About Medical Tourism

What is Medical Tourism?

Medical tourism (also known as medical travel or global healthcare) is the process in which patients travel to other destinations for medical or health and wellness services. Oftentimes these services can take the form of a dental treatment, knee surgery, health check-up or even a trip to a wellness spa.

The term medical tourism may sound strange and exotic to some people; but in fact it is a rapidly growing phenomenon spurred on by an increasingly empowered patient base searching for quality, affordability, availability, and accessibility in healthcare.`

Some people have the erroneous impression that patients are flying for open heart surgery to a dilapidated jungle clinic in some third world country - followed by bungee jumping. The opposite is true. Most patients are receiving care in high-end hospitals or clinics located in major urban centers, and will plan their trip to allow enough time for a prudent recuperation period before heading home.

The term medical tourism is often used in the context of patients traveling abroad for medical care to countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, India, Thailand and Singapore - and this is certainly true. However, there is also a growing trend towards “domestic” medical tourism, in which patients travel from one area of the country to another for medical care.

Regardless of the reason, the common denominator in all medical tourism related activities is that patients are traveling away from their home region to access these services.

"Whether it is affordability, accessibility, availability or better quality, in the final analysis, patients are searching for better perceived value."