?There is a thin dividing line between elective surgery and needed surgery when it comes to plastic and cosmetic surgery. The discussion has been on for several years, which is why some of the insurance companies in both US and Europe sometimes agree to paying for a patient's elective surgery. What makes the difference between an elective surgery and a required surgery when discussing plastic surgery is that the operation is either wanted or needed. But how can one person say what is needed or merely wanted without having been trained as a psychologist. For instance if a person is having a real psychological need which to any outsider would be seen as just a perk or the obsession of a spoiled person, should this surgery be covered for by insurance companies, or is this just another elective surgery? Recently, there has been an increasing number of people travelling to receive cosmetic surgery abroad and the main reason for this is that their insurance companies refuse to pay for one surgery or another and the patient cannot afford to pay out of their own pocket. How can a patient prove to the insurance company that their surgery is indeed something which although not life threatening on the straight forward level can be indeed life threatening on the psychological level? Every day people are forced to live with what they consider to be ugly constrained by sociological and peer norms deeply rooted in the world of today. The beautification of the world is indeed partly owned to the media, but when a patient of plastic surgery comes out looking better on the outside and feeling re-born on the inside, then it is safe to say that the standard of life for that patient has been increased. What is the role of medicine, the one that is more deep and harder to comprehend than that to cure? The role of medicine is to improve one's standard of life, be it by curing, or by taking away the pain of a patient beyond cure. When discussing cosmetic surgery, the role of the doctor, or the role of the medical act is to enhance the life of the patient, to better their living standards, both physical and psychological. The true role of plastic surgery abroad is to facilitate the patient's access to quality surgical procedures at an affordable price. The true benefit of medical tourism is that it overcomes the need of a prolonged debate with insurance companies over the true need for surgery. Most insurance companies cannot move on from the physical life threatening to the psychological need, and thus, won't agree to pay for a patient's elective surgery, although they would in fact benefit from medicine's purpose, in having their standard of life enhanced.? |
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