Have you heard of medical tourism
It means that citizens of one country travel to another country to have medical procedures performed so term as medical tourism. In general people travel from a country where the medical service is very expensive or where it is not approved. They seek out a country with experienced medical people who can help them for less money or simply a country where a drug or surgery is legal. And of course as I write about this trend I have considered Americans who visit countries like Mexico for a variety or services and when you walk into a hospital you have an idea of what to expect and that brings a great deal of comfort to someone who is facing an uncomfortable situation like having a procedure done. The kind of care routine and environment you will find in a hospital in Europe is much more familiar for patients from developed countries than hospitals in other more exotic locations around the world such as India. While a tropical experience to go along with your medical experience sounds wonderful there are other things to consider. You have heard of malaria and other common tropical locale type diseases. There will be visas to apply for long flights to sit through as well as awkward cultural and legal differences to consider to visit those countries. To be honest traveling to Europe for care will not be as cheap as other locations in Asia but for the few extra dollars you are buying peace of mind. This is especially true when it comes to complicated costly invasive and life changing surgeries like joint replacement or spinal surgery. These kinds of surgeries really need to be done right the first time by the best people in a high quality environment where you have no reason to be nervous or afraid. In the US Canada or the UK a lot of patients are facing the dilemma of getting the medical treatments they need because the price tag has a few too many zeros at the end or the wait is just too long. Patients in the US spend an astronomical amount of money of health care and they watch the price climb higher and higher every year. They try to save money by carrying insurance with very high deductibles hoping in the long term it will be worth it. But there comes a point in many budgets where $1,000 might as well be $1,000,000 espcially when 5 different providers are wondering where their money is while you are wondering about future treatments follow up visits prescriptions. Not to mention paying the other daily bills. They say that money doesn’t buy happiness but if you aren’t healthy and you can’t afford the treatment or procedures that will help you be healthy again you aren’t gong to be happy. The cost of treatment in European countries in most often estimated to be 40% to 80% less expensive than the same treatment or procedure done in the US. Amazingly they manage to do this very competitively! When patients are more willing to seek out the kind of care they want for the kind of price they want to pay suddenly a market wakes up and realizes who is paying the bills.
