What is Medical Tourism?

• Medical Tourism is the generally accepted phrase used to describe the phenomenon of people traveling outside their home country for medical care, dentistry and surgical procedures. The phrase came into use in the later 1990s in business reporting in the Far East, where hospitals targeted the international market for medical services.

Who are Medical Tourists?

• Historically, medical tourists were affluent, those who could afford to travel abroad to receive the best medical care in Europe and the United States. Many wealthy people still do so. However, Medical Tourism traffic now runs both ways as advancements in medical care have spread. The standards of medical care and quality of facilities in the major metropolitan areas of the world are now comparable to those in the United States, while costs are much lower. Medical Tourism as it pertains to U.S., UK, Canadian, Middle Eastern and Western European residents, is largely a price and convenience driven phenomenon.
  
  Medical tourists today come from all walks of life. In common, they have a desire for affordable, high quality care or surgery that is beyond their financial means or unavailable to them at home.

For Whom is Medical Tourism a Good Option?

• Medical Tourism is an option worth exploring for anyone who is facing significant out-of-pocket expenses for health care. In the United States, by most estimates, there are more than 40 million uninsured persons, and many millions more who are underinsured. Medical Tourism is also a viable option for all individuals considering any elective surgery, not covered by insurance. Specifically, the demand for high quality, lower cost cosmetic surgery and dentistry has been on the edge of the wave of Medical Tourism originating in the United States and Western Europe.
  
  Going abroad for care is also a reasonable choice for patients who want care not available to them locally. Some hip resurfacing procedures, for example, have been performed in India for years but have only recently been approved in the United States. The use of silicone gel breast implants, sought by many cosmetic surgery patients, has been restricted for years in the United States but they are widely available in the rest of the world. Procedures related to fertility, stem cell research and organ transplantation also draw a number of patients from around the world.
  
  Finally, Medical Tourism can be an option worth considering for those in countries with what many call "rationed" health care, particularly Canada and the United Kingdon. Though both countries have national health care, there can be a lengthy wait for procedures and surgeries that are classified as non emergency. In the UK and Canada, this inconvenient forced wait is applicable to a large number of orthopedic surgeries that cause great pain and require extensive wait times before local health care is made available to patients.
   

Is Medical Tourism Safe?

• Generally, when people ask if going abroad for surgery is "safe," (and they do ask it, just that way) what they really want to know is "Is it as safe as if I went to my local doctor or hospital?" And the short answer is that "Yes, it is probably just about as safe" - with the proviso that the patient does his or her homework, picks a good doctor or surgeon and facility and plans the trip wisely. Many medical tourists take nothing for granted, as they might at home; they want to know everything that might happen, everything they might encounter in advance, and thus are perhaps better prepared for their care or surgery than they might have been if they had stayed closer to home.

What are the Hospitals and Facilities Like?

• In general, hospitals and other medical facilities that cater to international patients pride themselves on meeting the highest international standards, and even compete with each other to offer amenities. Many are new, or relatively so. Information on them is widely available on the Internet. However, in the case of smaller practices - for example, some of those for cosmetic surgery or dentistry - it is particularly important to get independent reviews or first-hand accounts from patients who have been there before.
  
  This does not mean that there are no cultural differences, no surprises in store (pleasant or otherwise.) But major international hospitals and well-known medical facilities around the world adhere to comparable medical standards and often exceed the aftercare and experiential standards offered in the US and other developed countries.

Are the Doctors and Surgeons Qualified?

• The schooling, training and board certification processes for physicians and surgeons are comparable from country to country.
  
  Many surgeons overseas have trained in the United States or Europe, just as many doctors in the United States and Europe have had some part of their training abroad.
  
  Ultimately, each hospital that caters to Medical Tourism has its own credentialing and standards and should be evaluated on an individual basis. Many hospitals and doctors have received international accreditation and can be evaluated quickly and easily if this is the case.

What Medical Services are Available?

• Any -- from the simplest to the most serious life-saving procedures.
  
