Mexico - For most folks looking to move abroad, health care is a huge consideration. You want care at least as good as what you get at home... but preferably without that US-sized price tag. But how can you judge which doctors and hospitals are good in another country? And, when you’re looking at a country as big as Mexico, how do you winnow down the choices?

There's one easy way to start your search: Check whether any private hospitals have been certified by the Joint Commission International. This US-based organization evaluates hospitals all over the world, using a range of criteria to judge the quality of care provided.

Hospitals that meet JCI's rigorous standards get its stamp of approval — and can market themselves that way.

In Mexico, six private hospitals have been JCI-approved. Three are in Mexico City, two are in northern Mexico, and one is in the south.

The Top Hospitals in Mexico

In northern Mexico, Hospital Angeles Valle Oriente is located in Monterrey (Mexico's third-largest city) and Hospital CIMA Chihuahua is located in Chihuahua. In southern Mexico, the best hospital is in Cancún—Hospital Galenia. And in Mexico City, you'll find Hospital Médica Sur and two campuses of The American British Cowdray Medical Center—the Observatorio campus and the Santa Fe campus.

All of these hospitals offer you first-class medical care, and they've met standards that compare with what you know back home. But don't worry if you weren't looking to move anywhere near these hospitals... as I said, these are only the first cut. Mexico has plenty of other excellent, private hospitals all over the country — they just aren't JCI-accredited. And that's not a problem.

Great Health Care in other Hospitals in Mexico

The fact is, many excellent hospitals in Mexico (and elsewhere abroad, as well) don't bother to apply for JCI accreditation. Unless a hospital is looking to attract a lot of medical tourists, that is, foreigners who come to Mexico specifically for medical treatment, it often figures it gets enough business from locals... and from expats living there.

Some of these other excellent hospitals even overlap with JCI hospitals. Monterrey's Hospital Angeles Valle Oriente is part of the Angeles hospital group — a network of 24 hospitals all over Mexico. In addition to the JCI-accredited Hospital CIMA Chihuahua, there's another CIMA hospital in Hermosilla, up in Sonora. I would feel comfortable being treated at any of these hospitals.

I have been treated at the Star Médica in Mérida — part of another hospital chain with facilities around Mexico — and I received superb care. I hear equally good reports of the care at the Clínica de Mérida.

And while I've never fallen ill in Puerto Vallarta, I know I'd be in good hands there. Puerto Vallarta has half a dozen wonderful private hospitals, including Amerimed, Cornerstone, CMQ, CMQ Premiere, Medasist, and San Javier. Take your pick — Vallarta's many expats seem happy with all of them.

And beyond these, there are innumerable small clinics all over the country. Bottom line: In Mexico, you're never more than half an hour from a small clinic — and never more than two to three hours, tops, from a first-class hospital.