Everybody loves a holiday. Beach, sun, relaxation. Exploring a foreign city. Experiencing a new culture, different food, interesting architecture. When you hear the word “tourism”, that’s probably what you think of. What you probably don’t think of is going to see a doctor. Yup. Health tourism is a thing. But what is it all about? Why would people travel for healthcare? What are the advantages? Well, fasten your seatbelts and prepare for take-off! Let’s take a journey into the world of medical tourism.
What is health tourism?
Health tourism means travelling to another location for health reasons. It is something of an umbrella term that covers people seeking medical or surgical treatment, healthcare services, or health retreats. More and more, people from all parts of the world are going abroad for these reasons.
First, let’s clear up any confusion over terms:
- Medical tourism – the practice of travelling to another country for medical or surgical treatment, or even for a diagnosis. Surgery, particularly cosmetic procedures, is the most common motive for medical tourism, but people may also go overseas for dental, fertility, psychiatric, or virtually any other sort of treatment.
- Wellness tourism – the practice of travelling to another country for reasons of general health or wellbeing. This may include visiting resorts, retreats, and spas in addition to medical centres.
- Health tourism – a wider term encompassing medical and wellness tourism, as well as travelling for the use of healthcare services. Patients may travel for preventive and health-conducive treatment as well as rehabilitative and curative forms.
- Domestic health/medical tourism – travelling to another town or city in the same country for the above reasons.
Health tourism through the ages
It may seem like a trend for the 21st Century. The world is better-connected than ever before. Air travel is at an all-time high (pun intended!), with hundreds of flights carrying passengers to their destinations every day. However, health tourism has actually existed, in one form or another, for millennia. The ancient Greeks made pilgrimages to sites such as Epidaurus, sanctuary of Asklepios, the god of healing. Similarly, throughout history, people have journeyed to sacred sites, springs, spa towns, and sanitaria to be cured of their afflictions.
Health tourism is now more popular than ever. The difference nowadays is that health tourists tend to travel abroad for reasons that are less to do with religion and superstition as they are to do with quality and price. Let’s take a look at some of these motives.
Why travel for healthcare?
There are several reasons why health tourism is becoming more and more common.
- Affordability
- Availability of certain procedures
- Faster or easier access to healthcare
- Higher quality healthcare
In certain countries, such as the USA, the cost of medical treatment or surgery can be very high. For many citizens of these countries, it can actually work out cheaper to travel to a country where the desired treatment or procedure costs much less. Popular destinations for this kind of health tourism include India, Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, and Turkey. All of these countries boast internationally accredited hospitals and reputations for excellence in at least some areas of healthcare, with treatments at a fraction of the cost.
For others, the availability of specific procedures and treatments that are not available in their home countries provides the allure for medical tourism. A treatment might not be available in a particular country due to that state’s legislation or health regulations, or simply because it is a new or a niche treatment that few specialists in that country are able to provide.
In some cases, health tourism may be seen as a way to avoid long waiting lists at home, by travelling to see a doctor in another country who can see you a lot quicker.
For many people who are willing to travel for their healthcare, however, the reason is simply to get the best results possible. For these patients, it’s all about quality. They will search for specialists who are known internationally for being experts in the desired treatment.
How can Top Doctors help?
Here at Top Doctors, we pride ourselves on quality. For those patients looking for leading specialists, we host a whole roster of expert doctors in every country we operate in. Only one in ten doctors passes our selection process to become a member. We are currently based in various countries in Europe and the Americas. The other good news is that we are continuing to expand!
What does this mean for health tourism? It means that if you are looking for medical treatment in one of the countries where we operate, you can easily find and compare the best private doctors who provide the treatment you want on our website. We provide the locations of the doctors’ clinics and contact numbers to book an appointment. Alternatively, our online booking system allows you to request an appointment there and then.
Once the appointment is confirmed, all that remains is to book your flight and accommodation and you’re sorted! You are now a health tourist!
Visit Top Doctors in the country of your choice!
Europe
North America
South America
Asia
- Saudi Arabia – coming soon
Sources:
https://www.medicaltourismassociation.com/en/medical-tourism-faq-s.html
https://www.medicaltourismmag.com/article/top-10-medical-tourism-destinations-world
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