Bottom line up front: Researching surgery abroad means meeting terms from three vocabularies at once: medicine, international travel and the destination country's own health system. This glossary defines the ones patients meet most often, in plain language, with the Spanish terms you are likely to see in Colombia. Where a term carries a common misunderstanding, the entry says so.
Terms are grouped by where you are likely to meet them in the process, from checking a provider to recovering at home. Use the group headings to jump to the stage you are at.
Checking providers and facilities
- Accreditation
- An external review of a hospital or clinic against published standards by an independent organization. CDC names Joint Commission International (JCI) and the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) among accreditors that list facilities abroad, and notes that accreditation does not guarantee a good outcome (CDC Yellow Book, 2026).
- JCI (Joint Commission International)
- One of the international accreditors CDC lists for facilities abroad. JCI accreditation applies to a facility's systems and processes, not to individual surgeons. See our explainer on what JCI accreditation means for your safety.
- Board certification
- Recognition that a doctor has completed specialty training and passed the assessments set by a specialty body. The exact meaning varies by country, so ask which organization certified the surgeon and check with that organization directly.
- SCCP (Sociedad Colombiana de Cirugía Plástica)
- Colombia's national society of plastic surgeons. Membership is a commonly cited credential for Colombian plastic surgeons. Our guide to SCCP certification explains what it does and does not show.
- ReTHUS (Registro Único Nacional del Talento Humano en Salud)
- Colombia's national register of health personnel. Being registered means a person meets the legal requirements to practise a health profession. The Ministry of Health runs it, and the public can search it online, including for ethics sanctions against doctors (MinSalud, 2026).
- Habilitación
- The process that confirms a Colombian health provider meets minimum conditions to operate, including technological and scientific capacity, financial soundness and administrative capacity. It is a baseline licence, not a mark of excellence (MinSalud).
- REPS (Registro Especial de Prestadores de Servicios de Salud)
- The database of providers that have completed habilitación in Colombia. Departmental and district health authorities collect the information and the Ministry of Health consolidates it. Hospitals, clinics, independent professionals and patient-transport services register in it.
- IPS (Institución Prestadora de Servicios de Salud)
- The Colombian term for a health care institution, such as a hospital or clinic. You will see it on documents, invoices and registrations.
- Unlicensed or "garage" clinic
- An informal term for a facility operating without the required authorization. Checking a provider in REPS and its staff in ReTHUS is the basic defence.
Devices, implants and medicines
- INVIMA
- Colombia's national health products regulator. Under Decreto 4725 de 2005, it issues the registrations that medical devices need before they can be sold in the country.
- Registro sanitario
- The health registration a medical device needs to be produced, imported or sold in Colombia. Under Decreto 4725 de 2005, devices are classified by risk from class I (low) to class III (very high), and the higher classes go through a technical and scientific evaluation (Decreto 4725 de 2005).
- Tarjeta de implante (implant card)
- The card that identifies what was put inside you, down to the model and lot or serial number, plus the maker, the hospital and the date. Colombian device rules make the hospital complete it in three copies, one of which is yours. Ask for yours and keep it permanently.
- Counterfeit medicine
- A medicine that is fake, mislabelled or substandard. CDC warns that medicines abroad may be counterfeit, expired, contaminated or poorly stored, so ask where your prescriptions come from.
Consent, records and rights
- Informed consent (consentimiento informado)
- Your agreement to a procedure after you have been told what it involves, its risks and its alternatives, and have understood them. The signed form records the agreement; the conversation is what makes it informed. See informed consent abroad.
- Advertencia del riesgo previsto
- "Warning of foreseeable risk": the Colombian legal term for a doctor's duty to tell you about possible adverse effects before a treatment. Decreto 3380 de 1981 requires the doctor to record in your clinical record that the warning was given (Decreto 3380 de 1981).
- Historia clínica
- Your clinical record in Colombia: the official file of your consultations, consents, operation and hospital care.
- Epicrisis
- The term commonly used in Colombia for the discharge summary: a written summary of why you were admitted, what was done and the instructions on discharge. It is one of the most important documents to bring home.
- Operative report
- The surgeon's account of exactly what was done during the operation, including any implants used. Your doctors at home will need it.
- Legal recourse
- The ways you can seek a remedy if care goes wrong, such as complaints or legal claims. CDC notes that medical tourists may not have the same recourse they would have at home.
The operation and the people involved
- Anesthesiologist (anestesiólogo)
- The physician responsible for anesthesia and for monitoring you during the operation. You should be able to speak with this person before surgery.
- Combined procedures
- More than one operation performed in the same session. Combining adds to total operating and anesthesia time, which is why surgeons set limits.
- Staged surgery
- Spreading planned procedures across separate sessions or trips instead of doing them together. See staged surgery abroad.
- Revision surgery
- A later operation to correct, adjust or improve the result of an earlier one. Ask about a surgeon's revision policy before you book, including who pays and where it would happen.
Travel and recovery
- Fit to fly
- Your treating team's judgment that you can travel safely after surgery. Published minimums cover only a few groups: CDC's medical tourism chapter sets a 10-day wait for chest and abdominal operations and a 7-to-10-day wait for some face, eyelid and nose procedures. Everything else is decided case by case.
- VTE, DVT and PE
- Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the umbrella term for blood clots in the veins. A deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a clot, usually in the leg; a pulmonary embolism (PE) is a clot that has travelled to the lungs. CDC lists recent surgery as a risk factor and notes that most travel-related clots appear within one to two weeks of a flight (CDC Yellow Book, 2026).
- Graduated compression stockings
- Fitted stockings that apply pressure to the legs to support blood flow. For travellers at increased clot risk, CDC reports a recommendation for below-the-knee stockings giving 15 to 30 mmHg at the ankle.
- Long-distance travel
- In clot-risk guidance, there is no standard definition, but CDC says journeys of more than four hours are the cut-off most often used.
- Recovery house
- Lodging for patients after discharge, which may offer meals, transport or nursing support. Services vary widely, so ask exactly what clinical care is provided and by whom.
- Medical evacuation insurance
- Coverage that pays to move you to another facility or back home if you need medical transport. CDC suggests travellers consider it alongside supplemental insurance.
- Continuity of care
- How well your care connects across providers, here meaning between the team abroad and the doctors who will see you at home.
- CRE (carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales)
- A group of bacteria resistant to some of the strongest antibiotics. CDC advises US hospitals to screen patients who stayed overnight in a health facility abroad within the past six months, which is one reason to always tell a hospital at home where you were treated.
Most Worth Knowing
If you learn only a handful of these terms, make them ReTHUS and habilitación for checking providers, advertencia del riesgo previsto and epicrisis for your documents, and fit to fly for planning your return. They map onto the checks that protect you most.
Frequently asked questions
Is JCI accreditation the same as a government licence?
No. In Colombia, a provider's baseline authorization to operate comes through habilitación and the REPS register. JCI is a separate, voluntary international accreditation of the facility's systems.
What is the difference between ReTHUS and REPS?
ReTHUS records individual health professionals and their authorization to practise. REPS records health providers, such as clinics and hospitals, that have completed habilitación.
Which documents should I ask for before leaving Colombia?
At minimum, your epicrisis (discharge summary), the operative report, your medication instructions, copies of signed consents and, if you received an implant, your tarjeta de implante.
Does "board-certified" mean the same thing in every country?
No. Certification systems differ. Ask which organization certified the surgeon, then confirm it with that organization rather than relying on the clinic's description.
Is a recovery house a medical facility?
Not necessarily. Some provide nursing support and others are closer to lodging. Ask what care is provided, by whom, and what happens if you need a doctor.