The Stanley Rubenti Medical Tourism Blog

Medical Tourism in South Korea

Medical Tourism in South Korea

Jenn Pedde is the community manager for the University of Southern California’s online Masters in Social Work. She spent 2.5 years teaching in South Korea and now helps students across the US earn an MSW degree from one of the nation’s top tier institutions.

Thailand is well known for its inexpensive and high quality cosmetic surgery, which attracts medical tourists from all over the world. But another Asian nation, South Korea, is also experiencing a boom in medical tourism. The South Korean government has supported the industry with investments and favorable policies designed to establish South Korea as the premier medical tourism destination in Asia, though the country still lags behind other medical tourism capitals in total patients.

Already known throughout the continent for cosmetic surgery, South Korean doctors also excel in other fields, and the Korean Health ministry hopes that promoting these additional sectors will attract even more patients. Thus, South Korean doctors are also becoming known for their proficiency with cancer treatments, liver transplants, dental care, and ophthalmology.

South Korean authorities initially made limited efforts to encourage medical tourism, allowing the industry to grow on its own through its reputation. Since 2008, however, both the government and private groups have worked to make the medical climate more favorable for foreigners and helped spread the word around the world. The Korea Medical Tourism Association was formed in 2008, and the Korea Global Healthcare Association, a non-profit group, organized a three-day conference in 2010 that attracted thousands of participants from hospitals, state agencies, and abroad.

These efforts have paid off as the number of medical tourists coming to South Korea has increased dramatically in the last few years. In 2008, only a little over 27,000 patients traveled to South Korea for treatment, according to a Ministry of Health and Welfare report. That number more than doubled to 60,000 in 2009 and increased again in 2010 to 81,000 foreign patients.

At first, South Korea’s medical tourists came from nearby in Asia, but more and more people are coming from farther away. The United States sends the largest number of tourists, but patients from Russia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Vietnam spend the most money. The government is also trying to expand its marketing efforts to rich oil nations in the Middle East.

Expanding their reach will help South Korea catch up to Asian rivals Thailand and Singapore, the current leaders of medical tourism. According to official statistics, 750,000 patients traveled to Thailand for medical reasons in 2008, and 350,000 traveled to Singapore in 2007.

Lower prices and high quality care are what set South Korea apart from other countries. Costs are roughly 30% of what they are in the United States and 60% of the prices in Japan. Costs appear to be increasing, however, as doctors charge foreigners two to three times as much as they do locals, which may hurt future growth.

The South Korean government has made growing this highly profitable industry a goal. The government hopes to reach 300,000 medical tourists per year by 2015 and has recently adopted policies to encourage this rapid expansion. In June 2011, the government announced that foreigners could receive compensation in the event of medical malpractice. At the same time, they changed a law allowing hospitals to sell pharmaceuticals, put more resources towards training medical translators, and planned to introduce an annual survey to foreign patients in order to discover their medical needs and desires so that South Korea can better cater to its foreign patients.

Growth in South Korea’s medical tourism industry is promising, but it will take more than just word of mouth marketing to reach the government’s goals. The language barrier and limited awareness of South Korea as a medical tourism destination are the industry’s biggest immediate hurdles. Competing with well-established medical tourism industries in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, and inexpensive upstart practices in China will continue to be a challenge in the years to come.

How Traveling to Singapore Could Save Your Life

Apparent Need for Affordable Heart Bypass Surgery

Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States. Some conditions that put people at higher risk for heart disease include:

· family history of heart attacks or strokes

· high blood pressure or high cholesterol

· diabetes

· obesity, specifically 32in+ waist (women) or 37in+ waist (men)

· smoking

There are other factors, but in today’s society, obesity—which often leads to diabetes—is a rapidly growing threat to American cardiovascular health. According to the American Heart Association, more than 325,000 people have recurrent heart attacks every year. It’s uncertain how many of those are due to either obesity or diabetes, but that’s a fairly significant number of secondary procedures for heart patients who may not have the insurance or the coverage to afford a needed heart bypass surgery.

Cheap Health Care in Singapore

Few procedures are more expensive (and more dangerous) than heart surgeries, but offers for affordable heart bypass surgery should not be entertained lightly. Having a single, double, or triple bypass surgery could save your life, when the procedure is done correctly. Done improperly, it could ruin or end your life. Of course, cheap health care doesn’t necessarily mean lesser quality treatment. Paying an affordable price for your heart bypass surgery doesn’t mean that the Singaporean doctor performing the procedure has had any less training or experience than his or her US counterpart. In fact, some Singaporean doctors have even more experience, because more patients can afford to visit them for their health care needs.

There are anomalies like former-Vice President Dick Cheney, who has undergone multiple bypass surgeries between his first and fifth heart attacks. Cheney’s situation led Dr. Clyde Yancy, Baylor University Medical Center cardiologist, to note, “…despite the best care, there are some patients who continue to have problems.” Most American’s would be financially burdened after the 1^st surgery and certainly by the 5^th. Cheney is an anomaly in that respect, too, having far more affordable access to heart bypass surgery than the average patient. For you or I, a medical vacation to Singapore is more likely to provide health care we can afford.

“I’m Scared, Is My Medical Vacation Going to be Dangerous?”

If you are wondering whether or not medical vacations are dangerous, you’re on the right path. You owe it to yourself to ask that type of question, and the hospital you choose for an affordable heart bypass surgery owes it to you to prove that their cheaper health care isn’t any less safe than what you’d receive here in the States. As the number of medical tourists continues to grow, procedures will likely become more affordable for patients. In some cases insurers are adding medical vacations to their coverage. It’s comforting to know that safe, cheap health care is available even if you’re not a former Vice President of the United States.

