Small is beautiful when selecting an IVF clinic

For infertile couples, the most important criterion when selecting an IVF clinic should be its success rate – how competent is the doctor at making babies ? However, suppose you have a choice between 2 clinics with a similar success rate – one is a large IVF clinic located in a hospital, while the other is a boutique standalone clinic, then which one should you choose ? Now I am admittedly biased, but here’s why I feel that IVF is best done in smaller clinics.

IVF is different from most medical treatments. Infertile couples are not patients – they simply have a medical problem , and they need medical assistance in order to have a baby . Because most doctors are employed by and work in hospitals, this means that it’s much more convenient for them to provide medical care in a hospital setting. However, just because it’s easier for the doctor does not mean that medical care delivered in a hospital is always best for the patient !

However, most patients still associate medical care with hospitals , which is why many of them will go to hospital-based IVF clinics, even though the quality of care they are likely to get in a stand-alone IVF clinic is likely to be much better.  They feel hospitals are safer – and that in case there is a complication, the hospital will be able to manage this better. However, because hospitals are really not geared towards providing care for infertile couples ( after all, they are designed primarily to deal with ill patients) , there are lots of problems and disadvantages of going to a hospitals for IVF treatment.

A big issue is that of red-tape.  Infertile couples find that they have to wait in long lines, along with other patients – and hospital bureaucracy ( for billing and admission and discharge) can be very painful. Also, because the chances of complications with IVF treatment in a good clinic are so low, the ability to take care of complications is only a theoretical benefit. 

Small clinics are focused on taking care of infertile couples, because they only provide IVF treatment, and do nothing else . This is why they have honed their skills to perfection . Not only are they very good at providing medical care , they also have systems in place to offer handholding and the emotional support which infertile couples need. These clinics are smaller and warmer, as contrasted to hospitals which care be big, cold , sterile and uncaring. This is why it’s much easier for couples to establish a personal equation and rapport with the staff members here . Also, it's far easier for them to get their problems resolved , because they don't have to go through layers of hospital bureaucracy .

Stand alone IVF clinics are also much more responsive to infertile couple’s needs , because their very survival depends on delighting their patients ( unlike hospitals, who have many other departments, such as cardiac surgery or joint replacement, which are more glamorous and profitable) . This is why these IVF clinics are much more cost-effective and efficient as well, as compared to clinics which are embedded with the hospital system, because they do not have to deal with the huge unnecessary costs of administrative overheads.

Not happy with the attention you are getting from your IVF clinic ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/malpaniform.htm so that I can guide you better !