Medical tourism isn’t quite mainstream yet, but it may be soon. It’s estimated that 11 million people, or 3 to 4 percent of the world’s population, traveled outside their own countries for health care in 2016. That number is projected to grow to 280 million households by 2025. While many medical tourists are coming to the United States, other countries have emerged as regional or global destinations for medical tourism.
Here are some of the most popular countries for medical tourism, and the medical specialties they are known for:
- Thailand is the largest provider of international health services, receiving 1 million visitors a year. Medical tourists travel to Thailand for cosmetic procedures, eye surgery, and gender reassignment surgery, as well as other procedures. It’s estimated that 30,000 Americans travel to Thailand a year for medical treatments.
- Across the globe, Singapore has a reputation for high-quality hospitals and health care. The country draws at least 350,000 medical tourists each year for cardiovascular, orthopedic and gastroenterology care, organ transplants, and other procedures.
- Health tourism to Brazil has increased in recent years, as Brazil is seen as having the best health care system in Latin America. Brazil is known for its skilled cosmetic surgeons, who perform procedures at costs that are 20 to 30 percent less than in the United States. Brazil has more than 40 hospitals and health care facilities that are accredited by the Joint Commission International.
- India hosted 200,000 international patients with medical visas for 2015-16, according to reports. Many of the medical tourists from India come from neighboring countries as well as the Middle East and Asia. Popular medical procedures for medical tourists to India include fertility treatments, orthopedic, cardiac and oncology procedures and organ transplants. About 10 percent of all procedures performed were for dental care.
- With its proximity to the United States, Mexico is a popular destination for U.S residents who need dental procedures. In fact, it’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of Californians go to Mexico each year for dental care. Mexico is also known among medical tourists for weight-loss treatment and bariatric surgery.
- For Europeans, Hungary is the country to visit for lower-cost, high-quality dental care, including cosmetic and restorative dentistry.
- Malaysia is a popular destination for people who are seeking fertility treatments, as well as for executive health screenings. The country has a large English-speaking population and the top-ranked hospital for medical tourists, according to the Medical Travel Quality Alliance.
While the reasons why people travel to these countries for medical care varies, the most cited include lower health care costs, higher quality of care, and greater access to care.
Arranging Transportation after Medical Tourism
Although there are many popular countries for medical tourism, there is no single country that can be identified as “best.” Because medical standards are not uniform across the globe, medical tourism is not without risks, which most often involve the safety of equipment and facilities, lack of medical liability, post-operative infections and overall quality of care.
Anyone who is considering medical tourism should talk to their doctor and do extensive research, looking for physicians and facilities that are accredited internationally.
People who are considering medical tourism should also identify a medical transportation or escort service that could provide assistance if a “worst case” scenario occurs and a patient needs help traveling home after surgery.
SentinelMED provides medical transportation, medical repatriation and medical escort services to medical tourists and others who require help to arrive home in safety and comfort. In many cases, patients travel on commercial airlines with a SentinelMED escort who is an ICU- or emergency-medicine professional. This service is a cost-effective alternative to an air ambulance.
The SentinelMED team understands the complexity of delivering exceptional care to patients who need assistance during travel. Please contact us to learn more about the services that SentinelMED offers or its staff.