Even Top Officials Are Leaving Home for Safe Health Care

Low Priced Heart Valve Replacement Surgery Leads Patients Abroad

Do you really want a low priced heart valve replacement surgery? Are medical vacations really as safe as they’re made out to be? Can there really be such a thing as safe health care abroad?

If you’re considering a low priced medical vacation for your heart valve replacement surgery, these are just a few questions about your safety that should be running through your mind. Saving thousands up front isn’t worth sacrificing your health in the long run; and you’ll pay even more to remedy a faulty surgery. Your best bet is to research a quality health care facility with a solid track record and Joint Commission International accreditation.

Thailand’s Bumrungrad Hospital Assures Patient Safety

Paying lower prices for your heart valve replacement surgery won’t be like getting a bootleg DVD that skips or has the voices of the people sitting next to the camcorder; not when you visit a legitimate facility. For example, Bumrungrad International Hospital is one of Thailand’s most acclaimed medical facilities and is JCI accredited. Bumrungrad holds its own with hospitals in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. If you’re wondering whether medical vacations are safe, check out Bumrungrad’s track record.

High Profile Seeker of Safe Health Care Abroad, but not Where You’d Think

Recently, Canada’s Newfoundland Premier, Danny Williams, traveled to the United States for his not-so-low priced (estimated $25,000-$50,000) heart valve replacement surgery. His procedure, complete with a stay at his Miami Beach condo, resembles the medical vacations patients take to places like Thailand only at a much higher price. Williams’ decision to travel to the US seems to confirm the belief that Canada’s universal health care may save patients money, but the wait times may not allow doctors to save their lives in time-sensitive situations. A high profile story like this strengthens the case for Canadian patients traveling abroad to Thailand for safe health care with reasonable wait times. For Americans, the price tag of the premier’s procedure fuels the argument for health care reform and makes a low priced heart valve surgery in Thailand all the more attractive.

1000+ Miles to Costa Rica for Hair?

Forgetting about Affordable Elective Surgeries

The cost of health care is a major issue in the United States. However, much of the focus and discussion centers on life-essential health care: procedures like heart surgery, hip/knee replacements, or glaucoma surgery. While most people can agree that those types of treatment need to be affordable for patients, elective surgeries can easily get nipped from the table and tucked away from meaningful discussion. Something like affordable hair transplant surgery rarely receives the attention or generates as much passion as life-saving procedures.

Medical Tourism Brings You to Affordable Hair Transplant Surgery

Since government officials haven’t been able to agree upon the type of health care reform that will bring affordable elective surgeries to American patients, medical vacations have been like a form of "insurance" helping many affordably access procedures not covered under traditional policies. Reports show that more than 60 percent of Americans will at least consider medical vacation packages that offer discounted health care options they can’t afford at home. An estimated 50 million US patients—more than 15 percent of the population—don’t have health insurance, while others with health care may have noticed some providers including medical vacations in their insurance policies.

Even Medicare may eventually allow beneficiaries to travel to Costa Rica and other medical tourism destination countries for affordable health care to include elective surgeries. That battle is a long way from being won and would require US government-approved regulation of the facilities abroad; but the growth of the medical tourism industry and increasing number of Americans taking medical vacations have caught the attention of public and private insurance providers.

Tease Your Hair During a Your Costa Rican Vacation

For many people facing hair loss, an affordable hair transplant surgery will put hair back on their heads and rejuvenate their self-esteem. Typically we think of balding men looking to replace their thinning hair; but women, too, face hair loss. Likewise, the number of women seeking eyebrow transplants has doubled in the past year chasing a fashion trend. Whether it’s for the top of their heads or the top of their faces (eyebrows), those looking to replace missing hair may find their Costa Rican medical vacation to be a combination of relaxing and fulfilling.

How India is Raising American Eyebrows

India’s Helping Bring Bushy Back

Typically, people think of male baldness when it comes to hair replacement or hair transplant surgery, but a surprising trend is surfacing. Oddly enough, with the amount of money women pay to have their eyebrows plucked, sewn, or waxed away, there is a recent trend of actresses and supermodels sporting full, bushy eyebrows. Actress Keira Knightley, known for her roles in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, and others have begun sporting a full-browed look. Unfortunately, like most fashions, the masses who’ll attempt to follow in Knightley’s footsteps—the number has doubled since last year—can’t afford the transplant surgery, and low cost elective surgery in the US seems non-existent.

Thick eyebrows haven’t been fashionable since the 1980s; but, like most fashion, it just revolves from generation to generation. Unfortunately, years of hair removal have more lasting effects than simply switching to a different type of clothes or shoes. According to hair transplant surgeon Dr Bessam Farjo from the Institute of Trichologists, “Hair transplant surgery is the only way to restore eyebrows permanently and it's also the solution for those who naturally have very fair or sparse brows.”

How Much Does Hair Replacement Surgery Cost?

Part of the neglect for lowering the cost of elective surgery is the stigma that such procedures are only for the wealthy. Questions like, “how much does hair replacement surgery cost,” aren’t likely to cross the minds of America’s working class men or women. They’re more likely to look for a less expensive alternative instead of pressing the health care industry to lower the costs of elective procedures like transplant surgery. Without patient support, it’s difficult to make a case for lowering the cost of elective surgery to make it more affordable.

Medical Vacation Packages Make Fashion More Affordable

Although bushy eyebrows have become more fashionable, popularity alone won’t lower the cost of hair replacement as an elective surgery. In fact, the opposite is usually true. An increase in demand without increasing supply drives the cost upward. Indian hospitals like Wockhardt Hospitals offer low cost elective surgeries to patients around the world, to include the increasingly popular hair replacement surgery. Since patients are typically able to return to work within a few days after the surgery, Americans can raise thicker, fuller eyebrows at India’s sights during the their medical vacation package.