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MEDICAL TOURISM By GERALDINE CHEW & NORZILAWATI MT Would you travel across the globe for a heart bypass if it will only cost you a tenth of the usual US $122,000? The concept of medical tourism started thousands of years ago. People have been traveling across the continents in search of cures for any imaginable illnesses and making therapeutic trips for health wellness. In ancient Greece, pilgrims and patients came from all over the Mediterranean to the sanctuary of the healing god, Asklepios at Epidaurus, and from the 18 th century wealthy Europeans have been traveling to spas from Germany to the Nile. In recent years, medical tourism is becoming more popular with patients seeking treatment for health and well-being purposes abroad. Why Are People Traveling? If you can get your ailing heart cured or get your flat-nose fixed at home, why bother to travel across the globe for medical treatment? Patients seeking treatment abroad are motivated to do so by various reasons. Many are attracted by the low cost factor or they are simply dissatisfied with the existing medical care in their home country. Frustrated by the long waiting times, inadequate medical care and exorbitant medical expenses, many go abroad in search of medical care. The steep medical costs in America have contributed to many Americans flying to other countries in search of cheaper alternatives. According to the Census Bureau, as many as 46.6 million Americans were uninsured in 2005. As these uninsured Americans are not able to afford the costly medical care, many will jump at the opportunity of getting treatment abroad at a fraction of the price at home. 6 DECEMBER 2007 In the UK it is not uncommon to hear patients grumbling from having to wait for as long as six months to get treated by the public health service due to the system being too stretched to cater to everyone. Otherwise they will have to opt for private health services which is very expensive. The Guardian wrote a classic case example on the medical care hiccups in Britain. George Marshall, a violin repairer from Bradford was diagnosed with coronary heart disease. He was told that he could either wait for up to six months for a heart bypass operation on the National Health Service or pay $38,000 to go under the scalpel immediately. He chose to outsource his operation to India instead. He went for an operation at the Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute and paid only $9,763.24 for surgery including travel expenses. Research and studies have shown support on the increasing trend in medical tourism. Dr Arnold Milsein, medical director of the United States based medical group Pacific Business Group, told a U.S. Special Committee on Ageing in 2006 that the typical combined hospital and doctor’s charges for operations in “technologically advanced hospitals in lower-wage countries” such as Thailand were 60 to 85 percent lower than charges in the US hospitals. An independent survey on medical tourism prices in 2006 by European Research Specialists commissioned compiled data from 108 clinics, hospitals and healthcare providers in 30 countries. Research revealed that patients from UK can save up to 80 percent by going overseas for surgery and medical treatment Medical Tourism Takes off the Runway Medical tourism is made possible and has gained popularity due to the advancement in medical technology, more affordable travel and the availability of information provided by the mass media. As medical costs accelerate, patients are finding alternatives for low-cost treatment, and going abroad to get healthy seems very appealing. Lured by the promise of high quality, reliable medical care at a lower cost, patients are flying across the globe for medical treatment that they otherwise would not have access to easily due to prohibitive costs, long waiting time or unavailability of treatment in their home country. The promise of medical care and the attraction of exotic places are taking people places for medical care. First World Treatment at Third World Prices International patients are flocking to Asia for elective and cosmetic procedures, an increasing pool of patients are getting their ailing heart fixed or have hip replaced in countries such as Singapore and India. Choices are also not limited to medicine or western treatment; there are growing interests in alternative medicine providing holistic therapy to patients. Alternative medicine such as
Ayurveda, acupuncture, osteopathy, chiropractic and homeopathy etc. are gaining popularity among medical tourists. Countries such as China and India are promoting alternative medicine to international patients searching for holistic cures. Hospitals in Asia are carving out an outstanding reputation for themselves, drawing overseas patients with top-notch doctors, low cost, high-tech equipments and high quality patient care. Countries such as Thailand, Singapore, India, Philippines, South Korea and Malaysia see a combined 1.3 million tourists each year for medical treatment. This move is expected to contribute at least US $4 billion by 2012 to the Asia medical tourism industry and US $40 billion globally. Experience Asia’s Best Amazing Thailand Thailand better known among foreigners as a popular destination for leisure tourism has earned for itself a name in the medical tourism industry. The Thai government is quick in realizing and identifying the great opportunities that medical tourism will bring. They have made significant inroads as an early investor in medical tourism with strong support from the healthcare institutions in the country, making Thailand into one of the leading medical tourist destination in Asia. The medical tourism industry is expected to attract two million medical tourists into Thailand by 2012. Hundreds of hospitals and clinics catering to foreigners are establishing themselves across the country like mushrooms on a rainy day. They offer everything from dentistry and cosmetic surgery to heart operations and sex change procedures to preventive care and health treatment. Catering to the alternative medicine market, Tria, the new kid on the block introduced into the market by the Piyavate Hospital is a specialist spa promising to bring wellness to a new level. Equipped with the latest in modern science combined with homeopathic and other treatments to provide preventive care and health treatments, the four storey complex boasts 19 consultation rooms, four detoxification rooms and two colonic-hydrotherapy rooms. Incredible India Medical tourism is not new to India – housing some of the world’s best medical care providers that are equipped with technological sophistication and infrastructure, India drew an estimated 150,000 overseas patients last year. Coupled with its vast experience in dealing with overseas patients, medical tourists have no qualms about traveling to India to receive medical treatment. The Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre ranks as having the best cardiac hospital in India. Equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment, the 332-bed Institute has nine operating rooms and carries out nearly 15,000 procedures every year. The Wockhardt Hospitals Group has an association with Harvard Medical International, the global arm of the Harvard Medical School and is the first super specialty hospital in South Asia to achieve accreditation from Joint Commission International (JCI), USA. This established Group has a chain of super specialty hospitals such as Wockhardt Brain & Spine Hospital, Wockhardt Hip Resurfacing Centre and Wockhardt Liver & Kidney Institute, Kolkatta, catering to specific needs of their patients. Uniquely Singapore SingaporeMedicine, a multi-agency government initiative, aims at developing Singapore into one of Asia’s leading destinations for international patients. Looking at the visibility that Singapore has gained as a top destination for medical travelers, Singapore Medicine is fast on its way to achieving this objective. Through their aggressive campaigns, Singapore is expected to attract over one million foreign patients annually by 2012. Singapore’s efforts in promoting medical tourism have shown success. According to recent reports, Parkway Group Healthcare received 170 Russian patients last year with average bill between $10,000 and $60,000 for each patient, and Raffles Hospital, for example, boasted a 36 percent of its occupancy by foreign patients. DECEMBER 2007 7
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