Medical tourism means the travelling of patients from one country to another to avail better medical facilities at a cheaper cost. Medical tourism has become very famous in recent years, especially in the developed countries such as US and UK. The middle class society is not capable enough to afford the sky rocketing cost of medical treatment in these countries. The waiting period to get an appointment or a surgery slot urges the patients to visit overseas for treatment. Though medical tourism offers the patients with a lot of positives, it also has few negatives as far as cost is concerned. The patients are not aware of the extra cost spent during their treatment overseas.
It has been found that plastic surgeries done at a lower cost often results in complications and poor outcomes. The breast augmentation surgeries have also significantly failed a number of times. These glitches further require multiple operations to be made normal. So it involves a huge cost in repeated treatment.
There are also various risks involved during travelling after the treatment and it may give rise to a chance of another treatment once you reach your country.
Though medical tourism offers treatment at a very less price compared to the expenses in the developed countries, it has many ecological and social hidden costs involved in it. Many of the doctors get trained in the Western countries and return to their country to start their own or private clinic and treat people. This avoids brain drain in those countries. As per a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), this results in leaving public and rural clinics understaffed and undersupplied, with long waits and increasingly unaffordable care.
Medical tourism also affects the ecology in a great manner as it increases the overseas tourist numbers every year. Tourist board round trip flights to tour overseas and it results in a huge amount of carbon ejection from the planes and affects ecology. The amount of bio-hazardous waste increases due to the increased number of patients in the hospitals. This garbage can spread hepatitis and HIV to the trash pickers if disposed with general wastes. A normal hospital offering medical tourism produces up to two million tons of garbage every year.
Apart from all these negative pointers, medical tourism also influences the revenue of a country in a huge manner. People availing medical tourism gradually lose confidence on the health care provided in their own country.
