The medical tour offers cost saving, better accessibility to treatment, and having fun at a tourist destination that would otherwise not be possible in your home country. There is, however, much more to the success of medical tourism.
Though medical tourism’s current massive scale is a comparatively new development, the niche industry already has impressive statistics related to its operations. The annual cost of medical travel is around $40 billion all over the world, whereas the average expense of a medical tourist is approximately $3,000 to $5,000 for each visit.
As medical costs skyrocket in the developed world, there is a continuous increase in the patients’ tendency to travel to developing countries to seek healthcare. The countries that are becoming hot destinations for the patients from the developed countries are Thailand, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, Korea, and a few nations in the Middle East.
The primary reason behind this rising trend of medical tourism towards developing countries is excellent healthcare at a fraction of the cost, as compared to the developed countries. This situation can be attributed to:
- Significantly lower labor cost
- Much less expenditure associated with the litigation for unprofessional conduct
- Flexible laws and regulations
- Restricted engagement of third-party clients
Some other factors that contribute to the growth of the medical tourism, by encouraging people to seek medical care elsewhere are:
- Huge uninsured population and insured people bearing the costs of elective surgeries and ‘pre-existing’ medical conditions
- Aging population, considered a ‘burden’ for the healthcare industry
- No accessibility to alternative therapies like Ayurvedic treatments, Homeopathy, naturopathy, and others
- Long waiting period for several surgical procedures
However, the competition in the industry is also escalating with its rapid growth. Owing to this increasing competition, countries have started offering excellent services at competitive prices, which certainly works very well for the medical tourist. Certain other commercial considerations like benefits of insurance, tourism, and trading, have played a part in boosting medical tourism and have successfully turned it into a global industry. All these facilities help various medical destinations attract more medical travelers and strengthen their global presence at the same time.
Rise of developing countries
When it comes to medical tourism, developing countries always remain ahead of developed ones. Be it cutting-edge technology or healthcare costs, western countries lag behind the less-developed nations in terms of several aspects of medical travel. The majority of developing nations coming up as great medical destinations are accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) and offer world-class, specialized, customized, and cost-effective healthcare along with insurance benefits.
Thailand, the beautiful country located in Southeast Asia, is one of the most preferable medical destinations. Patients from developed countries can get a highly positive medical experience in Thailand at a very affordable cost. From staying at a lush hotel to undergoing a last-minute medical procedure, the Thai Government has made each and everything possible for medical tourists without burning holes in their pockets. The country provides advanced treatments like stem cell therapy along with traditional healthcare services. As there is no threat of strict regulations or mismanagement grievances in Thailand, the industry runs quite smoothly.
The ‘incredible’ country India also has an international reputation for its growing business of medical tourism. Accessibility to state of the art healthcare infrastructure at low to moderate costs is the specialty of Indian medical tourism. Thousands of medical practitioners in the country have obtained their degrees from the world’s top medical universities. Nurses and technicians working in India have also earned fame for their excellent care, cooperation and skills. Indian hospitals and medical facilities have access to advanced medical equipment, which turn the dental, surgical and medical procedures into faster and smoother ones. Alternative medicine or treatment is another major attraction of the medical tourism in India. The country has also made the concept of surrogacy tourism popular throughout the world.
Mexico is another prominent addition to the list of developing countries having the best medical tourism destinations. The country draws around 1 million foreign patients each year. Healthcare at an economical rate is one of the major attractions of Mexican medical tourism. The services offered by the hospitals and other medical facilities in the country are so reasonably priced that one can visit a doctor at $25 and stay hospitalized for a whole night at $35 only. Medical tourists mainly go to Mexico for dental treatments as well as weight loss surgeries.
Many other developing nations like Singapore, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Turkey, Taiwan, and some from the Middle East have already earned fame and admiration from medical tourists.
