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

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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

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

Wellness Tourism Worldwide Announces Top 10 Wellness Travel Trends for 2013

Posted on January 10, 2013 | Comments Off on Wellness Tourism Worldwide Announces Top 10 Wellness Travel Trends for 2013

Wellness Tourism Worldwide announces its 2013 forecast of wellness travel trends. Each trend bears relevance to today’s consumer, focusing upon new wellness designs, programs and service levels in air transit, hotel accommodations and destinations.

Wellness Tourism Worldwide announces its 2013 forecast of wellness travel trends. Each trend bears relevance to today’s consumer, focusing upon new wellness designs, programs and service levels in air transit, hotel accommodations and destinations.

Camille Hoheb, wellness travel industry expert and founder of Wellness Tourism Worldwide noted, “Health opens the door to a whole new world.” She added, “We’re looking at wellness domains that contribute to better traveler experiences.  We think this forecast will encourage individuals and industries to expand their perceptions on wellness and improve quality of life.”

The forecast is based on an analysis of factors including consumer and B2B surveys, site visits, feedback from travel suppliers, destinations and sellers as well as extensive research, all of which have been consolidated to bring practical knowledge to both individuals and businesses.

Snapshot: Top 10 Wellness Travel Trends for 2013 (descriptions below)

·      Wellness Takes Flight

·      Health-Focused Hotels

·      Digital Detox

·      Reconnecting through Nature

·      Sleep at the Forefront

·      Spiritual Seekers

·      Indigenous Healing Experiences

·      Rewarding with Wellness Travel

·      Celebrity Instructor Retreats

·      Intergenerational Family Holiday

Wellness Takes Flight

To draw more passengers and increase revenue, airports renovations are featuring sleek ultramodern designs incorporating natural light, art installations, high-end dining and shopping venues as well as a plethora of health and fitness offerings. A wide range of offerings from the ubiquitous spa to swimming pools, gardens, walking paths, private napping cabins and cultural centers are all designed to create a kind an atmosphere of “terminal bliss”.

Health Focused Hotels

Hotels have realized there’s an unmet need for guests to maintain health during travel that goes beyond gyms, pools and spas. Now hotel rooms are designed to alleviate altitude sickness, reduce jet lag, induce better sleep, eliminate bacteria, waterborne chemicals and allergens and purify and humidify the air. Vitamin C-infused showers, dawn simulating alarm clocks and melatonin-producing lighting are other notable features. Guest can access in-room fitness equipment and healthy lifestyle education as well as take-home tips, programs and wellness apps.

Digital Detox
The World Travel Market Global Trends Report listed digital detox as one of the next big trends to hit the hospitality industry in 2013. A survey showed that 80% of smartphone users in the US almost never leave their home without their device. Surrendering laptops, tablets and smartphones at check-in are a part of several hotel “Un-plug” programs. Some destinations are also creating technology free vacation campaigns as a way to market their rustic settings.

Reconnecting Through Nature
Natural assets are the most critical component to wellness tourism product development. Destinations are beginning to fully leverage their landscape in response for the human need to explore and relax outdoors. “Deprivation holidays” – coined by Euromonitor  – is a growing trend where stressed out folks choose outdoor boot camp to improve fitness and induce weight loss by pushing to the extreme.

Sleep at the Forefront Too tired to function, unable to rest? Lack of sleep impacts immune, brain and metabolic systems. With spas, hotels, airplanes and airports, sleep has risen from the ignored to the significant.  Micro naps in urban spas create a respite from the frantic pace of cities. Private napping cabins offer respite for weary inter continental travelers.  Hotel designs have evolved to combat jet lag and to help both business and leisure travelers sleep well and prepare for the day ahead. Airlines are catching on, with redesigned planes for peaceful sleep providing well-appointed linens on a full size bed and turn down service in first class private cabins.

Spiritual Seekers
The interest in non-religious spiritual practices is growing around the world. An increasingly secular global society seeking meaning and purpose opens the doors to spiritual pilgrimages, retreats, temple stays and workshops. Asia, as the place of origin for mind/body lifestyles, practices and treatments is the home of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, various forms of meditation, yoga and other approaches to healing and wellness.  An economic powerhouse, Asia has the resources to continue building its tourism platform and exceed traveler expectations.

Indigenous Healing Traditions
As the world has become more globalized, many spa brands have gone the way of Starbucks  –predictable. Placing a spot light on authentic healing traditions is important on several levels. Exporting a region’s traditional healing practices gives consumers the opportunity to experience them first-hand at their place of origin. Travelers seeking health and healing traditions at their place of origin contributes to cultural conservation and sustainability, in some cases stimulating economic growth and breathing new life into long forgotten, ancient or undervalued rituals.

Rewarding Wellness Travel
In light of the economic downturn, companies seek peak performance and maximal efficiency.  Meeting planners are seeking destinations that align with corporate initiatives for maximum ROI. What better way than to coordinate transformative experiences for both the individual and business organization sponsoring the meeting?  Most U.S. companies plan to increase the dollar value of the incentives they offer employees to participate in health improvement programs in 2012, according to a recent employer survey.

Celebrity Instructor Retreats
Wellness travel has taken off as a way to jumpstart a new health regimen or to deepen one’s practice of a healthy lifestyle. Studies show that sometimes the most transformative experiences occur far away from home. Yoga, Pilates, meditation and fitness gurus have been elevated to rock stars with their own following and are taking their expertise on the road at exotic locations, regional weekend workshops.  Spa destinations and resorts have been offering specialized, themed getaways for awhile but now instructors have realized their own cache and are cashing in.

Intergenerational Family Travel
It seems everyone agrees that multi-generational family travel is a hot trend that has been growing the last few years including Virtuoso, VacationWired, TravelMole, American Express, U.S. Travel Association, ASTA and others. Grandparents are connecting with grandchildren in a distinct way — by traveling. Grandparents are more active and fit, and have sympathy for their own grown children, who often are required to have two working adults to pay the bills. Vacations create memories and are taking their family relations from cyberspace to real space. The travel industry has designed programs to bring families together to learn, love and play. What could be more “well”?

For a free download of the “Top 10 Wellness Travel Trends for 2013” go to www.wellnesstourismworldwide.com

source: http://www.prlog.org / Home> Latest News / January 09th, 2013

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Posted in Others, Reports,Features, Statistics, Wellness Tourism

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

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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

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