One can obtain medical aid in specialized surgeries such as cosmetic surgeries, joint replacement, cardiac surgery and dental treatment. However, every type of service is available. The providers and customers usually prefer to have an informal communication to avoid legal issues and overheads and to assure quality and less formal service and a chance for reimbursement. Reproductive tourism is the most common subset of medical tourism where people go for surrogate pregnancy, fertilization and other assisted reproductive techniques.
Now, over 50 countries have realized medical tourism as a national industry but the credibility of medical tourism differs from country to country. Other factors are the laws and legal issues which make it difficult for a patient to choose a country.
The concept of medical tourism was started by Greeks thousands of years ago when the pilgrims travelled to Saronic Gulf called Epidauria which was a sanctuary of the healing god Asklepios. Hence, this became the original place to host Medical Tourism. One could also say that the concept of Spa Towns and Sanitariums can be called starters of medical tourism because health-enhancing mineral water was available in those places which treated large varieties of diseases.
Medical tourists may come from different parts of the world, which may include United States, Canada, Middle East, UK and Japan. This is just because of comparatively high rates, large populations, expensive health care or poor local health care, and increasing expectation of the population regarding health. According to a report, UK is ahead of the US in the count of medical tourists.
A forecast published that number of medical tourists coming from US will reach 1.5 million till the end of year leaving medical organizations in the country with millions of lost revenue.
Attractions to medical tourism are speedy and convenient treatment. Countries having public health care are usually so slow in their medical procedures that it takes them months to treat a non-urgent patient. To spend time waiting for any kind of hip replacement can be more than a year in places like Britain and Canada. But in Singapore, Thailand, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Cuba, Philippines or India, the patient can easily be treated by having an operation on the next day of arrival. The number of procedures2005 for which people were waiting in 2005 was 782,936 in Canada.
Patients are finding that that insurance either imposes unreasonable restrictions on the choice of the facility, prosthetics, and surgeon to be used or does not cover orthopedic surgery such as knee or hip replacement. Because minimal difficulties associated with the traveling to/from the surgery and of the lower cost, medical tourism for knee/hip replacements has emerged as one of the more widely accepted procedures. Including all associated fees, such as FDA-approved prosthetics and hospital stay-over expenses, Colombia provides a knee replacement for about $5,000 USD. However, many clinics include only the surgeon fees associated with the procedure and quote prices that are not all inclusive.
According to UDaily: an article by the University of Delaware publication,
“ 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.”And also,“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.[8] ”
India, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Brunei, Colombia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Argentina, Cuba, Costa Rica, , Hungary, The Philippines, South Africa, and recently, UAE, Tunisia , Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico and Turkey are the popular cosmetic surgery travel destinations. Countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia in Saudi Arabia, relying on their experienced plastic surgeons, lead on plastic surgery medical skills. plastic surgery has also become quite common in Bolivia and Colombia. “More than 70% of middle and upper class women in the country have had some form of plastic surgery” according to "Sociedad Boliviana de Cirugia Plastica y Reconstructiva". advanced care in cardiovascular and transplant surgery is also provided by Colombia.
Poland , Belgium, and Slovakia in Europe are also breaking into the business. South Africa, by promoting their "medical safaris", is taking the term "medical tourism" very literally. Perceptions of medical tourism, however, are not always positive. In places like the US medical tourism is viewed as risky which has high standards of quality. Wider political issues can influence, in some parts of the world, where medical tourists will choose to seek out health care.
Health tourism providers have become kind of intermediaries to unite potential medical tourists with other organizations like provider hospitals. Companies will start offering global health care options that will help European and North American to access world health care at a fraction of the cost of domestic care. Companies typically provide nurse case managers to assist patients with pre- and post-travel medical issues and also help provide resources for follow-up care upon the patient's return. These companies focus on medical value travel.
