Home » Travel & Places

Medical tourism - traveling to another country to obtain health care

Ranked #4,109 in Travel & Places, #124,219 overall

Medical tourism has thousands of years of history, but it's getting extremely popular these days - due to the systemic problems in medicare

Patients from the USA and other rich countries are traveling to exotic countries like India, Brunei and Thailand for elective surgeries performed by doctors that are well-educated, but charge rock-bottom prices. This new trend in travel is called medical tourism... The term simply means that patients are going to a different country to obtain medical, dental, preventive and surgical care.

 

This fast growing, multibillion-dollar industry is actually thousands of years old as already in an ancient Greece pilgrims and patients were coming to various sanctuaries in search of healing. Hundreds years later, from the 18th century wealthy tourists from Europe and North America were traveling to famous spas.  And now, in the 21st century, thanks to relatively low-cost jet travel medical tourists are going to places such as: India, Cuba, Thailand, Malaysia, Cyprus, Israel and Singapore.

Photo author: MemPics from flickr.com

Thank you very much for visiting this lens! I hope you enjoy it. If you like what I created here - please rate his lens by clicking on the fifth star above and plase leave one or two nice words in the Guestbook on the bottom of this page.
And please don't forget to bookmark this lens and check from time to time what new interesting stuff on medical tourism is available. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Books on medical tourism - from Amazon.com

Loading

Most popular medical tourism destinations

The following countries are actively promoting medical tourism by offering state of the art medical facilities with accomplished and distinguished physicians and surgeons in various medical disciplines: India, Israel, Cuba, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Jordan, Colombia, Belgium and Singapore.

Former communist countries - Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia and Ukraine are becoming popular destinations for medical travel.

Medical tourism articles

USATODAY.com - Sending patients packing
Some uninsured and those with skimpy insurance have taken the risk of having surgery abroad, leading to what promoters say is a growing trade in medical tourism. Now, companies that help arrange such travel are eying a far bigger market: U.S. employers who want to save money on their health care costs.
Financial Planning - Global Healthcare
Traveling abroad for medical care can often save a patient 80% of the domestic cost. Should you tell your clients about the savings?
Newsweek - Medical Meccas
Hospitals around the world are drawing new patients with topnotch doctors, high-tech equipment and low costs. These 10 are leaders in their fields.
The Boston Globe - Bon voyage, and get well!
More and more Americans are traveling to foreign countries for surgeries, drawn by lower prices, and side trips to tourist sights. Experts advise patients to do their homework before they go.
ABC News - A Cut Below
Americans Look Abroad for Health Care
As U.S. Health Care Costs Rise, More Americans Head Abroad for Treatment
CBC News Online - Medical tourism
Need surgery, will travel
Time - Outsourcing Your Heart
Article on medical tourism.
Vacation, Adventure And Surgery?
Elective Surgeries By World-Class Doctors At Third-World Prices. From CBC News - 60 Minutes.

Two most popular types of medical tourism and what are their most popular destinations

Medical tourists may seek 2 basic types of health care services that can be obtained in the following countries:
  • essential health care services (cancer treatment, transplant surgery) - Cuba, India, Israel, The Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Colombia, Hong Kong, Hungary, Brunei, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Thailand, UAE and New Zealand.
  • complementary or 'elective' services (cosmetic surgery) - Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico and Turkey.


  [Photo author: federico_marque from flickr.com ]

