Low Priced Colonoscopy: Bargain or Hoax?

Bargain Savvy Patients Still Want Safe Health Care

Sure you can get a low priced colonoscopy in Thailand, but is that health vacation going to ensure your safety?  Will you travel thousands of miles only to have some quack cutting into your body or exploring your insides?  When considering medical procedures, most people can appreciate reassurance that everything will go as planned.  Thanks in part to the tremendous growth of medical tourism, investors too want safety for financially backing health care treatment abroad.

Continued Industry Growth May Ensure Safety of Health Care

For some countries, medical tourism and health vacations are their cash cows.  In Thailand’s case, medical tourism played a major role in reviving its economy after the Thai currency failed in 1997.  In 2007, 750,000 medical tourists left the US for medical treatment in Thailand and other participating countries.  The US joins Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and a host of others in contributing to the multi-billion dollar industry.  Experts anticipate the number of US medical tourists growing to 6 million or more by 2010.  Clearly the numbers are speaking.  One of the things they’re saying is:  It’s in the best interest of medical tourism destination countries to keep patients happy, and more important, to keep them safe in their pursuits of affordable health care.

Is My Health Vacation Safe?

The answer to the question “is a low priced colonoscopy a bargain or hoax” primarily depends on where you get treatment.  Certainly “too good to be true” applies to medical care like anything else.  If you aren’t thoroughly researching the hospitals you’re considering, you’re wrong; starting your research now may keep you from being dead wrong.  When considering medical treatment stateside, no matter how low it’s priced, you wouldn’t walk into someone’s apartment for a colonoscopy.  That’s a hasty comparison, but the point is that you should pay close attention to the offer you accept and carefully explore the medical facility and staff.  The industry has accrediting bodies to hold participating hospitals and their doctors accountable and to reassure patients that their health vacation will be as safe as having the procedure at home.