Growth of Medical and Dental Tourism
With increasing numbers of patients from the USA, UK, and Canada seeking less expensive, quality health and dental care, in places such as Bangkok, Thailand, India and South Africa, medical tourism is thriving. Lack of basic healthcare for many, very expensive care for all, and long waiting times are prime reasons. Combined with a tropical vacation package including flights, transfers, and hotels, medical tourism is an attractive option indeed. The existence of medical tourism dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries when wealthy travelers or devoted pilgirms would journey for miles to receive treatments from at reknowned facilities or holy sites. Relatively low-cost air travel has fueled its growth in the 21st century.
In addition to promoting medical and dental tourism, India’s Apollo Hospital Enterprises, which has provided cheap healthcare and affordable dental care to 60,000 such patients in the last three years, is aggressively promoting medical out-sourcing. Bangkok is gaining fame for cheap healthcare and affordable dental care through aggressive marketing and an effort to recognize patients’ cultural and religious requirements. Lack of basic insurance facilities for dental care in expensive countries is another incentive for India, Thailand, and Hungary to provide attractive dental tourism deals.
Advantages of Medical and Dental Tourism
In spite of problems such as the unavailability of cashless medical insurance for medical tourism, difficulty in postoperative follow-up, weak malpractice laws, and the inaccessibility of cheap healthcare practitioners for local patients, the advantages are prompting people to make the trip. According to Aruna Thurairajan of Calgary, patients in pain do not hesitate to spend, irrespective of where in the world they need to go in order to be treated. Also, insurance players in some countries reimburse the entire cost of surgery abroad.
Source: “Medical tourism: Need surgery, will travel”, CBC News Online, 06.18.2004.
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