Posts Tagged ‘medical tourism’

Medical Tourism – Ventures Between Healthcare Providers and Hospitality Industry

July 16th, 2011

Medical tourism, or healthcare tourism, is the act of touring overseas to obtain medical, surgical and dental healthcare. Medical tourism is a term coined by travel agencies and the media to describe a speedily growing industry where people of one country travel to another country specifically for the purpose of getting either cheaper or better healthcare services. This process is being expedited by the corporate sector involved in medical care as well as the tourism industry, both private and public. Medical tourism mixes leisure, entertainment and relaxation together with wellness and healthcare.

Medical tourism healthcare procedures can include elective surgeries like cosmetic surgery, dental implants etc. as well as complex specialized surgeries like knee/hip replacement, heart surgery etc. Medical tourism is quite popular because sometimes the cost of health care treatment in other countries can be a mere one-tenth the cost of the same in the US. The ultimate idea of the health holiday is to offer the customers an opportunity to get away from their daily routine and come into a different relaxing surrounding.

There are basically two types of medical tourism treatments that majority people will consider worth taking a chance on. The first one is plastic surgery. In addition to the cosmetic surgery, people are also likely to engage in medical tourism when it comes to seeking alternative medical treatments. Medical tourism is quickly becoming a hot trend among residents of developed countries with high health care costs.

Popular medical travel worldwide destinations are Colombia, Singapore, India, Thailand, Brunei, Cuba, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, and recently, UAE. Popular cosmetic surgery travel destinations are Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand and Turkey. With the growing years, India, judged as one of the favorite destinations for medical or health tourism.

People from around the world are beginning to realize the potential of modern and traditional Indian medicine. With its state of the art hospitals and highly qualified UK-US trained doctors, it will soon transform into the worldwide medical hub. The Indian medical tourism industry, growing at an annualized rate of 30 percent, caters to patients primarily from the US, Europe and Africa. The medical expenses in India are a fraction of the costs in the US/Europe. India’s top-notch private hospitals like Apollo, Fortis, and Max HealthCare have attained international recognition for their state-of-the-art facilities and diagnostic centers besides unsurpassed technical skills.

A large draw to medical travel is the convenience in comparison to that of other countries. Many people from the developed world come to India for the rejuvenation promised by yoga and Ayurvedic massage, but few consider it a destination for hip replacement or brain surgery. However, a nice blend of top-class medical expertise at attractive prices is helping a growing number of Indian corporate hospitals lure foreign patients, including from developed nations such as the UK and US.

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A Health Holiday Along With Low Cost Medical Care

July 12th, 2011

The modern trend in privatization of health services is medical tourism, which is gaining importance in developing countries. Medical tourism, as the practice is known, is speedily becoming the top choice for consumers who make out with heavy medical bills. Patients who might normally experience some sort of medical treatments in the United States, usually an expensive surgical procedure, instead fly to the Bangkok, Thailand or other countries to have the medical procedures done there. As a result, they save an large amount of money. Offshore medical treatment can be performed for as little as one-tenth the cost of what would normally be charged here in the United States.

Medical tourism mainly intends to travel to foreign countries to get medical, dental, and surgical treatment. At the same time they could also tour, and fully feel the attractions of the countries they visit. Outrageous costs of healthcare in industrialized nations, ease and affordability of international travel, pleasing currency exchange rates in the global economy, speedily improving technology and standards of care in many countries of the world, and most importantly proven safety of healthcare in select foreign nations have all led to the arise of medical tourism.

Medical tourism is actually thousands of years old. It has grown to remarkable scale in just a few years, and is planned to continue growing steeply according to studies by the World Bank. In financial terms, experts calculated that medical tourism could bring India as much as $2.2 billion per year by 2012. Major centers for medical tourism are Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Bangkok and Phuket. Medical tourism has now become a booming industry in these countries.

More and more people travel abroad due to low-priced, pleasurable, and safe alternative to having medical, dental, and surgical procedures done in their home countries. Yet, for growing numbers of travelers, the entice of combining low-cost medical care with attentive room service is a major reason for packing a bag and boarding a plane. The key “selling points” of the medical tourism industry are its “cost effectuality” and its mixture with the attractions of tourism. The latter also uses the ploy of selling the “exotica” of the countries involved as well as the packaging of health care with traditional therapies and treatment methods.

Medical tourism India is a developing concept whereby people from world over visit India for their medical and relaxation needs. Most common treatments are heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental care. The reason India is a hot-spot destination is because of its infrastructure and technology in which is in par with those in USA, UK and Europe. India has some of the best hospitals and treatment centers in the world with the best facilities.

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Medical Tourism: The Next Big Thing In Healthcare Industry

May 19th, 2011

Medical tourism is the act of touring different countries or nations around the world to receive medications like dental, neurosurgery or surgical care and various other forms of specialized treatments. Medical tourism or healthcare facilitation is very cost effective and has grown to become very popular with time. Due to much technological advancement and improvement, standards of care and the affordability of international travel have become the primary factors leading to the popularity of medical tourism.

In the past few years, the costs of medical treatment or health care have soared high in industrialized nations and developed countries. And with this rise in health care costs, people from USA, Europe, Canada and Australia are seeking alternatives to reduce their expenses and build financial savings. This has prompted the people of developed countries serve as medical tourists.

Among all the nations where people are going for low cost medical treatments, India has emerged as a significantly favorable destination or a top hot spot. India is, now, one of the leading countries promoting medical tourism. With an increasing number of outside patients flocking to India for low cost medical treatments, India’s medical tourism industry is doing pretty fine.

