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MEDICAL
tourism is on the upswing and is predicted to be a
growth industry in the years to come. It is already a
big business and is certain to get bigger, according to
international health experts.
“Medical
tourism is growing and diversifying,” said Mireille
Kingma of the International Council of Nurses. “Its
introduction influences aspects far beyond health care,
including the national economy, education, regulation,
access to and quality of public- sector services,
insurance companies’ sustainability, the tourism
industry and people’s expectations.”
There is
no universally accepted definition for “medical
tourism,” but the phrase is generally used to describe
the phenomenon of citizens of one country traveling to
another country for medical services.
It’s a
global competition
In 2006
the medical tourism industry grossed about $60 billion
worldwide, Kingma said. Most American and European
medical tourists seek treatment in developing countries
such as Brazil, Cuba, India, Singapore, Thailand,
Malaysia and the Philippines, among others.
It is
estimated that the Asian market alone for medical
tourism will grow to more than $4.4 billion by 2012.
In 2005
more than 250,000 foreign patients sought care in
Singapore alone, and 500,000 traveled to India for
medical care. Thailand treated as many as 1 million
foreign patients.
An
estimated 100,000 foreigners also sought treatment in
the Philippines.
The
industry will be particularly attractive in the United
States, where an estimated 43 million people are without
health insurance and 120 million without dental
coverage. This is also true for patients in the West
with long waiting lists for major surgery, Kingma said.
“Access
and cost have been the major factors for these medical
tourists. These patients are seeking high-quality
medical care at affordable prices,” she said.
The cost
savings for patients seeking medical care abroad can be
significant. For example, the cost of surgery in India,
Thailand or the Philippines can be one-tenth of what it
is in the United States or Europe.
A knee
replacement that would cost $30,000 or more in the US
goes for $18,000 in Singapore and that includes
roundtrip airfare and a brief vacation package. A
cosmetic surgery, nose reconstruction, for example,
would cost $4,500 in the US runs to about $850 in
India.
In the
Philippines a coronary artery bypass graft would only
cost $10,000, about half or less of the typical cost in
the US.
A
booming business with a caution
While an
improvement in access and quality is possible due to
attempts to better meet the needs and wants of Western
patients, a decrease in both is also possible if
resources are diverted for these foreign patients rather
than the citizens of the country providing the care,
according to Dr. Jason Yap, director of Healthcare
Services of the Singapore Tourism Board.
“It’s a
booming business. But the real danger is that doctors
are enticed away from public hospitals, prices escalate,
patients are segregated and public health-care systems
become strained,” Yap said, adding that the receiving
countries risk hurting their own population and
eventually their medical visitors.
As
medical tourism is a burgeoning industry, health experts
said that it also needs to be monitored and evaluated as
a social phenomenon, as well as studied in terms of
impact on the accessibility, quality of care and local
labor conditions. |