Health and wellness tourism companies in various countries

Offering affordable health care services combined with exotic travel opportunities.
HelloMD.com
Offering first of its kind, internet based FREE ONLINE MEDICAL EVALUATION & CONSULTATION SERVICE to people in anywhere in the world. The purpose of this service is to assist a patient to get a second opinion or to understand his/her medical issues better in his/her effort to seek best of class medical treatment at a nominal price. HelloMD.com operates an international network of state of the art medical facilities based in USA, Europe and India with accomplished and distinguished physicians and surgeons with vast experience in various medical disciplines including cardiothoracic surgery cosmetic and plastic surgery, laparoscopic surgery, endoscopic surgery, microsurgery, joint replacements and highly advanced form of ophthalmic and ear surgery.
PlacidWay - Guided Medical Tourism
PlacidWay is the leading online destination for health tourism, alternative medicine, and guided medical tourism. It is the authoritative source for consumers looking for healthcare options that offer preventive, essential, aesthetic, complimentary and alternative medical services.
Golden Med
Argentinian-Swiss organization connecting international patients with well known physicians, clinics and medical service centers for their medical and dental treatment in Argentina. Medical Services offered: Plastic Surgery, Assisted Fertility, Dentistry, Hair Transplant, Ophthalmology, General Check-up, Phlebology, Urology, Radiotherapy and more.
Bangkok Medical Tourism
Provide quality medical/surgery services to patients worldwide. Can help you get the surgery done when you need it, for less than 20 % of the cost you would be paying in Western countries. Treatments offered range from a routine medical checkup to complex heart transplantation surgery and other specialties, such as: pediatrics, orthopedics, nephrology, urology, neurology, physiotherapy, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, dermatology, plastic surgery, gynecology etc. Their specialist cardiac care program offers angioplasty, coronary bypass surgery, cardiac catheterization, valve replacement surgeries, radioverter defibrillator implants, and other complex open heart surgical procedures with high degree of quality and care.
Global Health Champions
Based in Kuala Lumpur with representatives in Mumbai and Chennai, offering affordable and immediate surgical or non-surgical treatments in India and Malaysia, with minimum waiting time. Working with some of the best hospitals and stand alone Specialty clinics in India & Malaysia, offering world-class expertise, state-of-the-art facilities that meet or exceed North American standards for cleanliness, safety, professionalism and competency. Medical services: Cardiac Procedures, Orthopedic Procedures, Cosmetic Procedures, Dental Procedures, Endoscopic Procedures, Laparoscopic Procedures, Bariatric Procedures, Neurology Procedures, Nephrology Procedures, Opthalmology Services
Healthbase
Healthbase is a US company, the one-stop source for all medical tour needs and helps the health tourists to research and arrange their medical care including necessary travel, tour, accommodation and sight-seeing, all at one place. Aranging first class services for patients at major internationally accredited hospitals like JCI, ISO in Thailand, India, Singapore, Turkey, Mexico and expanding to Panama, Costa Rica, Hungary, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina. The cost of surgical care at our ever growing network of affiliated institutions is typically a fraction of the cost of care in USA, UK or Europe, with equal or superior outcomes. The savings are up to 80%. offering more than 200 procedures like Birmingham hip resurfacing, knee surgery, spinal decompression, cardiac bypass surgery, total knee replacement, abdominal aneurysm, dental implants, liposuction, lap band surgery, gastric bypass and more.
Holidays4Eyes
Service to people who wish to combine cataract surgery and a holiday on Cyprus.
Medical Tours International
US company - an organization of licensed, practicing health care professionals in the USA and overseas coordinators, offering medical and dental tours to Costa Rica, Brazil, India, Mexico, Thailand, Israel, Portugal, and Panama.
Surgical Attractions
South African medical tourism company that offers you specialist cosmetic surgery/plastic surgery, recuperation and rejuvenation holiday packages utilizing South Africa's leading and fully registered plastic/cosmetic surgeons and facilities. Examples of cosmetic procedures include: Face Lift Surgery (Rhytidectomy), Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty), Liposuction (Lipoplasty), Skin Laser Resurfacing, Breast Augmentation/Enlargement, Breast Reduction, Breast Lift, Breast Implants, Hair Transplants, Nose Surgery (Rhinoplasty), Ear Surgery (Otoplasty), Tummy Tuck Surgery (Abdominoplasty), Lip and Chin Augmentation, Neck Lift, Forehead (Brow) Lift, Calf Implants, Pectoral Implants, Biceps Implants and Non-Surgical Procedures such as Botox, Restylane and Perlane.

How to obtain medical care in Cuba (for US medical tourists)

In his 2007 film, "Sicko," Michael Moore described health care in Cuba as much better than in the USA and showed that that care is available for free to medical tourists coming to that country - including American visitors!

Cuba has nearly twice as many physicians per person as the U.S. - 5.91 doctors per thousand people compared to 2.56 doctors per thousand (according to WHO). The Castro government is promoting Cuban medical tourism to generate income for the country.

However, it's not that easy for the US citizens to get to Cuba... While the residents of Canada, the UK and most other countries can travel to Cuba without any difficulty (only a tourist visa is required). But because of the "cold-war-style" foreign relations between Cuba and the USA, the American travelers must either obtain U.S. government approval, or, travel to Cuba from Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Jamaica or the Dominican Republic. There are daily flights to Cuba from Toronto, Montreal, Cancun, Mexico City, Nassau (Bahamas), Kingston (Jamaica), and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). To make it easier for the US medical tourists, Cuban immigration authorities do not stamp the passports of US visitors so that they can keep their travels a private matter.

