Question

Perform an Internet search and use textbook information on medical tourism. Locate two countries that offer lower-cost surgeries. Write a report and submit to the class.

Answer 1

Medical tourism is not a new concept as it has been present for few decades. It is 'travel to obtain health care'. It generally refers travelling to other countries. Previously people used to travel from the developing, underdeveloped nations to the developed nations for the sake of better healthcare infrastructure and better quality care. But nowadays this scenario got reversed due to the underdeveloped and developing countries catching up to the developed nations in terms of providing quality healthcare. They are able to do this much more efficiently and provide the same level of care if not better for a fraction of what it would cost in the developed nation. This is encouraging many patients from developed nations to visit the developing and underdeveloped nations to obtain health care. India, Mexico and Thailand are some of the countries which are providing healthcare to the citizens of developed nations in the name of medical tourism.

Cost is not the only factor which are motivating people to go abroad for healthcare. There are other factors like time duration and uavailability of certain procedures in their home country. In counties like USA and UK people will have to register months in advance to get surgeries like cataract or bypass. This could lead to stress and frustration in the patients and the family. The same procedures are done almost instantly without any waiting period in counties like India. Transplant tourism is another subset of this. Here people travel abroad to get transplant for damaged organs. The system in USA places patient in a transplant list and will have to wait for the chance to get the organ. This could take months to even years. There is no guarantee that patient will survive till then. But in the developed nations the organ availability is the only limiting factor and it's mostly on first come, first serve basis. But the dark side to this is the popping up of organ trafficking rackets in those counties who illegally obtain organs from the illiterate and poor people without their knowledge to meet demand from medical tourists in the black market. This is a growing concern in many developing nations. Also many private hospitals favour towards treating foreign nationals cause they are willing to pay more. This could increase costs for medical care in those counties due to increase in demand and this also could increase completion for locals to obtain health care. There is no international body which monitors this medical tourism nor are there any set guidelines. Even though every country has its own medical board, they have no influence over what is practiced in other counties. Some of other concerns in developed nations are infections from patients who underwent surgical procedures abroad as there is no guarantee regarding the level of hygiene practiced. There are many views and arguments regarding this medical tourism where some even suggest having an international medical body to govern these. But that also poses its own set of challenges.

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