Category Archives: Medical Tourism/Health Tourism

Sri Lanka has begun to attract medical tourists – Industry figure

Posted on January 13, 2013 | Comments Off on Sri Lanka has begun to attract medical tourists – Industry figure

Sri Lanka has begun to attract patients from all over the world with enticing offers of cheaper prices, shorter flights and cutting edge technology, says a newly formed medical tourism firm.

Sanjaya Padmaperuma in the middle

According to Sanjaya Padmaperuma, a Director of Healing Journey, Sri Lanka has gained this advantage, as health travel has gained acceptance as a real solution to the high cost of healthcare in the United States and other parts of the developed world.

“Medical Tourism is the choice a patient makes to travel outside one’s area of residence to obtain medical treatment and health care”, says Padmaperuma.

“For individuals without insurance or those needing medical procedures that insurance may not cover, medical tourism offers an attractive alternative to rising healthcare costs”, he further adds.

According to Healing Journey, medical tourism has been traditionally associated with elective procedures such as cosmetic dental and plastic surgery.

However it says, over the last few years however, non-elective procedures such as knee and hip replacements, cardiac procedures and neurosurgery have been rapidly gaining ground.

The Company states that it works with Sri Lanka’s world-class hospitals to offer international patients the best of medical care.

source: http://www.news360.lk / Home> Featured / January 11th, 2013

Comments Off on Sri Lanka has begun to attract medical tourists – Industry figure

Posted in Medical Tourism/Health Tourism

Norman: Medical tourism becomes more viable as standards improve

Posted on January 12, 2013 | Comments Off on Norman: Medical tourism becomes more viable as standards improve

The word tourism may conjure up visions of visiting romantic foreign cities, lounging on warm beaches and enjoying a relaxing vacation.

What’s not normally in the picture is joint replacement surgery, dental work or a cardiac bypass. But those types of activities are exactly what a specific traveler — the medical tourist — is after.

As health care becomes more expensive in the United States and as the ranks of the uninsured grow, Americans without insurance are looking for more cost-effective ways to get medical care. Companies have sprouted up to act as medical travel agents, hooking you up with physicians and hospitals in other countries in order to get a specific medical procedure.

As an added bonus, you can throw a brief vacation in for the recovery. If you were paying out of pocket for the procedure anyway, you could probably do it all more cheaply than at home.

This may sound risky to some, but many foreign facilities and physicians rival the U.S. for quality and safety. More than a few of us have already made a habit of taking trips to Mexico for dental and cosmetic procedures not covered by insurance, and insurance companies are taking note.

They’re starting to realize that the cost of encouraging medical tourism for their subscribers may be less than paying for procedures here. Self-insured businesses also offer this to employees, with one supermarket chain previously paying for an employee and companion to travel to Singapore for a joint replacement.

Insurers are looking at the costly services they cover and realize that if they can save $5,000 on a procedure with better outcomes and fewer complications, then it makes sense to pay for a plane trip and a short hotel stay in order to use that facility.

So where will this head?

Obviously, it makes sense if there is a price differential for the service. But as in the case of organ transplants, it also makes sense if the outcomes at a preferred location are so good that there are fewer costly complications over time, making upfront costs the same but ongoing costs less. It encourages facilities providing these services to be top-notch and prove it with data, ultimately making the entire system more transparent.

This will trickle down to even lower-cost services as facilities in one state compete with those in others and will improve cost containment and patient outcomes — things which benefit us all.

So how about seeing scenic New Zealand and getting a new hip on the side? It’s more of a reality than you think.

Dr. Ted Norman is an internist with Banner Medical Group and can be reached at edward.

norman@bannerhealth.com.

source: http://www.coloradoan.com /Home> Business / by Ted Norman, On Health Care / January 09th, 2013

Comments Off on Norman: Medical tourism becomes more viable as standards improve

Posted in Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Reports,Features, Statistics

A quick guide to medical tourism

Posted on January 9, 2013 | Comments Off on A quick guide to medical tourism

About 1.6 million Americans will travel overseas this year for medical procedures ranging from facelifts to heart bypass surgeries, according to the Medical Tourism Association (medicaltourismassociation.com). Some go because they don’t have coverage in the United States, or their plans don’t cover certain procedures. Others, including celebrities such as the late Steve Jobs and Farrah Fawcett, traveled abroad to get access to treatments that did not exist in the states. Lower costs and high-quality care in other countries can make such trips tempting. But medical standards vary widely around the world, and decisions on surgery should not be made on cost alone. Estimated prices are from the Medical Tourism Association unless otherwise mentioned, and include only the cost of surgery. Bloomberg

Heart bypass surgery

If you need a heart bypass and can’t afford domestic prices, Jonathan Edelheit, CEO of the Medical Tourism Association, says India offers high-quality cardiology care and has many U.S.-trained doctors. He says many Americans go to the Wockhardt Hospitals throughout India. The Apollo Hospitals, which also have branches in various cities in India, are popular and are accredited by the Joint Commission International, the international arm of the Joint Commission, which accredits U.S. hospitals.

Cost of surgery

$144,000: United States

$5,200: India

Cost Closer to home

$25,000: Costa Rica

Gastric bypass

The surgery has helped the likes of Al Roker, above, lose more than 100 pounds. Not all U.S. insurance companies cover such surgeries, so if you’re a good candidate for the procedure, one avenue to explore is Mexico. One option: Hospital Galenia in Cancun, which is approved by the Joint Commission International.

