Boston Health Care International.

WORLD-CLASS MEDICINE IN A GRACIOUS SETTING

Famed for its leadership in education and its historic significance as the cradle of U.S. independence, Boston is also a center of medical excellence and a major destination for international patients seeking the best in health care.

Boston, the capital of Massachusetts and home to Harvard University, offers leading-edge medical care and diagnostic services in a setting of stately beauty and history.

"Boston can serve all the needs of patients and their families," says Carol Sayles, chair of Boston Health Care International (BHI), an alliance of medical facilities that help foreign visitors and lead efforts to improve patient services. "Not only do we have some of the best medicine in the world, we have a beautiful city that is sophisticated and very manageable."

To get the word out, the voluntary alliance has combined forces to showcase its specialties. Medical facilities of BHI include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Children's Hospital, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Medical Center of Boston International, New England Baptist Hospital and New England Medical Center.

"We want Boston medicine to be on the map," adds Sayles, director of international health services at Children's Hospital, Boston. "We work together to serve the patient, whether he goes to one hospital or another. We collaborate efforts to ensure patients are aware of Boston's appeal as an important destination for health care. The patient care is unsurpassed."

No one is certain how many thousands of international patients already visit Boston, but medical reasons bring more visitors to Boston than education and tourism, Sayles says. Most of the medical facilities are affiliated with Harvard and Tufts University Schools of Medicine offering state-of-the-art techniques, advanced research and the highest quality patient care in the United States.

Boston Health Care International, working with Massachusetts Port Authority, has helped develop an airport assistance program that eases patients' arrivals and departures through the international gateway at Logan Airport. "We also work with area hotels to provide medical discounts for patients and we're constantly working on short-and long-term housing issues," Sayles adds.

Each medical facility has an international center or staff dedicated to coordinating international patients' needs. "We facilitate the intake of the patient from the initial telephone call through the entire process - setting up an appointment schedule, reviewing medical records, developing a tentative plan for care and cost estimates," Sayles says. "We arrange for accommodations, make sure patients are met at the airport and greeted in their own language and facilitate their entry into the country. We serve as a resource to them throughout the entire stay, and we are their primary contact from start to finish."

Many patients come to Boston on a self-referral basis, while others are sent by their home physicians or by third-party administrative organizations and embassies.

Boston is also easy for travelers. Non-stops from Europe are common, and air shuttles run every 15 or 20 minutes between New York and Boston.