  [Photo author: aiplace01 from flickr.com ]

Medical tourism on YouTube videos

Loading

Blog posts on medical tourism

IHT World Announces Global Medical Tourism Destinations Directory Now Open
The medical tourism industry is quickly growing around the world. To help address the marketing needs...
Visitor Insurance Leadership Award for NRIOL
The award recognizes leaders such as NRIOL, who provide programs and innovations that are in line with...
Medical tourism gives resident something to smile about
That includes medical procedures in addition to dentistry. Medical tourism origins are said to have emerged...
Medical tourism worth a careful look
Medical tourism combines popular exotic vacation spots with medical treatment, but at a fraction of US...
Powered by Google

Become a medical tourist!

Get health care at 80% discount and then enjoy leisure, fun and relaxation in these and other fascinating destinations:

powered by Orbitz
powered by Orbitz
powered by Orbitz
powered by Orbitz

New Guestbook

  • leo-voisey Mar 27, 2012 @ 5:42 am | delete
    Stem cells are ?non-specialized? cells that have the potential to form into other types of specific cells, such as blood, muscles or nerves. They are unlike "differentiated" cells which have already become whatever organ or structure they are in the body. Stem cells are present throughout our body, but more abundant in a fetus.
    Medical researchers and scientists believe that stem cell therapy will, in the near future, advance medicine dramatically and change the course of disease treatment. This is because stem cells have the ability to grow into any kind of cell and, if transplanted into the body, will relocate to the damaged tissue, replacing it. For example, neural cells in the spinal cord, brain, optic nerves, or other parts of the central nervous system that have been injured can be replaced by injected stem cells. Various stem cell therapies are already practiced, a popular one being bone marrow transplants that are used to treat leukemia. In theory and in fact, lifeless cells anywhere in the body, no matter what the cause of the disease or injury, can be replaced with vigorous new cells because of the remarkable plasticity of stem cells. Biomed companies predict that with all of the research activity in stem cell therapy currently being directed toward the technology, a wider range of disease types including cancer, diabetes, spinal cord injury, and even multiple sclerosis will be effectively treated in the future. Recently announced trials are now underway to study both safety and efficacy of autologous stem cell transplantation in MS patients because of promising early results from previous trials.
    History
    Research into stem cells grew out of the findings of two Canadian researchers, Dr's James Till and Ernest McCulloch at the University of Toronto in 1961. They were the first to publish their experimental results into the existence of stem cells in a scientific journal. Till and McCulloch documented the way in which embryonic stem cells differentiate themselves to become mature cell tissue. Their discovery opened the door for others to develop the first medical use of stem cells in bone marrow transplantation for leukemia. Over the next 50 years their early work has led to our current state of medical practice where modern science believes that new treatments for chronic diseases including MS, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and many more disease conditions are just around the corner.
    There are a number of sources of stem cells, namely, adult cells generally extracted from bone marrow, cord cells, extracted during pregnancy and cryogenically stored, and embryonic cells, extracted from an embryo before the cells start to differentiate. As to source and method of acquiring stem cells, harvesting autologous adult cells entails the least risk and controversy.
    Autologous stem cells are obtained from the patient's own body; and since they are the patient's own, autologous cells are better than both cord and embryonic sources as they perfectly match the patient's own DNA, meaning that they will never be rejected by the patient's immune system. Autologous transplantation is now happening therapeutically at several major sites world-wide and more studies on both safety and efficacy are finally being announced. With so many unrealized expectations of stem cell therapy, results to date have been both significant and hopeful, if taking longer than anticipated.
    What's been the Holdup?
    Up until recently, there have been intense ethical debates about stem cells and even the studies that researchers have been allowed to do. This is because research methodology was primarily concerned with embryonic stem cells, which until recently required an aborted fetus as a source of stem cells. The topic became very much a moral dilemma and research was held up for many years in the US and Canada while political debates turned into restrictive legislation. Other countries were not as inflexible and many important research studies have been taking place elsewhere. Thankfully embryonic stem cells no longer have to be used as much more advanced and preferred methods have superseded the older technologies. While the length of time that promising research has been on hold has led many to wonder if stem cell therapy will ever be a reality for many disease types, the disputes have led to a number of important improvements in the medical technology that in the end, have satisfied both sides of the ethical issue.
    CCSVI Clinic
    CCSVI Clinic has been on the leading edge of MS treatment for the past several years. We are the only group facilitating the treatment of MS patients requiring a 10-day patient aftercare protocol following neck venous angioplasty that includes daily ultrasonography and other significant therapeutic features for the period including follow-up surgeries if indicated. There is a strict safety protocol, the results of which are the subject of an approved IRB study. The goal is to derive best practice standards from the data. With the addition of ASC transplantation, our research group has now preparing application for member status in International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS), the globally-active non-profit organization dedicated to the improvement of cell-based medical therapies through education of physicians and researchers, patient safety, and creating universal standards. For more information please visit http://www.neurosurgeonindia.org/
  • kittyspears Dec 16, 2011 @ 6:11 am | delete
    Medical tourism nowadays is being adapted by many countries especially to those thriving third world countries as the people are already very concern about wellness and staying fit.
    ---------------------------------------
    pinnacle and metal toxicity
  • okhla123 Nov 30, 2011 @ 1:50 pm | delete
    Many people approach us for such cosmetic treamtnents at
    Dental Tourism . We provide
    affordable Dental Implants without
    compromising on quality.
  • asrhiprecall Aug 5, 2011 @ 3:05 pm | delete
    Sometimes one solely gets the simplest treatment in another country since health advancements and equipment aren't simple to return get. This is often a decent post. many of us will use this. DePuy Hip Recall
  • hiprecalllaw Aug 5, 2011 @ 2:59 pm | delete
    Sometimes one only gets the best treatment in another country since health advancements and equipment are not easy to come buy. This is a good post. Many people can use this.
  • betik12 Feb 6, 2011 @ 12:18 am | delete
    Do you like the ugg boots? If you are a ugg fan, you can reach to us to choose one for you, it is a good choice for you. Our ugg boots are as follows:
    thanks for information, i have nice day for next day...

