How Hungary Keeps Your Heart Beating

Does Cheap Health Care Exist?

These days, the phrase cheap health care seems to be an oxymoron.  Reports estimate that nearly 6 million medical tourists will have left the comfort and familiarity of local medical facilities for cheap health care in other countries by 2010.  They travel for affordable dental care (braces/laser teeth whitening), cosmetic surgery (facelift/breast augmentation), and major procedures (spinal fusion/pacemaker installation); procedures for which many would have to choose between accepting massive amounts of debt or forgoing the treatment altogether.  For many US patients struggling to find affordable health care, the idea of paying a third of the price for major procedures like pacemaker installation draws them to medical tourism.  For countries like the UK, where health care is provided by the government, excessive wait times make accessibility the driver for medical tourists seeking treatment abroad. 

 

Hungary Helps Meet Patients’ Needs

Most medical tourists who travel to Hungary go for dental procedures, but the country's affordability also draws patients seeking more complex procedures like pacemaker installation and bypass surgery.  Hungarian hospitals like Jávorszky Ödön Kórházat Hospital use the country's low cost of living and cheap labor costs, technological advances, and globalization to provide cheap, but quality, health care combined with an exotic vacation; all for less than what you’d pay for just the procedure at home. 

 

Are Medical Vacations to Hungary Dangerous?

For a complicated procedure like pacemaker installation, no one should jump at the lowest bidder.  Bargain shopping is one thing, but skimping on quality treatment to save money could prove fatal.  In fact, many believe that the lower priced health care that medical tourism offers is indeed of lower quality.  There exist reports that nearly half of the UK’s medical tourists are less than satisfied with their travels abroad.  Some have experienced serious complications, while others felt their follow-up care was lacking.  Not all of the patients received treatment in Hungary, but there can be tradeoffs for your affordable pacemaker installation, dental cleaning, or cosmetic surgery.  Are these medical vacations to Hungary dangerous?  The answer is based more on how much research you have invested in the hospital you’re visiting than the money you’re paying.  The more homework you do upfront, the greater your chances of having a vacation and medical experience that leaves you healthier and happier.