What is medical tourism?
Medical tourism is the generally accepted phrase
used to describe people traveling outside their home country for
medical care, dental and surgical procedures along with rest and
relaxation. It came to use back in the late 1990s when hospitals
in the Far East targeted the international market for medical services.
It is the result of skyrocketing private medical care in the United
States, as well as long waiting periods in the national health systems
of some European countries. It is also the product of improved medical
skills, technology, and facilities in the developing world.
Who are medical tourists?
Initially, medical tourists were composed of only the affluent and
well-to-do people from all over the world, who could afford to travel
abroad to receive the best medical attention. Although many wealthy
people still do so, medical tourists now also consist of average
earning individuals, or individuals without access to affordable
healthcare. 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 the U.S., UK, Canadian, Middle Eastern
and Western European residents, is largely a price and convenience
driven experience.
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.
There are two categories of medical tourists. The first is the tourist
who is on holiday and decides to purchase medical services that
don’t interfere with leisure travel like check-ups, dental
care and eye laser surgery. These are basic, low risk and low-cost
procedures. The second is the tourist who specifically comes for
healthcare. This medical tourist is usually coming for more intensive
medical and surgical procedures like cosmetic surgery, spinal surgery
or cardiac surgery.
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