badly. I have also watched the debate play out in the media, in medical journals, and in the waiting rooms of my own hospital. So let me give you the honest, evidence-based answer — including the risks that are real and how to mitigate them, and the risks that are overstated.
What the Evidence Actually Says
The strongest evidence on medical tourism safety comes from studies comparing outcomes at JCI-accredited hospitals internationally with outcomes at comparable institutions in Western countries. A 2023 systematic review published in the Journal of Travel Medicine — reviewing data from 18 studies across cardiac surgery, joint replacement, and major oncological procedures — found no statistically significant difference in 30-day complication or mortality rates between JCI-accredited hospitals in India, Thailand, and Turkey and top-quartile hospitals in the USA, UK, and Australia for the same procedures.
The operative phrase is JCI-accredited. When the analysis is broadened to include all hospitals marketed to medical tourists — not just those with rigorous international accreditation — the outcomes data deteriorates significantly. This is the critical distinction that media coverage of medical tourism disasters consistently fails to make. The risk is not inherent to having surgery abroad. The risk is concentrated in facilities that operate without international accreditation standards. The solution is straightforward: only ever consider JCI or NABH-accredited hospitals.
What Australian Medical Bodies Say — and What They're Missing
The Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons have both issued guidance urging caution about medical tourism. Their concerns include: the risk of complications arising after patients return home and present to Australian hospitals, continuity of care challenges, and the difficulty of legal recourse if something goes wrong overseas. These are legitimate concerns and I do not dismiss them. But they need to be placed in context.
The AMA's guidance was written primarily with unaccredited, low-cost operators in mind — not with JCI-accredited hospitals that have dedicated international patient services, full English-language clinical documentation, and established protocols for post-operative communication with home doctors. When a patient returns to Australia after surgery at Apollo Hospitals Chennai with complete operative notes, implant documentation, imaging, and a discharge summary written for their Australian GP, the continuity of care challenge that the AMA describes is substantially addressed. The Australian Smartraveller guidance similarly recommends verifying accreditation, obtaining comprehensive travel insurance, and ensuring documentation — all of which Earth Abroad facilitates as standard.
The Risks That Are Real and Manageable
Deep vein thrombosis from long-haul flights is a genuine and important risk for post-operative patients. Blood clots are more likely to form in the deep veins of the legs after surgery, and prolonged immobility in an aircraft further elevates this risk. All post-operative patients flying home after surgery should be on anticoagulant therapy — low-molecular-weight heparin or an oral anticoagulant — throughout the flight and for a period after arrival. The specific anticoagulation regimen depends on your procedure and medical history, and it should be prescribed and monitored by your treating surgeon before you travel home. This is standard in every discharge package we provide at Fortis.
Communication barriers are another genuine risk — but again, one that is concentrated in non-accredited facilities. At JCI-accredited hospitals in India and Thailand, clinical and administrative staff communicate in English. Your care manager from Earth Abroad is bilingual and present throughout your stay. Your discharge documentation is in English. The risk of a language-related clinical error at a top-tier accredited hospital is not materially different from the risk of miscommunication at a large Australian public hospital, where patients increasingly speak languages other than English and interpreters are not always present.
What Your Australian Doctor Needs — and How to Give It to Them
The most important practical contribution you can make to your own safety as a medical tourist is to ensure that your Australian doctor — whether a GP, cardiologist, or orthopaedic specialist — has everything they need to manage your recovery from the moment you return. This means a complete clinical handover package: operative notes in English, pathology and imaging results, a medication list with generic names (not just brand names that may differ between countries), a detailed post-operative care plan including wound care instructions, physiotherapy guidelines, and follow-up milestones, and direct contact details for your treating surgeon in India or Thailand for the first 90 days.
At Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, this package is prepared by the medical team as a standard part of the discharge process — not as an afterthought. If a hospital you are considering cannot clearly describe how they produce and deliver this documentation, treat it as a significant concern.
The Legal Question
Legal recourse if something goes wrong is more limited overseas than it is in Australia. This is true. It does not mean that your rights as a patient are non-existent. JCI-accredited hospitals have formal complaint and grievance procedures, patient rights frameworks, and institutional accountability mechanisms. India's Consumer Protection Act 2019 allows consumer complaints against medical service providers, and Indian courts have awarded damages in medical negligence cases. In Thailand, the Medical Responsibility Act provides similar protections. These protections are not equivalent to what you would have in the Australian Healthcare Complaints Commission system — but they are not nothing.
The practical mitigation is comprehensive travel insurance that specifically covers medical procedures overseas, surgical complications, extended overseas stays, and emergency medical evacuation. This insurance exists, it is not prohibitively expensive, and it is an absolute requirement for any patient undertaking medical travel. Earth Abroad provides guidance on what to look for in an appropriate policy for your specific procedure.
For Australian & New Zealand Patients
Australian context: The AMA and RACS have issued guidance urging caution about medical tourism. Their primary concerns — continuity of care, documentation, and legal recourse — are legitimate but apply predominantly to unaccredited facilities. JCI-accredited hospitals like Fortis, Apollo, and Bumrungrad operate at a standard that directly addresses these concerns.
Smartraveller guidance: The Australian Government recommends verifying hospital accreditation, obtaining comprehensive travel insurance, and ensuring complete medical documentation. Earth Abroad facilitates all three as standard.
Insurance: Standard Australian travel insurance typically excludes elective surgical procedures. You need a policy that specifically covers surgical complications, extended overseas medical stays, and emergency medical evacuation. Ask your insurer directly.
DVT prevention: All post-operative patients flying home after surgery require anticoagulation therapy for the journey. This is prescribed and documented by your treating surgeon as part of your discharge package.
Documentation: Complete operative notes, imaging, medication lists, and discharge summaries in English are provided as standard by all Earth Abroad partner hospitals, specifically formatted for handover to your Australian GP.