People choose to travel for medical care for a wide range of reasons – quality of care, accessibility or scheduling concerns, lower costs, privacy and even a sense of adventure. Whether traveling inside the United States or abroad, combining medical travel and tourism is also a draw. It’s also definitely doable, especially if you are willing to extend the length of your stay or are searching for a hotel or spa-like experience.
Traveling to receive health care is typically described by the terms “medical travel,” “medical tourism” or even “medical vacation.” Medical tourism is typically used to refer to people who travel outside their home country for medical care, while “medical vacation” is used to describe travel to high-end, state-of-the-art hospitals with spa-like amenities. “Medical travel” can refer to many forms of travel for health care and treatment.
It’s estimated that 14 million people across the world travel outside their home countries for medical care each year. In the United States, between 150,000 to 320,000 Americans travel abroad for health care yearly, according to a 2015 report.
Many of those travelers – an estimated 90 percent – take part in at least one tourist activity at their destination. If you want to experience the sights or culture of your destination for medical travel or tourism, here are some things to consider.
Decide what kind of experience you want. If you are a cost-conscious traveler, you’ll be less concerned about a facility that has a “medical concierge” or well-appointed guest rooms. However, if you are recovering from cosmetic surgery, you may want a more private and exclusive experience. Depending on your needs and budget, you can even find facilities that will coordinate visas, flights, ground transportation and more.
Add a few days to the beginning of your trip. If your time zone at home is different than at your destination, you may want to travel a few days before a medical procedure to let your body adjust. Those days also can give you time to explore, as you may not feel up to it after your procedure. If you’re recovery takes longer than expected, you also might not have any time left for sightseeing before returning home.
Talk to your doctor about your itinerary. Your doctor may not have an objection if you want to explore museums or historical sites. However, he or she may recommend staying away from certain foods, taking precautions with how food is prepared or avoiding alcohol in the days before your procedure.
Check if your facility has a visitor’s guide or medical concierge. Many world-renown facilities, such as the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital, offer medical concierges who can coordinate visits to nearby attractions and restaurants, as well as arrange lodging for companions.
Stick with what’s relaxing and safe. Traveling for medical care is not the time to try out extreme sports or engage is risky behavior. Even if you want to see the sights, remember that it’s best for your body to be rested and your mind to be calm before most types of medical or dental procedures.
Arranging Transportation after Medical Travel and Tourism
Anyone who is thinking about traveling for medical travel or medical tourism must consider how well his or her body will recover after a procedure. This includes time spent traveling after a procedure. Whether you are traveling for health care within or outside the United States, you may need to get up and walk often, which means regular car stops or stretching during flights. You may be at higher risk for blood clots or dehydration, be in pain or discomfort, or require supplemental oxygen.
You also should consider if you will need help to travel home safely and comfortably, even if you have a travel companion. SentinelMED provides medical transportation, medical repatriation, and medical escort services to medical tourists and other travelers who require medical assistance after surgery, illness or accident. 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.
