“
One can say that the concept of medical travel is as old as medicine itself
”
DESTINATION JORDAN
the others. This is proof that medical tourism is fast evolving into a known industry and a trusted trend in healthcare. Today, there is an entire team of experts who coordinate the requirements of the medical tourists,right from their arrival - stay, food and logistics – and all the tourists need to do is reach the destination and undergo the medical processes without any hassle or delay. They also do not need to worry about appointments and waiting time for checks/ surgical requirements. So, why shouldn’t one resort to flying to another destination for major surgery if the whole process is seamless, relaxed, plus having the option to explore the destination – and importantly, cheaper on the wallet? Let me emphasize this through an example: The cost of total hip replacement costs about US$50,000 in the States, while a similar procedure is performed at US$10,000-15,000 in India or Thailand. Moreover, the current waiting time for this procedure ranges from six to 18 months in the U.S. while on the other hand medical tourists can book this procedure overnight with a highly competent doctor at a medical tourism destination like Thailand and India. The increasing price factor has also made
healthcare providers in the US and Canada check this important cause of patients and insurance providers preferring more overseas destinations than local. Overall, medical tourism has led U.S. healthcare providers to reduce their costs and provide better healthcare services in their own country. There are now many more competitor
countries, hospitals and agencies than there were five years ago. Trading on low prices only, or expecting customers to pay a premium to come visiting for healthcare needs are now defunct strategies. People want high quality but a good price too. Medical tourism has to first persuade people to travel, and only then persuade them where to go. Hospitals just promoting their brand, totally misunderstand how sales and marketing work. Having said this, the medical costs and expenditures continue to rise as the medical tourism industry has seen double- digit growth over the years. The hotspots in medical tourism – be it India, Malaysia, Thailand or the Middle Eastern countries – have all seen a steep rise in healthcare costs in the last five years, as they have found that medical tourism is a panacea for their burgeoning budgets.
“
Medical tourism is fast evolving into a known industry and a trusted trend in healthcare
”
ARAB HEALTH SERVICES DIRECTORY 2012
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