HealthAbroad.net: Point of View

The number of people traveling from Western Europe to Poland for cheaper medical care is likely to rise by 20 percent per year.

Visitors from Western Europe can get some medical treatments in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary for upto 60 percent of the costs in their own countries. The proliferation of low cost airlines has given an additional impetus to this trend.

With the medical tourism industry estimated to be worth $188 billion by 2013, Philippines is eager to levearage its cost effectiveness for medical surgery along with tourism potential to tap into the pie. A somewhat late entrant into the race, it faces stiff competition from other Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and India who have already stolen a march over it.

Coronary bypass surgery that costs an average of $50,000 in the US, costs between $10,000-25,000 in the Philippines. Lasik eye surgery which costs $3000 in the US comes for $1000 in the Philippines and breast augmentation costs $2000 while the same costs approximately $5,000 in the US.

Although larger hospitals are logging into medical tourism and modernizing their equipment and facilities, Philippines has a fair distance to cover and sort out the structural weaknesses of the health industry. Another problem is the growing flight of well qualified medical professionals to the West and the Middle East. Unless medical professionals see any value for themselves in staying back and having a good quality of life in the Philippines, brain drain will be irreversible and detrimental to the planned growth in medical tourism.  

It’s my birthday today and I’m in negotiations with HealthAbroad.net to send me to Japan so I can get myself a facial. A pure gold facial! 

The facial which places gold leaf on the face to accelerate cell growth in the basal layer of the skin is supposed to rejuvenate the skin and helps remove wrinkles and blemishes. The treatment is available at 30 salons and spas across Japan and a session which lasts between one and two hours costs $170.

After the facial, I plan to go to Tokyo’s Ritz-Carlton for a “diamond-tini”, a cocktail with a hint of lime and chilled Belvedere vodka over a 1.06 carat stone. Only for $3760. Fantastic stuff. Such Luxury. Only in Japan.  

An interview with Dr. Jason Yap on how and why Singapore is promoting medical tourism in a big way. Dr. Yap is the Director of Information Services of the Singapore Medicine section of the Singapore Tourism Board.

A few things to point out from the interview:

• in 2006, more than 400,000 patients came to Singapore with a majority from neighboring South East Asian countries and others from the Middle East, North America and Europe.

• Patients are seeking out Singapore for high end, complex and research driven elective surgeries such as pediatric luekemia, bone marrow transplants, cancer treatments in addition to the usual knee and hip replacements.

• Singapore is marginally more expensive than India but also benefits from having better infrastructure. A knee replacement which costs around $40,000 in the US, costs around $9000 in Singapore and around $6,000 in India.

p.s- Very informative blog as well.

By crossing the border, Texans are cutting medical costs by half.

The presence of well trained doctors, modern facilities, state-of-the-art equipment has meant that regardless of what side of the border one is on, an equivalent quality of medicare is available at a lower cost on the Mexican side. Lasik eye surgery which costs nearly $4000 in Texas, costs $1200 in Monterrey in Mexico. Generally speaking medicare prices are in Mexico are a third of those in the US.

Due to its proximity and low prices, Mexico is among the top destinations for medical tourism among American patients.

Tourists from Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway and England are coming in droves to Croatia’s glittering coast for its pristine beaches and natural beauty but also for dental surgery. Good dental surgeons, competitive prices and better transport links have led to this growth.

While a porcelain tooth crown costs about 500-600 pounds (730-800 euros) in Britain, the same is being offered for 200 euros in Croatia. Breast implants cost around 3000 euros in Croatia while in Italy they cost between 6,000 and 8,000 euros.

The country’s tourist officials have also recognized the immense potential of health tourism, especially during July-August peak travel season “when most of the eight million annual tourists - nearly twice Croatia’s population - visit.”

While dental surgery is highly popular, patients are also coming in for “rhinoplasty or nose jobs, liposuction, breast implants, and a growing number of men seeking face-lifts.”

Croatia is one of the many former eastern European countries which have become the hub for cut price dental surgery. However, there are no official figures on the number of foreigners coming to Croatia for dental services.   

With Western heathcare systems urgently needing to reinvent themselves as medical tourism booms, a German internet start-up is offering e-auctions for medical treatment.

The e-auction site offers a competitive platform for the service seekers and providers.

It is up to the patients to chose an offer from those submitted by the participating doctors. Savings between the original quote received by the patient and the lowest on-line offer is usually around 50%.  

A report published by Doctors for Reform which says that more patients will have to pay a “top up” fees for private care because of budget cuts in the NHS and long waiting time, says BBC online. In essence, if you wish to step out of the que and get half decent service, cough up or keep standing.

The report goes onto say that the idea of a completely free service is a mirage and sets out three key questions

It asks whether the NHS can guarantee a universal service in future, whether doctors inform patients of ‘top-up’ options as part of their general duty of care and how can access to healthcare be made fairer.

With the National Health Service (NHS) in the doldrums, Brits are going abroad in large numbers for medical treatment. New figures put out by a research firm say that overseas trips for cosmetic surgery, operations and post-op relaxation are worth 60 million pounds per year. Furthermore, medical tourism enjoys the largest cut of UK spending on health breaks.

In addition, British holidaymakers splashed out around pounds 25 million last year on going abroad for yoga holidays, holistic healing, health farms beauty treatments and spa visits.

Spending rose to pounds 50 million for similar types of breaks taken within the UK.

According to the report, the entire market for health and wellness holidays, including overseas medical tourism, is set to increase as much as 150% by 2011. Up, up and awwaaaay!!

Nice article in the International Herald Tribune on the mushrooming of low cost and discount airlines across Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. 

Air travel by being made afforadable and accessible has facilitated the movement of people, ideas and money - all pre-requisites for better business and price competitiveness. It has also forced state run and heaviy subsidized airlines to shake off their complacency, compete and offer better services to their customers or perish. Mediocrity has no takers beyond a point.

So where does medical tourism come in? The article starts off with the story of an American author who was in India last year to research for his book on medical tourism and came away with a favourable impression of the low cost airline(s) he used to crisscross the country.  

The airlines industry and medical tourism are inextricably linked. The former moves people - now at much lower costs to consumer than before, from which the latter benefits greatly. It would perhaps be a bit of a stretch to say that the low-cost airlines have spawned the medical tourism industry but they have helped in its growth in no small measure. Read our previous posts about this relationship here.