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Things to look for in an IVF clinic
When it is about choosing the right IVF clinic, it has become increasingly difficult for the patients to decide who can provide them with the best care.
How old is the infertility management center?
The hospital may be very old but may have started infertility services recently. The level of experience of a fertility clinic has its importance. The longer a clinic has been in business, the better the facility likely is because it has been around long enough to have been proven credible.
How much experience the doctor has in treating infertility?
A very senior O&G practitioner may have very little experience of infertility management and vice versa. A young practitioner may have specialized his career in infertility management only.
Does the clinician keep himself update or only relying on outdated knowledge?
A detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV)should be examined and his/her training & involvement in academic activity should be noted
Do they have in-house Embryologists?
In-house embryologists are a must for any good IVF center. In-house embryologists give an edge over visiting embryologists to an IVF set up. A visiting embryologist may be highly qualified, but some things are always beyond the control of a visiting embryologist.
What is the qualification of the Embryologist?
The embryologist is the backbone of any infertility center. Fifty percent success depends on the skill of the embryologist. Embryologists must be properly qualified i.e M.Sc (Embryology) in human embryology. Many IVF centers use Veterinary Doctors, Microbiologists, Pathologists or Laboratory Technicians who are not trained for the purpose. As a result, the desired success cannot be achieved.
What culture system they are using?
Important things are Triple gas incubator, microdrop culture, sequential media, Blastocyst transfer.
How long have the doctors and technicians been there?
High staff turnover can be a sign of bad management and can contribute to mistakes.
Ask if the clinic offers psychological counseling?
Fertility treatments can be extremely stressful for couples. It can be very helpful if a clinic has its own Psychological counselor to help you find some stress coping techniques during these difficult times.
Do they have the relevant infrastructure and technology in place?
According to ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research), an infertility care clinic is categorized into three levels. Primary(1A & 1B), Secondary ( Level 2), and Tertiary (Level 3) based on appropriate facilities for investigation and treatment for the patient and the space available ( eg. separate space provision for sterile and non-sterile areas). Tertiary (Level 3) infertility care units being the highest will have to perform diagnostic and therapeutic at the highest level of specialization with the best facilities and research.
What is the success rate of the clinic?
The success rate can depend on many factors. But it can also vary between clinics, so it’s important to discuss this with whatever fertility specialist or clinic you choose.
How are the reviews and testimonials about the clinic and its doctors?
Reviews and testimonials can help you immensely during your decision-making process. It will inform you about the brand’s image, credibility, transparency, and authority. You can read about other patient’s IVF journey.
Are the staffs efficient in their jobs and responsibilities and respond to the patient’s best interest?
The main task of a clinic is to provide the best possible healthcare and adequate numbers of trained, qualified healthcare professionals, especially physicians, nurses, and staff are paramount to fulfill it.
Do they conduct active research and follow up-to-date trends in infertility treatment?
Healthcare is a highly developing field and we practice evidence-based medicine. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to keep themselves up to date by reading the latest credible journals and interact with other scientists around the world. This will greatly improve patient care.
Do they ignore basic investigations to reduce cost which may compromise success rates?
Investigations are the backbone for a correct diagnosis of the disease. By ignoring basic investigations to reduce cost, a clinician might fail to diagnose an existing problem which might severely compromise the success rate of an IVF procedure.
What is the cost of multiple IVF cycles?
IVF can be a costly treatment for some couples without a 100% success rate. But it evident that having three cycles of IVF can vastly improve your success rate( >95% in some cases) Therefore, it is important that the clinic offers multiple cycle packages for patients at a lower cost.
In simple words, you should look for an experienced infertility specialist and an infertility clinic with advanced technology and in-house qualified embryologists.
Why IHR is your first and best choice?
One of our priorities at IHR is giving personalized care to all couples with infertility problems, as we consider them to be the centre of our activity. We are very aware that we are not treating medical problems; we are treating people. Moreover, the patient satisfaction surveys that we have been doing for several years help us to improve from day to day and confirm our patients’ level of satisfaction.