Cost of surgery

$32,972: United States

$10,950: Mexico

Cost Closer to home

$12,500: Costa Rica

Orthopedic surgeries

Celebrities such as Regis Philbin and Jane Fonda, above, have had hip replacements in the United States. But Israel is a popular overseas destination. The cost is about half while the care is considered high quality.

Cost of surgery

$50,000: United States

$25,000: Israel

Cost Closer to home

$12,500: Costa Rica

Dental implants

The cost of getting your teeth as white as Vice President Joe Biden’s, above, may justify a trip to Europe. According to Deepak Datta, president of Medical Tourism Corp., Hungary has become a top destination because oral surgeons there are highly skilled.

Cost for one implant

$2,800: United States

$1,035: Hungary (Fedasz Dental Clinic, Budapest)

Cost Closer to home

$1,800: Mexico

Plastic surgery

Costa Rica, Colombia and Brazil offer prices as much as 70 percent cheaper than in the United States. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has certified about 1,900 surgeons in 90 countries who meet its standards. One possible location for cosmetic care: Hospital Universitario Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota, in Colombia.

Cost of Facelift

$15,000: United States

$5,000: Colombia

Cost of Breast implants

$10,000: U.S.

$2,500: Colombia

In vitro fertilization

Rarely covered by medical insurance in the United States, Israel beckons. According to IsraMedica’s Katz, Israel’s success rate is 36 percent, compared with as high as 20 percent in other countries. Plus, the cost is about 70 percent less than in the states. One of the busiest clinics in the world is JCI-approved Assuta Hospital in Tel Aviv.

Cost of one cycle

$12,400: United States

$6,000: Israel (IsraMedica)

$5,000: Panama (Passport Medical)

Cost Closer to home

$3,950: Mexico

Spinal fusion

Traveling to India for spinal surgery sounds painful in and of itself. Once you get there, though, you’ll find experts for problems of the spine such as broken vertebrae, spinal deformity and lower back pain. The Wockhardt Brain and Spine Hospital in Mumbai is one option to consider.

Cost of surgery

$100,000: United States

$6,500: India

Cost Closer to home

$11,500: Costa Rica

Lasik eye surgery

While Canada used to be a popular destination for Lasik, the price difference is no longer that great. In Prague, the Lexum Eye Clinic uses equipment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Many surgeons were trained in the United States. The cost is about half of that in the states.

Cost of surgery (both eyes)

$4,400: United States

$2,360: Czech Republic (Market Scope)

Cost Closer to home

$1,995: Mexico

See the complete Bloomberg report at tinyurl.com/cv3khjn.

source: http://www.tampabay.com / Tampa Bay Times / Home> News> Bloomberg / Monday, January 07th, 2013

Comments Off on A quick guide to medical tourism

Posted in Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Others, Reports,Features, Statistics, Top Tips (all)

‘Gurgaon emerging as medical tourism hub’

Posted on January 8, 2013 | Comments Off on ‘Gurgaon emerging as medical tourism hub’

Haryana health minister Rao Narender Singh said on Sunday that Gurgaon is emerging as a destination for medical tourism. Patients not only from various parts of India come here for treatment, a large number of patients from abroad also avail the facilities, he said at the inauguration of Modern Diagnostic & Research Centre in sector 44.

He said the state government has taken concrete steps to overcome the shortage of doctors in government hospitals. Now, the general hospitals have medical specialists and almost all the posts have been filled up.

At the same time, Rao Narender Singh underlined the steps taken in direction of medical education and said that since formation of Haryana till 2005 when Congress government came to power, there was only one government medical college in Rohtak. Now four more Medical colleges are being set up. Out of these, one at Khanpur Kalan in district Sonepat is solely for girls, which has hundred seats. This is a great step in direction of improving women education, he asserted.

He said that Haryana government started Pentavallent Vaccine recently to help save children from five deadly diseases including Tetanus, Hepatitus B and Pneumonia. Rao Narender Singh said the general hospital at Gurgaon is the only district hospital with MRI facility.

Similarly, NICU has also been started here for better treatment of the newborns. He said that Haryana is perhaps the only state where free medicines are given to all the patients in OPD.

Dr D S Yadav, a radiologist and managing director of Modern Diagnostic lab apprised the minister and others present that it is the second modern diagnostic lab in Gurgaon. He said a team of 50 specialists has been deputed in the lab.

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> Region / Gurgaon, by Agencies / January 06th, 2013

Comments Off on ‘Gurgaon emerging as medical tourism hub’

Posted in Medical Tourism/Health Tourism

Turkey, Azerbaijan discuss cooperation in medical tourism

Posted on January 8, 2013 | Comments Off on Turkey, Azerbaijan discuss cooperation in medical tourism
Turkish delegation visited the tourism facilities.

A delegation of representatives of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism held talks in Baku with their Azerbaijani counterparts regarding the development of medical tourism.

According to Turkish media, during the visit to Azerbaijan, the Turkish delegation visited the tourism facilities, the Shahdag winter and summer tourism complex and also familiarized with other touristic places of interest in the country.

The sides exchanged experience in development of medical tourism.

The Turkish delegation stressed a great potential for development of medical tourism in Azerbaijan and expressed readiness to assist the development of various kinds of tourism in the country as well as the development and implementation of joint programs and plans in this direction.

News.Az

source: http://www.news.az / Monday, January 07th, 2013

Comments Off on Turkey, Azerbaijan discuss cooperation in medical tourism

Posted in Medical Tourism/Health Tourism