Medical Tourism

Medical tourism is an increasingly common practice of travelling abroad to receive high quality medical care. The world is in a healthcare crisis and patients are starting to travel overseas in search of the best quality at the most affordable prices to make a saving against treatment in their home countries or to eliminate waiting for treatment through overloaded national health care systems.

Many governments in developing countries see medical tourism as an excellent way to boost the local economy while improving their own health-care systems. Among the world's most popular medical travel destinations are Thailand, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Costa Rica, Cuba and Colombia, while Poland, Ukraine, Croatia, Cyprus are growing leaders. Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina are growing leaders in cosmetic medical travel, and Hungary and Costa Rica are booming dental tourism destinations for mostly UK and US patients. A recent report on medical tourism stated that by 2017, over 16 million Americans could be travelling overseas for medical care. With that being said, people from other countries equal to or greater than that amount will also be searching around the world for medical care.

Medical travel savings made against treatment costs in the patient's home country can be great, even when the price of travel and accommodation is included. A facelift in the US will cost about $20,000, but in South Africa it's about $1,200. Savings for a hip replacement range from $30000-$50000. Savings for a heart valve replacement range from $20000 to $45000. The average cost of a surgery in Thailand, India or South Africa can be one-tenth of what it is in Western Europe or the United States. Cosmetic surgery and dental work savings can be even greater.

Sometimes money is not the most important factor. Some people have no time to wait. When your health is at stake, wait-lists are not an option for you and your nearest and dearest. A hip replacement, for example, can take more than a year to get done in the UK or Canada. In, for example, Thailand this procedure can be done in a few days with a superior quality.

There is the other side of the coin. A foreign patient should have all obligatory documents, an optimal type of insurance, and is to solve all his or her visa problem.

By way of summing up, medical tourism has become a multibillion-dollar industry. It is because of dramatic savings, quality, immediate tailor made service, convenience, travel opportunities. The advantages are numerous, and the benefits are plentiful. Enjoy new travel opportunities with high quality medical treatments.