The typical process is as follows:
A medical tourism provider is to be consulted by the people who are seeking medical treatment abroad. Then the patient is supposed to provide with a medical report, including the nature of ailment, local doctor’s opinion, medical history, and diagnosis to the provider who may request even the additional information. Certified medical doctors or consultants then generally advice the concerned person on the medical treatment.
The approximate expenditure, and tourist destinations, choice of hospitals and duration of stay, etc., is discussed so that the patient gets an approximate idea. The patient is given recommendation letters for a medical visa After signing consent bonds and agreements to be procured from the concerned embassy. the medical tourism provider assigns a case executive after the patient travels to the destination country who takes care of the patient's accommodation and treatment and any other form of care. the patient can remain in the tourist destination or return home after the treatment is done.
There are parallel issues around medical tourism, evidence-based medicine, international healthcare accreditation and quality assurance because standards are important when it comes to health care. in the UK and Hong Kong,the key player is the Trent International Accreditation Scheme whereas In the United States, Joint Commission International (JCI) fulfills an accreditation role. The different kind of international healthcare accreditation schemes are different in cost, intent, quality, size, and intensity of their marketing. They also vary in terms of healthcare institutions making use of them and cost to hospitals. in August 2008, A forecast by Deloitte Consulting was published regarding medical tourism, which noted the value of accreditation which specifically mentions JCI, Trent and ISQUA and ensuring quality of healthcare. To attract American patients, many international hospitals today are seen obtaining JCI accreditation because of this. Some hospitals are looking towards dual international accreditation which is increasing in number. Perhaps, they include both JCI to cover potential US clientele and Trent for potential British and European clientele. There have been initiatives to rank hospitals because of competition between clinics for American medical tourists and this is done on the basis of patient-reported metrics.
Some relevant organizations are:
There are certain risks which Medical tourism carries which local provided medical care does not. Some countries , such as Malaysia, Costa Rica, India or Thailand have very different kind of infectious disease-related epidemiology to North America and Europe. without having built up natural immunity, Exposure to diseases can be a hazard for specifically with gastrointestinal weakened individuals e.g Hepatitis A, amoebic dysentery, paratyphoid, which could weaken mosquito-transmitted diseases, influenza, progress, and tuberculosis. because in poor tropical nations diseases run the gamut, doctors seem to be more open to the possibility of considering any infectious disease, like typhoid, HIV and TB. Patients were consistently misdiagnosed for years as there are cases in the West because such diseases are perceived to be "rare" in the West.
Depending on the hospital and country, the quality of post-operative care can also vary dramatically and may be different from US or European standards. However, by assessing the standards in the healthcare in the countries like China, India, and Thailand JCI and Trent fulfill the role of accreditation. travelling long distances soon after surgery can also increase the risk of complications. Long flights can be injurious for those with heart or thrombosis or breathing-related problems. Also, scars may become darker and more noticeable if they sunburn while healing. Thus, other vacation activities can be problematic as well. Medical tourism patients often combine vacation time set aside for rest with their medical trips just to minimize these problems.
Health facilities may lack an adequate complaints policy to deal appropriately which treating medical tourists and also fairly with complaints made by dissatisfied patients. World Health Organization has recognized Differences in healthcare provider standards around the world and it launched the World Alliance for Patient Safety in 2004. This body assists in setting patient safety policy and practices hospitals and government around the world that can become particularly relevant when providing medical tourism services.
Medical tourists may encounter unfamiliar ethical and legal issues by traveling outside their home country for medical care. One reason for the lower cost of care overseas is The limited nature of litigation in non-US countries. Currently presenting themselves as attractive medical tourism destinations, some countries provide some form of legal remedies for medical malpractice. These legal avenues may be unappealing to the medical tourist. Patients might be unable to seek compensation via malpractice lawsuits or might not be covered by adequate personal insurance. In some countries Hospitals and/or doctors may be unable to pay the financial damages to a patient who has sued them awarded by a court, owing to the hospital or the doctor who do not possess appropriate insurance cover and medical loss. New insurance products that protect the patient should an alleged medical malpractice occur overseas are available.