NEW DELHI, 24 April, 2006 – Medical tourism is a fast-growing industry that exploits the price difference between the West and other parts of the world to provide high-quality yet cheap medical treatment to foreign patients. Still in its infancy, medical tourism is growing 30-40% per year and is expected to generate over 4 billion USD/ year by 2012 in Asia alone.

A new portal on medical tourism, HealthAbroad.net, has been launched with the aim of filling the breach between Western patients and healthcare service providers at the top medical tourism destinations across the world – these include India, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in Asia; Hungary and Lithuania in Eastern Europe; Costa Rica and Cuba in Latin America and South Africa. HealthAbroad.net steps into the existing information vacuum to cater not only to treatment-seekers but also to academics, researchers, media and industry watchers. The website provides a wealth of information on trends and developments in the medical tourism industry which makes it the first stop for anyone connected to or interested in this industry.

HealthAbroad.net provides the user with an extensive and unbiased database of information on hospitals and doctors. The site’s features have been designed keeping in mind the needs of the end-user. For example, in addition to the database of hospitals and doctors, users are also provided detailed explanations of various surgical procedures, and reviews of past experiences with a particular hospital or doctor.

HealthAbroad.net is also unique because it is a participatory knowledge center. A special section on the website called Forums is specifically meant for users to share information and details of treatments and discuss and comment on the quality of their experiences. A first-of-its-kind Blog devoted to tracking trends and developments of this fast-evolving industry also adds to the knowledge-base of this industry.

About HealthAbroad.net

HealthAbroad.net was founded by a group of three individuals with diverse experience in internet business, media and research. In its start-up phase, HealthAbroad.net has benefited from the support of some prominent doctors and service providers of the medical tourism industry. Visit www.HealthAbroad.net for more information.

Contact: Mr. Gaurav Garg, Director, Media Relations, HealthAbroad.net
+91 9818105904
Media@HealthAbroad.net 

Keywords: MEDICAL TOURISM, HEALTH TOURISM, SURGERY ABROAD, CHEAP HEALTHCARE, TRAVEL HEALTH ADVICE, AFFORDABLE MEDICAL TREATMENT