Natalie Achamallah, Jessica Nishiguchi, Shahriar Reza Rajaee, Maya Srinivasan and Dr. Julia Borovay University of Southern California Medical tourism, the practice of traveling across international borders for health care, is a rapidly rising phenomenon with serious ethical and economic ramifications for developing nations. Currently, medical tourism is an important industry in developing countries such as India, Malaysia, and Thailand, which provide first-rate medical care, including surgery, cosmetic procedures, and reproductive services, at third-world prices. While medical tourism is an attractive alternative for cost-concerned patients willing to travel, it is clear that the long-term negative impact in developing countries will be substantial. The potential negative effects of medical tourism are twofold: (1) deteriorating access to health care in developing countries, and (2) ethical concerns. Accommodating the rising number of foreign patients limits access to health care for native populations, as medical professionals may be diverted to serving wealthier foreign patients. Another concern is the potential consequences of the illegal marketing of organs and tissues. As interest in medical tourism increases, it is imperative that patients, physicians, and healthcare workers alike weigh the socioeconomic and ethical costs of globalization in order to anticipate the potential impact of medical tourism.
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