Medical tourism is a new concept in global healthcare
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Medical tourism is one of the fastest growing industries and appeals to people who are serious about their health. Patients all over the world look for better treatment in other countries, sometimes combining a thorough healthcare service and a nice vacation. Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Israel, the USA, and Canada are the leaders in top-quality healthcare services.
Content
- Types of medical travel
- Goals of medical travel
- Benefits of medical travel
- Choice of hospital for treatment
Types of medical travel
There is a difference between the three basic categories of medical travel. It is based on determining the patient’s main goal for seeking treatment abroad:
- Wellness tourism includes health replenishment tours, such as detox and spa procedures aimed at restoring and reviving one’s health, thus increasing immunity.
- Diagnostic tourism includes the examination of a patient using laboratory and instrumental methods in order to establish an accurate diagnosis and assessment of the clinical course of the disease.
- Treatment tourism presupposes therapy and rehabilitation.
The world has become closer, globalization has made it possible for people to move between countries in favor of a different kind of experience or service. Hence, the number of people who travel to other countries to receive healthcare services is growing annually.
Medical tourism in figures:
- 85% of patients look for treatment abroad because they want to get better healthcare;
- 27% of medical tourists have previously been treated abroad at least once;
- 36% of patients use the services of companies that arrange treatment abroad;
- $7,000-$14,000 is spent on average per medical tourist trip;
- 45-65 years old is the most common age group of people who go abroad for treatment;
- 30 million people a year are treated or recover outside their home country.
Goals of medical travel
Countries that receive the largest number of tourists from all over the world have one or more of the following benefits:
- availability of special climate conditions (therapeutic mud, thermal springs, etc.);
- possibility of conducting operations or medical manipulations at lower prices;
- possibility of providing high-tech healthcare services that are inaccessible in other states.
Use of the latest technologies, which are often inaccessible in domestic hospitals, is among the main reasons for people using medical tourism.
The latest technologies include:
- PET/CT and MRI;
- Proton therapy;
- Device radiosurgery (cyber-knife and gamma-knife);
- Immunocellular therapy and many others.
The use of these techniques makes it possible to carry out qualitative treatment that will significantly increase a patient’s life expectancy or completely cure a dreaded disease.
Other causes that motivate patients to go abroad for treatment are:
- saving funds;
- need for procedures unavailable at home (abortion, surrogate motherhood, sex change, etc.);
- wish to combine treatment with a vacation;
- need to reduce waiting time for medical help;
- treatment of rare diseases.
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Benefits of medical travel
Depending on the country that you travel to, treatment abroad can be a safer option, due to high-quality and timely healthcare. Some countries offer the very best foreign experts, professionals in their field, at your service. The medical staff will provide you with round-the-clock care, support and attention, and all that is necessary for a quick recovery and rehabilitation.
The latest methods of treatment, as well as ideal medication, which often cannot be found in the domestic market, are some of the significant advantages of foreign healthcare systems.
You can easily combine business with pleasure upon embarking on medical travel: in addition to pursuing health and wellness, you can also turn your trip into an unforgettable vacation abroad. Favorable climatic and social conditions add to the comfort and excellent service of foreign hospitals, making it easier to recover!
These are the most popular directions of medical tourism:
- Oncology (Israel, Germany);
- Cardiology and cardiac surgery (Germany, Israel);
- Plastic surgery (the USA, Thailand, South Korea);
- Dentistry (Czech Republic, Poland);
- Gynaecology (Israel);
- Orthopaedics (Germany, Switzerland);
- Spa and detox tourism (Hungary, India, Thailand, France, Maldives);
- Ophthalmology (Germany, South Korea, Poland).
Treatment abroad gives hope for recovery to thousands of patients from all over the world! Reliability and the quality of foreign hospitals and doctors’ professionalism attracts many patients with life threatening diseases.
Medical tourism has given rise to a new concept of world healthcare. A tourist chooses a country, a doctor, and a clinic where he can be offered the best treatment and diagnostics if he/she is unable to solve such health problems at home.
Choice of hospital for treatment
Lots of patients wish to undergo treatment programmes abroad, however they are often afraid of many organizational issues. How do I choose a hospital? How do I talk to the management of a medical institution about the course of therapy? How do I get an invitation from the head physician and apply for a visa? How do I avoid overpaying for treatment? How do I communicate with medical specialists without knowing the language?
All these and many other problems are easily solved with the help of a medical reservation service abroad, called Booking Health.
The site contains:
- more than 250 hospitals;
- more than 700,000 therapeutic programmes.
Using our assistance or on your own, you will find the most suitable hospital with our company. All the prices you see on our website are up-to-date and factual. You can choose a treatment programme at a cost that is suitable for you.
The Booking Health company will help you to arrange treatment abroad as we offer:
- help in obtaining a visa;
- help in your selection of a hospital and in optimizing the medical programme for you;
- insurance against unforeseen medical expenses for up to €200,000;
- the possibility of booking hotels in Germany, as well as the flight tickets;
- transfer from the airport to the clinic;
- interpreter for oral and written translations.
Choose treatment abroad and you will most likely be satisfied with the result, investing wisely in your health for the years to come! The Booking Health company will help you to save up to 70% on the total cost of the therapeutic course.
Choose treatment abroad and you will for sure get the best results!
Authors:
The article was edited by medical experts, board certified doctors Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova and Dr. Sergey Pashchenko. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!
Sources:
IMTJ – International Medical Travel Journal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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