Some medical experts suggest that seeking healthcare services outside the United States might become difficult for its citizens. However, this thought is not worrying them, as they also believe in the prevailing spirit of American citizens to fight against such privacy-invading regulations. Besides these speculations, medical tourism has been spreading its wings throughout America. It is a booming industry everywhere around the world. Several types of disease treatments and surgeries are highly expensive in first-world countries. Accordingly, some developing nations have attracted medical tourists to undergo cost-effective treatment in their state-of-the-art facilities.
These developing nations are offering excellent amenities, luxurious and comfortable accommodations, modern hospitals, and qualified nursing staff and highly skilled doctors. No wonder, patients would love to go to these places to be treated, as well as to enjoy their scenic beauty. In addition, many patients in America are tired of waiting in queues to receive prescriptions from physicians or getting treatments. Such people prefer to visit nearby foreign countries where they not only get amazing healthcare services and facilities, but also get it at affordable costs. This is leading to a constant rise in medical tourism of those countries that are able to provide priority healthcare to medical tourists.
Even though medical tourism is not feasible in emergency cases, it can be undertaken when any scheduled or planned surgeries have to be done. Many Americans prefer to go to Singapore, India or China to get their knees replaced or to receive a coronary bypass surgery. Several such minimally invasive or selective procedures can be comfortably handled in a foreign country, but are slowly becoming unreachable to specific categories of people in America. Thus, medical tourism is also becoming a compelling alternative in such cases. Under these situations, it is not a surprise if the American College of Surgeons comes up issuing a policy statement that politely disregards medical tourism.
Several medical specialties are thriving on elective procedures and surgeries. Bringing forth a criticizing policy toward medical tourism indicates that the surgeons are finding it difficult to retain their bread and butter. This policy focuses on all possible risks that medical tourism can bring about for patients. Apart from this policy, some surgeons are even informing patients that it is easier to file lawsuits against any malpractices happening to them in America, rather than at another foreign location, which could be a major risk for patients. Now, this is something that displays what a dire threat medical tourism has become for American surgeons. However, the hopeful fact for citizens is that they can exercise their autonomy while choosing healthcare options that are best for them.
