Medical Tourism: A Rapidly Growing Trend For Affordable Healthcare

Author : Vedant B | Published On : 19 Apr 2024

Cost savings is one of the major driving factors for medical tourism. Many medical procedures in countries like India, Thailand and Malaysia cost a fraction of what the same would cost in countries like the United States or the United Kingdom. For example, the cost of a hip replacement surgery in the US is around $40,000 on an average whereas the same surgery in India would cost less than $10,000 including the airfare and accommodation cost of the patient. Even after adding travel and living expenses, the total cost is much lower compared to home country costs.

The wait time for many elective surgical procedures in countries with socialized public healthcare systems is very long, sometimes stretching to months or years. However, in this Medical Tourism destinations the wait time could be as low as a few days as private healthcare is more developed. This allows patients to get treated faster rather than waiting endlessly on long queues in home country public hospitals.

Countries like Thailand, Singapore and India have built a very strong reputation over the years in many medical specialties like orthopedics, cardiology, dentistry, cosmology and alternative medicine therapies like ayurveda and yoga. The technical skills and outcome success rates of doctors for major areas like hip replacement, angioplasty, spinal surgeries are often found to be on par with international standards. This boosts patient confidence for medical tourism.

A variety of treatment packages

Medical tourism facilitators and hospitals in countries like India offer attractive travel and treatment packages covering everything from consultation to surgery, accommodation, local transport, meals, follow up checkups along with pre and post surgery care for flat discounted rates. These consolidated packages give patients a clearer cost estimate in advance. The concept of medical travel packages has really fueled medical tourism growth.

Accredited and world-class infrastructure

Countries that attract major medical tourism flows like Thailand, Singapore and India have several Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited private hospitals which are considered equivalent to major hospital brands in the United States or the United Kingdom. The infrastructure of major private hospitals is often comparable to global standards with latest medical technology and world-class patient amenities. This addresses concerns around quality of care in many medical tourist destinations. The positive infrastructure perception has helped patients overlook concerns about dirty or underdeveloped healthcare systems often associated with developing countries.

Holistic treatment approach

Many travelers also go to countries like Thailand for complementary or traditional therapies like Thai massage, herbal steam baths or yoga which they believe have calming or therapeutic benefits in addition to core medical treatments received. Some medical tourists seeking cardiac procedures or back surgeries also try out ayurvedic treatments or therapies as part of an overall holistic recovery and wellness experience. This unique treatment blend integrated with leisure is a unique value proposition driving the popularity of certain Asian medical tourism centers.

Catering to growing medical needs of retirees

With a rapidly ageing population, several developed countries will see a rise in the burden of treating chronic lifestyle diseases and age-related disorders among retirees in coming decades. The infrastructure and costs required to provide comprehensive long term care in home countries will escalate tremendously. Medical travel offers an affordable solution to this demographic challenge. Pensioners find it economically pragmatic to travel abroad for procedures like joint replacement, cardiac evaluation or age-management treatments along with incorporating leisure, rather than relying on overburdened public systems back home. This is seen as a long term sustainability driver for these tourism industries internationally.

Accessible destination options

The emergence of affordable flight carriers particularly in Asian markets and growing direct air connectivity between major medical tourist source markets like the Gulf, European and American cities with key Asian destinations has made accessibility much better for medical travelers. In addition, countries like Thailand, Singapore and India have liberalized medical visa regulations making it easy for patients to get appointments, travel, get treated and return without complex documentation hassles which existed earlier. This pro-patient environment helps boost patient confidence levels.

India emerging as a medical tourism powerhouse

Among leading medical tourist destinations, India has grown significantly over the last decade riding on unique advantages. There are many super speciality joint commission accredited private hospitals led by Apollo, Fortis and Kokilaben which provide international standard treatment at considerably lower costs compared to developed countries. The technical skills levels of Indian doctors trained in the West combined with traditional Ayurvedic philosophy have created a unique value proposition. The Indian medical tourism industry is projected to grow at over 15-20% annually to be worth over $9 billion by 2023 creating jobs and economic prosperity.

Popular procedures and future outlook

Cardiology, orthopedics and spine surgeries account for a major share of the medical procedures sought by international patients in leading Asian hubs. Other fast growing areas are fertility treatments, cosmetic surgeries, wellness packages and stem cell therapies. With medical science advancing on fronts like organ transplants, gene therapies and cancer treatment, globally integrated healthcare delivery models would be crucial for affordability and access to all. If developed sustainably with a patient centric approach, this tourism promises to become a key pillar of the service sector economies for many countries. Its future trajectory will depend greatly on innovations shaping both healthcare costs and quality standards worldwide.

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