Medical Tourism

Medical tourism, where individuals go overseas for medical treatment, health checks, dental and cosmetic surgery, and spa/ wellness relaxation, is catching on worldwide. Over 100 countries offer, or want to offer medical tourism.

There are global opportunities for hospitals, surgeries, property investors, travel agents, hotels and other services. But many are confused by the hype from the pro-medical tourism lobby and the dire warnings of doom and gloom from those who often have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

This new trend is forcing Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) to begin diversifying their approach.  BusinessWeek’s Wendy Diller had this to say about the situation,

“Because they aren’t sure how reforms will play out, MCOs are hedging their bets by diversifying into new markets and product lines that offer a wide range of coverage and pricing options. Many of these products are designed to appeal to price-sensitive small-group and individual buyers. MCOs traditionally considered these to be modest niche markets at best, but now view them as important for future growth, particularly if reforms initially focus on getting coverage for the uninsured, as is currently expected from the political rhetoric surrounding the issue.”

In researching this article, I discovered that concept of medical tourism is not a new one. The first recorded instance of medical tourism dates back thousands of years to when Greek pilgrims traveled to the territory in the Saronic Gulf called Epidauria.  Epidauria became the original travel destination for medical tourism.

Spa towns and sanitariums may be considered an early form of medical tourism. In eighteenth century England, for example, medical tourists visited spas because they were places with supposedly health-giving mineral waters, treating diseases from gout to liver disorders and bronchitis.

UDaily, gives the following reasons for why medical tourism is growing in popularity, “The cost of surgery in India, Thailand or South Africa can be one-tenth of what it is in the United States or Western Europe, and sometimes even less. A heart-valve replacement that would cost $200,000 or more in the US, for example, goes for $10,000 in India–and that includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation package. Similarly, a metal-free dental bridge worth $5,500 in the US costs $500 in India, a knee replacement in Thailand with six days of physical therapy costs about one-fifth of what it would in the States, and Lasik eye surgery worth $3,700 in the US is available in many other countries for only $730. Cosmetic surgery savings are even greater: A full facelift that would cost $20,000 in the US runs about $1,250 in South Africa.”

Over 50 countries have actually identified medical tourism as a national industry much like any other type of commodity.  However, accreditation and other measures of quality vary widely across the globe, and there are risks and ethical issues that make this method of accessing medical care controversial.