Medical tourism costs Alberta health system $560K per year, study finds

As flashy weight-loss ads for medical surgeries continue to draw Albertansto Mexico and abroad, a new study says the costs of fixing some of thebungled procedures costsAlberta's health systemmore thanhalf amillion dollars each year.

The study, published in the Canadian Journal of Surgery,surveyed 25 surgeons who treated 59 medical tourists between 2012 and 2013 after they had undergonebariatric surgery atreatment for morbid obesity thatinvolves, among other things, shrinking the stomach or intestines to induce weight-loss.

• Read the full study here

It found these patients incurredmore than $560,000 in surgicalcosts after returning to Canada.

In some cases, doctors had to addresslife-threatening complications, such as stomach leaks andruptures that can cause fatal sepsis.

Dr.Shahzeer Karmali, one of the lead researchers, said some of these patients were trying to avoid thelong diagnosis times, lengthywait lists and generally restrictive access tothese services in Canada.

He also said the findingsdo notaccount for the additional strain placed on Alberta's limited health resources.

"There are much higher costs that we didn't actually calculate," Karmali said. Thoseincludehospital stays, seeing other specialists andlong-term care costs, he said.

Some individuals have had to be put onlife-long tube-feeds, and "the costs of that are in the millions," he said.

Karmali said some companies actually recommend this type of medical tourism to Canadians, adding that these organizations also need toassume liability for the problems that arise post-surgery.

"Some patients do not understand exactly what they're into when they get back," he said.

"Obesity is a complex disorder," he said. "Just travelling out of the country won't solve the problem with obesity."

With files from The Homestretch and Edmonton AM