Medical Tourism:

Medical tourism is defined as a patient movement from highly developed nations to less developed areas of the world for medical care by bypassing services offered in their own communities.

Spa Towns and Sanitariums may be considered an early form of medical tourism. In eighteenth century England, for example, patients visited spas because they were places with supposedly health-giving minereal waters, treating diseases from gout to liver disorders and bronchitis

Factors that have led to the increasing popularity of medical travel include the high cost of health care, long wait times for certain procedures, the ease and affordability of international travel, and improvements in both technology and standards of care in many countries

For example a liver transplant that costs $300,000 USD in America costs about $91,000 USD in Taiwan.

An estimated 750,000 Americans went abroad for health care in 2007, and the report estimated that a million and a half would seek health care outside the US in 2008. The growth in medical tourism has the potential to cost US health care providers billions of dollars in lost revenue

In 2010:

• Around 60,000 UK patients travelled abroad in total. The breakdown was something like this:
• 25,000 cosmetic surgery patients (41%) o 19,000 dental patients (32%)
• 5,300 for obesity surgery (9%)
• 2,700 infertility treatment. (4.5%)

2010: 63,000 outbound: UK

2010: 52,000 inbound: UK

The worldwide recession has impacted on both inbound and outbound medical travel. Although there is economic pressure on UK patients to minimise their expenditure on discretionary healthcare (e.g. dentistry and cosmetic surgery), this has not driven a greater proportion to seek low cost treatment abroad. People have been delaying treatment whether it is in the UK or overseas. . Dental tourism providers in Europe who service UK patients report that patient numbers dropped by around 30% in 2009/10. 

                    

Factors that will encourage growth in medical tourism worldwide:

• The pressure on healthcare resources in developed countries as a result of the global recession and bailing out of failing banks. For example, in the UK, public sector net debt, expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was at a high of 60.1 per cent at the end of April 2011. Following significant investment on the NHS in recent years, public sector spending will have to fall and the NHS will bear the brunt of this.  
• The pressure on healthcare resources in developed countries as a result of demographic changes. People live longer....they will need more healthcare. And the state will not be able to fund this.
• The improved quality of care in other countries. Other countries are catching up with the developed countries in terms of quality of care and access to medical technology.
• Doctor mobility. Doctors are much more flexible in where they work. 
• Insurance products that provide low cost insurance based on treatment abroad will appear in the developed countries. 

Cosmetic surgery

• Cosmetic surgery is becoming "acceptable". The number of UK operations grew last year by 30%. TV/media have popularised the "makeover".
• Overseas prices make cosmetic surgery affordable for lower income groups.
• Some people want to have cosmetic surgery and keep it secret. They go abroad, have surgery, then take a holiday before they come back.

Dentistry

• Reduction in "free" NHS dentistry.
• High prices for private dentistry.
• Increasing popularity of cosmetic dentistry.

A. Garcha

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