While medical tourism may seem like a new fad in health care, the practice is actually thousands of years old. Medical tourism was first recorded when Greek pilgrims traveled from all over the Mediterranean to reach the small territory of Epidauria. This territory was the sanctuary of the healing god Asklepios, drawing people seeking a variety of healing and medical procedures.
Now medical tourism is open to anyone willing to travel overseas for medical treatment, and with advances in technology and communications, patients can do all of their research before they leave home. They can even use a physician directory to find and research a doctor.
Do Your Homework and Use a Physician Directory to Find a Qualified Doctor
Choosing a medical tourism destination such as Singapore and booking a complete medical tourism package is a good start to ensuring your safety. However, before you leave home you should also make sure that you use a physician directory to find a doctor who is properly qualified to complete your procedure. Physician directory services can find a doctor in your local area or one overseas where you can have many medical procedures available for a fraction of the price. Using a physician directory you can also find a doctor’s address, phone number, and qualifications. Some directories can even set up meetings or phone calls before your operation.
Singapore Medical Tourism Packages
According to the author of The Complete Medical Tourist, David Hancock, Americans are predicted to help worldwide medical tourism become a $40 billion-a-year industry, by 2010. This is because the US has such a heavily taxed health care system, and so Americans seek more affordable health care by booking a Singapore medical tourism package where they can receive quality health care at a fraction of the cost back home. Singapore is a major medical hub in Asia and has advanced research facilities, numerous hospitals, and two medical centers that have been awarded Joint Commission International accreditation, a world renown hospital accreditation agency. Singapore’s medical tourism packages are attractive to American patients as well as those from neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia because of the high quality affordable health care and the opportunity to holiday in the clean, cosmopolitan city of Singapore.