Seniors Look at Health and Medical Tourism

Want a new spin on tourism seniors? It’s Health and Medical Tourism, a growing industry and more and more countries are jumping on the bandwagon to offer tourists competitively priced elective surgery, cosmetic surgery and dentistry abroad.

The idea is treatment at a fraction of the price in the USA, UK or Canada. Medical Tourism may also be known as Surgical Tourism, Medical Value Travel, Healthcare Abroad, Medical Overseas and a host of other terminology. For some patients its the only way to get the needed or desired medical treatment without wiping out their entire life-savings.

Medical tourism is different from the traditional model of international medical travel where patients generally journey from less developed nations to major medical centers in highly developed countries for medical treatment.

I read that there is presently a “Global Stampede for Affordable Healthcare.” Huffington Post recently highlighted the Best Havens for Quality Health Care. It is evident that Medical Tourism Industry holds major growth potential. Check with a recent International Living site on quality health care overseas.

Seniors Seek Convenience and Speed

A large draw to medical travel is convenience and speed. Countries that operate public health-care systems are often so taxed that it can take considerable time for seniors to get non-urgent medical care.

Using Canada as an example, an estimated 782,936 Canadians spent time on medical waiting lists in 2005, waiting an average of 9.4 weeks.

More and more senior citizens who live near the Mexican border find themselves crossing over for prescription drugs at great savings. Get this, in Bolivia more than 70% of middle and upper class women have had some form of plastic surgery. Colombia also provides advanced care in cardiovascular and transplant surgery.

There is always concern about whether or not medical treatment in another country can match what is offered in the States, even though it is most often much less expensive. Medical staff are often trained in the states and choose to live in another country. The Center for Disease Control is a rich resource that includes a section on the risks involved with Medical Tourism.

Although it may seem a recent phenomenon, tourism has long been associated with improved health, and spa tourism has its roots in antiquity. With the emergence of activities such as bushwalking and meditation, and with increasing numbers of people traveling abroad for medical or cosmetic procedures, medical tourism is now a growing niche in the tourism market.

I was blown away with all the resources for medical tourism. Go onto Google, Yahoo or Bing and input Medical Tourism and read for yourself.  It’s big, real big.

The Medical Tourism Association is a site with information of all kinds for those of you interested in traveling for treatment. Health Tourism.com is a medical tourism guide and a directory of medical centers, bringing you detailed and useful information that will help you find the best healthcare services abroad.

This blog does not make any suggestions or recommendations whatsoever. It is composed to simply inform seniors of alternatives for medical treatment. jeb