What Is Medical Tourism

With today's health care costs, especially in the United States, medical tourism or health tourism is a growing segment of the travel industry.

There are groups that travel to take medical services to poor areas where the population doesn't get good medical care. The term medical tourism probably does include that, but that's not what we're talking about. We think the great groups that provide needed health care for those less fortunate fall under volunteer tourism.

What we're talking about here is tourism for people who travel across international borders to obtain health care for themselves. We're hearing more and more about people going abroad for some major procedures.... hip replacement, knee replacement, even heart surgeries.

There are places you can go for dentistry... everything from full mouth reconstruction to single crowns. And there are countries and companies that entice you for cosmetic surgeries. A facelift and a vacation all in one.... for one low price.

It's that prospect of saving so much money... or making a needed surgery affordable that has so many people checking into this option.

There are many countries in the world where there is a high level of healthcare available. If you ever consider traveling to receive health care, you need to check the level of accreditation for the doctors and the facilities very carefully, whether they are hospitals or privately run clinics.

There are risks and ethical issues with medical tourism.

The protection laws in your own country are rarely enforceable in other nations. Patients who receive poor or damaging medical treatment usually have no legal recourse.

Many of the areas providing health tourism services make it sound attractive by telling you that you and a loved one can have a vacation and still pay less than you would at home. The risk there is that the recovery vacation period may contain risks. Should you be traveling around so soon after a surgery? Will you be flying too soon? You need to check on this when making your decisions.

There is also the problem of follow up care. Once you return home, if there are complications, who do you turn to? Your doctor at home... the one who was going to charge you so much for that surgery... isn't going to be too thrilled to deal with those complications.

Be sure that you research this thoroughly and allow enough time to recover in the country where the medical procedure is done. Surgery and a safari may sound exotic, but what your body needs after surgery is rest, not bouncing over back roads after animals.

The stress of being in a foreign country may slow healing.

Now, having said all that, there are plenty of stories about people who had great experiences. They chose good doctors and hospitals and had good outcomes. In some countries, there are "state of the art" hospitals which have been built just to entice patients who are interested in health tourism. They are staffed with doctors who are well trained to top international standards.

Medical tourism is a field that is sure to grow in the future. It may even be something that you choose to consider, and it might be a good option for you. Just be sure that you research everything well and consider all of the risks as well as the benefits. You want to recover well and stay healthy so you can keep on traveling.


This travel tip is brought to you by BookCentralCoast.com.au, the specialists in The Entrance accommodation on the NSW Central Coast. See us for NSW Central Coast accommodation including The Entrance hotels, The Entrance resorts, The Entrance motels and The Entrance apartments.