    Cara Membuat Radio Streaming Murah
    indonesia - iklan baris jakarta
    seo 1 - murah 1 - upin blog
    seo press - backlink bookmark - seo blog
    seo edu - seo jek - seo put - seo log - seo star - sherlylian
    seo jek - seo setan - jago master - tips trik
    trend - pulsa murah - Radio Streaming
    web blog - wonogiri - betik - seo pilipinas
    web design in Cara Membuat Radio Streaming Murah
  • gadgud Jan 21, 2011 @ 5:57 am | delete
    Nice Lens.
    play free online games
  • WilliamsHood Dec 2, 2010 @ 7:38 am | delete
    New to all of this thank you for the info!
    Thailand healthcare tourism
  • kedaiobat Nov 25, 2010 @ 5:53 pm | delete
    thanks..
    by Indonesia Siap Bersaing Di SERP
  • mynriclub Oct 13, 2010 @ 7:15 am | delete
    i like article on this site most... www.mynriclb.com
  • mynriclub Oct 13, 2010 @ 7:13 am | delete
    Nice article please keep it up....
  • seopintar Oct 2, 2010 @ 10:00 am | delete
    amazing, i like it Pasang Iklan Gratis Sebagai Awal Mulai Bisnis Online | Pasang Iklan Gratis Sebagai Awal Mulai Bisnis Online | Pasang Iklan Gratis Sebagai Awal Mulai Bisnis Online | Pasang Iklan Gratis Sebagai Awal Mulai Bisnis Online | Menjadi blogger yang bahagia | Pasang Iklan Gratis Sebagai Awal Mulai Bisnis Online | Bisnis Syariah | Kita ada karena kontribusi | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah | bisnis syariah
  • gadgud Sep 18, 2010 @ 1:05 am | delete
    Good Lens. Cool Math Games
  • Jan 3, 2010 @ 4:34 am | delete
    Thanks for providing this information was of great help for my needs, more information like this is needed, hope you have some more thanks again

    liposuction before after
  • melvin-ng Apr 13, 2008 @ 2:37 am | delete
    I'm from Malaysia, so I know that medical tourism is definitely huge here, especially considering the favorable exchange rate enjoyed by the stronger USD, pund sterling, and Euro.

    http://www.squidoo.com/optimize-your-intestinal-health-to-combat-and-prevent-yeast-infections
  • thomasz Feb 12, 2008 @ 10:50 pm | delete
    Nice lens. Great info.
  • Ashlynn Dec 5, 2007 @ 1:13 pm | delete
    Come join The Medical & Dental Tourism Group. Get your lens noticed.

    Ashlynn
  • Ashlynn Nov 30, 2007 @ 5:45 pm | delete
    Hey great lens! The medical tourism industry is definitely on the rise. 5 stars for your hardwork.
  • ebizsalez Nov 1, 2007 @ 10:07 am | delete
    excellent info. i read about the industry in few magazines. i think its going to be the next hottest market in travel and health care.

    from fellow lens: bigsaveontravel
Show All

by

calamary

Welcome to my lens! Please visit my other lenses too.  I'm an avid blogger and Squidoo enthusiast. My hobbies are: music (Beatles, John Mayer, Barenaked... more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Explore related pages

Related Tags