  This is not to say that all services are available everywhere at uniformly high quality everywhere. India, for example, has perhaps the best reputation for heart surgery in the world, alongside the United States. The quality of plastic surgery is renowned in Central and South America, and sought after internationally. However, there is not much in the way of malady or ailment that the world's major international hospitals do not see on a daily basis. A patient has choices around the globe for whatever care or treatment might be necessary.

I Would Like to Have Surgery Performed Abroad. Will my Health Insurance Cover me if I Have Complications?

• Quite possibly it will not. One of the things that anyone who is contemplating surgery abroad should do is check with their insurance company on what care, if any, is covered under this circumstance.
  
  Some medical tourists may wish to buy additional insurance. Those without insurance should make sure they have the resources to extend their trip, in the event of complications, until they are fit to travel.
  
  Some of the top international hospitals will provide corrective care or damages in the case of medical malpractice or undesirable outcomes. Patients should ask each hospital that they are considering about their particular policies.

What are the Prices?

• Prices for medical services vary from country to country, and no medical decision should ever be made solely based on costs. Compared to the U.S., prices range from about 30 percent to 80 percent less, depending on where one goes. A heart valve replacement that might cost $50,000 in the U.S. might be $10,000 in India, including travel costs and accommodations. A facelift that might be $12,000 in New York might cost $3,000 in Central or South America. Again, a prospective patient has a range of options - including price - when deciding where to go.

Why is Medical Care in Some Countries so Cheap?

• Medical care outside of the U.S. and the so-called developed nations of the world is less expensive for much the same reasons it is less expensive to produce DVD players or textiles abroad; they have less expensive land; it is less expensive to put up a building, they have lower labor costs, lower taxes, lower administrative costs, lower insurance rates and so on. It is a mistake to single out any one thing as being responsible for the difference.

Where Should I go?

• Unless you require particular surgery or care that is only available from specific hospitals, the decision on where to go is a highly individual one. You may have family ties to a particular country which makes it an attractive choice. You may have language skills that would dictate a preference for a country or region.
  
  Or there might be somewhere you've just always wanted to go. The leading Medical Tourism destinations in the world, in no particular order, are, Thailand India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Cuba ... it is hard to stop naming them. For plastic surgery alone, the International Society of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons lists more than 1,500 board-certified surgeons working in 73 countries.

How should I Get There and Where Should I Stay?

• Generally, the hospital or facility that you choose will be able to make recommendations on flights and accommodations or even book them for you. However, you'll be responsible for getting travel documents (passport and visas if required), arranging funds and packing, of course.

Should I use the Services of a Medical Tourism Company?

• Medical Tourism companies come in different sizes and shapes. Some will do little more than schedule your medical procedure and perhaps book accommodations and transportation. Others provide "end to end" services, from pre-travel medical screenings to nursing and concierge services while abroad to post-operative checkups. Some charge fees to patients; others work for surgeons or facilities abroad. The services of a good Medical Tourism company can take a lot of the worry out of a trip but one should check them out thoroughly and ask for references.

What About Post-Operative Care and Convalescence?

• Anyone going overseas for medical care should be prepared to extend their stay abroad if recommended by a doctor. Not everyone heals at the same rate. The risk of complications after surgery increases substantially for patients who do not have medical clearance to travel.
  
  Medical tourists should make arrangements with their doctor at home for diagnostic and aftercare where possible.

What Happens if Something Goes Wrong?

• This is an extremely common question and there is no one answer. Things can "go wrong" with any medical care, procedure or surgery, regardless of the quality of a facility and the skill of a doctor or surgeon.
  
  Patients should query their surgeons on what their policies are for less than satisfactory results. Some plastic surgeons will offer free revisions, for example.
  
  In the event of a truly terrible outcome of a surgery resulting in disfigurement, incapacity, disability or death, a medical tourist must be aware, going in, that legal recourse will not be as straightforward as it would be in the United States and might be substantially limited even in the event that malpractice could be proven. If your primary concern in going to a doctor, surgeon or dentist is whether or not you're going to have legal recourse if you don't like the work you get, you probably shouldn't be a medical tourist.