Medical Tourism: Beaches and Buttocks
People travel for many reason.
They travel to see the ocean, to meet people or to shop…
and now they’re shopping for a new nose or bigger breasts all while seeing the sights.
Medical tourism is the latest trend in the search for the perfect body or a money saving medical procedure like replacing a hip or getting your teeth straight.
Or for costly medical procedures for the uninsured and unde-rinsured
Some studies say the cost of surgery in India, Thailand and South Africa can be one-tenth of what it is in the United States and Western Europe. Sometimes even less.
A heart-valve replacement, for example, that costs $200,000 or more in the U.S. goes for $10,000 in India…and that includes round-trip airfare.
Talk about a deal.
A knee replacement in Thailand with six days of physical therapy costs roughly one-fifth of what it would in the States.
Global Health care is the new term, and while saving money is one reason why people travel to far away places for medical procedures, it’s certainly not the only reason.
There are shorter waits, and the chance to spend a relaxing week on the beach, see the sights and recuperate while living it up in a luxury hotel with friends and family.
In most places the care is as good if not better than at home because the health care workers are trained in the US or Europe.
Take Bangkok’s Bumrundgrad hospital. It has more than 200 U.S board-certified surgeons.
But do your homework! Talk to people who have traveled abroad for treatments and check out the packages and facilities.
Now, what were you saying about lifting your buttocks or replacing that creaky knee?
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