Advantages of medical tourism

Medical Tourism: Advantages & Disadvantages D. Frazier
Could you imagine traveling abroad for a medical procedure? The idea of medical tourism; where patients travel to different countries to receive medical procedures is becoming very popular worldwide (CBC News Online). As many as 300,000 Canadians travel out of the country each year for medical or dental procedures (The Globe and Mail-Canada). So why travel to another country for a medical procedure? The reasons people travel worldwide for these particular procedures is because they will end up paying a fraction of what would be paid in the United States ( Anderson, 101). For example, a hip replacement in the United States can run anywhere from $44,000 to $63,000 versus $12-$18,000 in another country with travel and hotel costs already included (Anderson, 101). Normally the prices vary, but it is very common to save up to 80% out of the United States (Anderson, 101). So you may be wondering, what exactly are the advantages of Medical tourism, and what are the risks involved if choosing to participate?
Advantages of Medical Tourism
Well, there are various advantages to medical tourism. First off, it is simply a vacation, well a medical vacation that is (Sweeney, 1). It also tends to take the travelers mind off the procedure itself because they are traveling to some exotic place for the surgery. Whether it is a dental procedure or a surgical procedure; the fact that the person is traveling to a warm, sunny place usually will keep their mind at ease about the surgery. Another advantage of medical tourism is that it is very cost effective and affordable to most people (Sweeney, 1). For example, Roberta Berger; a woman from St. Petersburg Florida traveled to Malaysia and received surgery for approximately 1/10 of what she would have paid in the United States (Johnson, 6). Roberta is just one of thousands of people who travel abroad for surgical procedures each year. Now although there are a number of advantages to medical tourism, there are also disadvantages.
Disadvantages of Medical Tourism
One disadvantage of traveling abroad for surgical procedures is Medical Malpracticesuits that can very easily occur (healism.com). Many of the countries that offer medical tourism have fragile malpractice laws, so the patient is stranded if something does happen to go wrong (CBC News Online). Also, if the patient is looking for Insurance coverage, the Insurance laws in other countries may be different. A lot of the time, the government and basic medical insurance will not pay for the procedure and the patient must pay cash (CBC News Online). This may in turn create a problem for the patient. Another disadvantage to medical tourism is post operative treatment availability (healism.com). The problem is that there is very little follow up care followed by the medical procedure. Usually, the patient is in the hospital for only a few days, and then goes on the vacation portion of the trip, then returns home (CBC News Online). Another issue that may arise between the patient and the doctor is the language and cultural barriers (Associated Press, MSNBC). This may frustrate patients because they cannot communicate very well with the doctors and nurses.
Although traveling out of the country can merely be a vacation for some patients, others would rather pay the big bucks to stay in the United States and have the procedure done. Although Medical Tourism is growing rapidly; one must really be a risk taker and understand the questions and complications that could possibly arise when receiving medical care from another country. Many people’s preference would be to choose to have the medical procedure done in the United States and pay the outrageous amount of money, while others may opt to have the surgery abroad. It is entirely up to the person to do which they feel most comfortable and preferably what they feel is the best for them!

Sources:

CBC News Online. "Medical Tourism:Need Surgery, will travel." 2008. 1-4. 27 Apr. 2008 .

Kiplingers Personal Finance, Sept 2007; Adventures in Medical Travel Rewards, pg 101-102; 1204 wds, Jessica L. Anderson
www.lexisnexis.com

MSNBC. More Americans head Overseas for Healthcare. Associated Press, 2008. 27 Apr. 2008 .

Sweeney, Camille. "More Fun Than Root Canals? Its a Dental Vacation." The New York Times 7 Feb. 2008: 1+. LexisNexis. Marshall University. 28 Apr. 2008.

The Globe & Mail (Canada), Jan 23, 2008 Wed. Travel; Medical Tourism; pg T1, 1494 wds. Dave McGinn. Special to the Globe & Mail
http://www.lexisnexis.com

Universal Healthcare through Medical Tourism. Medical Tourism. 2008. 28 Apr. 2008 .

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