The focal attraction for the medical tourists is the price factor or medical costs. Medical tourists believe that, in India, the cost of surgery or other treatments is one tenth of what it is in European countries or in developed nations. The concept of medical tourism is new to many people and it is up to them whether or not they will find the desired medical treatment at a minimum cost. Medical technology has improved drastically in Indian hospitals and their standards have increased too, being at par with American and European countries.

Among all the various treatments that are done in India, the commonest are heart surgery, Lasik eye surgery, cosmetic surgery, neurosurgery and dental care. India has some of the best hospitals and treatment centers in the world with the best facilities. Infrastructure, technology advancement, outstanding doctors and medical staffs, world-class hospitals, all these have made India the prime location or the top choice for medical tourists seeking overseas health care.

The highlights of medical tourism in India are as follows:

  • India has world-class medical facilities, with excellent staff in all areas of medical care
  • Consultation with leading doctors or specialists
  • Indian hospitals are equipped with the latest electronic and medical diagnostic equipments
  • Low cost medical treatment or health checkups
  • Luxurious rooms within affordable ranges
  • Accommodation for attendants or accompanying family members are provided
  • Ayurveda Therapy and Spa resorts available for relaxing and refreshing
  • Exclusive Indian cuisines, Indian movies, Indian music and Indian dance
  • Diversified cultural heritage in the different states
  • Some top tourist destination spots like Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutab Minar etc.
  • Holidaying, family reunions, festive occasions and medical checkups–all in one tour to India

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Medical Tourism – Its Emergence, Growth and Potential

April 24th, 2011

Healthcare expenses have always been a major cause of concern for the general public. No matter how consciously a person builds up his savings from the earnings, it takes one major bout of illness to drain out a large portion of the accumulated savings. Health disorders are unforeseen and thus many people opt to cover such sudden medical expenses with some medical insurance. However, a health insurance policy sometimes falls a way short in covering up the costs involved in some medical procedures. Even if a person has a health insurance, it still takes a considerable amount of time for the medical procedure to get started. The waiting period for a hip replacement could be more than a year in countries like Britain and Canada. Under such adverse scenario, the general public had to look for other alternatives outside their countries. If they are looking for a cost effective alternative for similar medical procedure, then medical tourism definitely is the way to go for.

Medical tourism is a service extended to the people all over the world to travel to other countries that provide similar medical treatments at comparatively lower costs than their own country. The health care providers of such countries have tie ups with various travel agencies. People desirous of seeking such treatments need to contact either the medical centers of such countries or the travel agencies who work in conjunction with some medical centers to provide healthcare tourism services. Among the various healthcare tourism destinations, India, Singapore and Thailand have emerged as most the popular ones.

If estimates are to be believed at, the medical tourism industry will be worth US $2 billion by 2012. Since the emergence of this industry, people from most of the developed nations have continually flocked to the medical tourism destinations to avail quicker as well as good medical treatments at low cost. A heart-valve replacement that costs around $200,000 in US can be done for a mere $10,000 in a country like India inclusive of the air fare and even a brief vacation package. A knee-replacement procedure costs a lot less in Thailand as compared to that of the United States. Most medical procedures cost around one-tenth of what it costs in countries like United States and Britain. Affordable and prompt medical care has made healthcare tourism a major draw among patients from all over the world.

The immense potential of the medical tourism industry has resulted in more healthcare investments in such countries offering the service. The Indian government is leaving no stones unturned to make it a global healthcare destination.

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Health Care Tourism: In Search of Vacation And Surgery

April 2nd, 2011

Medical Tourism is the practice of traveling abroad to avail medical, dental, or surgical care. The demand for offshore treatment is all set to redefine the landscape of medical practice. As the average life span has seen an increase in the affluent societies, individuals have been compelled to resort to alternative methods to take an economic approach. Added to it are combinations of various factors, such as:

· Exorbitant costs of healthcare in industrialized nations

· The ease and affordability of traveling abroad

· Favorable currency exchange rates

· Rapidly improving medical technology and standards of care

· The ever-growing popularity of Internet

All these have led to the growth of the medical tourism market.

The horizons of health tourism are no more limited to traditional holiday destinations such as France and Spain. Eastern Europe has seen a huge increase in people arriving for treatment, particularly Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, while Britons are traveling to places as far-flung as Latin America, South Africa and South East Asia. With patients willing to travel across the globe to get treatment sooner and more cheaply than they could at home, healthcare institutions see a huge market for their services.

However, people traveling to far-off land should take necessary precautionary measures. They need to check out the doctors and hospitals before they part with any money. The Internet is a vast resource carrying information about practitioners’ skills and experience and the amenities available at the various healthcare institutions. Patients should also find out whether language can pose any problems or not. A thorough cost comparison is also an important issue to be put into the agenda. While there are some horror stories and quacks, the data are sparse and the evidence does not support any broad-based significant increase in risk.

India has emerged as one of the forerunners in facilitating medical tourism in the country. Now it is among the well-known nations throughout the world for high quality, low cost health care. Its health care system–with well-equipped modern clinics and hospitals, and medical personnel trained in the finest international teaching centers–provides excellent medical service to patients from abroad. Whether for elective procedures like cosmetic plastic surgery, dental surgery or life saving operations like bypass and heart transplants, the Indian healthcare community is experienced and ready to help.

Health tourism centers/clinics are actively seeking First World ”customers” by increasingly pursuing and adopting American and other international best practices to maintain the quality of services. With a large pool of highly trained doctors and low treatment prices, healthcare aims to replicate the Indian software sector’s success. Healthcare institutions in India are built on huge areas of land often acquired at low rents from ambitious authorities seeking to promote business. These new and sleek medical centers of excellence offer developed world-class treatments at developing world prices.

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