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Global Health Care |
By:
Frank Abbott |
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Global Health Care
Frank Abbott
Medical Tourism refers to a growing market of people who are seeking health care procedures abroad. Medical tourism has grown increasingly over the years due the rapidly increasing costs of health care and long waiting periods to receive much needed procedures. The term "Global Health Care" has recently been coined to replace "Medical Tourism", a phrase initially brought about by travel agencies and the mass media.
There are a variety of elective as well complex and specialized procedures are sought abroad. Some of these procedures sought include joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental and cosmetic surgeries. In some cases, patients will combine the surgery and subsequent recuperation time with a vacation.
The idea of medical tourism is not new to medicine. People have been doing it for centuries to receive the care they feel they need. Thousands of years ago, Greek pilgrims traveled to a territory called Epidauria. This place was said to be a sanctuary of the healing god Asklepios . It was reported that people slept and in the morning reported their dreams to a priest. The priest would then prescribe a cure which usually included a visit to a bath or gymnasium.
There are many reasons why the popularity of medical tourism has increased. The high cost of health care and the long waiting times for certain procedures are on the top of the list. Tourists from countries that have public health care systems have considerable wait times for certain procedures. If the procedure is deemed "non-urgent" there can sometimes be a waiting period of more than a year. In Canada, for example, there were over three quarters of a million people reported to have been waiting for a particular "non-urgent" procedure.
One of the most popular places to receive high quality and reasonably priced health care is in Thailand. In 2005, one hospital reported to have provided treatment for 150,000 patients from abroad. Another draw to Thailand is that it offers a variety of procedures from organ transplants to cosmetic surgery. Thai medicine also provides a more personalized level of nursing care than most westerners are used to in their home country.
Cost is another important factor. One patient who traveled to Thailand for care received a coronary artery bypass surgery at one the country's leading hospitals. The operation cost him $12,000 as opposed to $100,000 if he had opted to have the surgery in his home country.
Medical tourism is a multi-billion dollar business. To meet the increasing demand, there are now "agencies" to connect the patient to the right country for the procedure s/he would like to have done.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article69377.html |
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