There's no turning back for the medical tourism industry. The fact is more and more countries around the world are emerging into medical tourism destinations from Asian countries like India and Thailand, North America's Cuba, to South Africa and even some European countries like Hungary. The industry is anticipating a significant growth reaching around $100 billion in revenues by the year 2012.
Medical tourism has been defined as the practice of traveling abroad or in another country to seek medical treatment. Thus, medical tourism is part of the tourism industry which definitely has a big impact on the economies of destination countries.
Among these destination countries are Cuba, Brazil, Costa Rica, India, Thailand, Singapore, and Mexico. These medical tourism industry players can offer everything from reputable hospitals and clinics, excellent medical services, as well as attractive vacation spots for the patient's recuperation.
It is further estimated that medical tourism originating from the United States could get even bigger in the coming years. A report said that about 750,000 Americans went abroad to obtain healthcare in 2007 and almost twice as many in 2008.
What could be the reasons why the medical tourism industry is flourishing? The major selling points are the industry's cost effectiveness and its partnership with tourism. Who wouldn't consider getting treatment for a much lower cost abroad as well as having an opportunity to have a wonderful vacation and experience a new culture?
The medical tourism's cost effectiveness can be illustrated in these examples. Open-heart surgery usually costs up to $150, 000 in the US and $70,000 in Britain. In India's best hospitals the surgery could cost between $3,000 to $10,000.
Medical treatments such as joint replacement, cancer treatment, eye surgery, cosmetic surgery, orthopedics, addictions rehabilitation are cheaper in Cuba by about 60 to 80 percent than in the United States.
Malaysia is also a fast growing medical tourism destination. It offers a wide variety of medical procedures which include dental, cosmetic and heart surgeries at more affordable costs than in the US. A cardiac bypass surgery in Malaysia reportedly costs around $6,000 to $7,000.
Cosmetic surgery plays an important part in medical tourism. Cosmetic surgery companies are increasing in numbers all over the world. Since cosmetic surgery procedures are not covered by health or medical insurance, people planning to undergo such procedure would definitely scout for more affordable rates. That is precisely one main reason why patients become medical tourists.
Medical tourists come from various parts of the world. Majority are from the United States, Europe, United Kingdom, Middle East and Japan.
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