Q. : What is medical tourism?
A.
: 'Cost effective' private medical care in collaboration with the tourism
industry. Medical tourism is a term that has risen from the rapid growth
of the industry where people from all around the world are traveling to
other countries to obtain medical, dental and surgical care while at the
same time touring, vacationing, and fully experiencing the attractions of
the countries that they are visiting. It is like rejuvenation and clean
up process on all levels physical, mental and emotional.
A combination of many factors has lead to the recent increase in popularity of medical tourism exorbitant costs of healthcare in developed countries, ease and afford ability of international travel, favorable currency exchange rates in the global economy, rapidly improving technology and standards of care in many countries of the world, and most importantly proven safety of healthcare in select foreign nations have all led to the rise of medical tourism.
Q.
: Where do medical tourists travel?
A.
: Currently medical tourists are traveling in large numbers to India where
the quality of healthcare is equal to anywhere else in the world and yet
the cost is significantly low. The country also offers numerous options
for touring, sight-seeing, shopping, exploring, and yes, even lounging on
sun drenched beaches.
Q. : What kind of healthcare do medical tourists obtain?
A.
: Myriad options exist for medical tourists from purely elective procedure
such as rhinoplasty, liposuction, breast augmentation, orthodontics, and
LASIK, to more serious and life-saving procedures such as joint replacements,
bone marrow transplants, and cardiac bypass surgery, liver transplant in
a safe and effective manner for a fraction of the cost that they would spend
in their home countries.
Q.
: What are the cost savings for medical tourists?
A.
: The cost savings are enormous. For example, for the same price as a week
long vacation for two in Hawaii that includes airfare and boarding & lodging,
a couple can travel to India, with airfare, boarding & lodging, personal
tour guide/concierge, and LASIK corrective surgery for two. The average
cost of private heart surgery in the United States is $5000. That same operation
with comparable rate of success and complications costs only $ 5600 in the
finest and most state-of-the-art hospital in India. A liver transplant that
costs $300,000 in the U.S. costs only $ 78,000 in India. Large price disparities
such as these exist across the board for numerous medical and surgical procedures.
And because of favorable currency exchange rates for medical tourists, the
costs associated with accommodation, food, shopping, and sight-seeing are
similarly very favorable.