A term first coined by the mass media and travel agencies, medical tourism is commonly thought of as journeying across international borders in order to receive health care. In a disparaging sense, medical tourism also pertains to providers of health care traveling internationally to deliver their services. A recent study from 2008 reported that as many as 750,000 Americans journeyed from the United States to other countries for medical services in 2007. This latest figure represents growth from the year before the statistic was measured: In 2006, only 500,000 Americans journeyed abroad to seek medical services.

• Growing Reasons to Consider Medical Tourism
• Med Retreat
• Medical Tourism Corporation

Lower Cost

One of the main reasons that Americans seek medical care outside the country is because of the lower cost of the treatment and procedures abroad. The costs of complex or major procedures and hospital stays at Western-accredited medical locations are significantly lower than the same procedures are in the US. However, seeking care abroad can involve risk if the standards and practices of the treating entity (organization or individual) are not well researched. The decline of the strength of the US dollar against other currencies in the last several years is cited as a motivating factor for international patients getting medical care in the US. Many medical centers in the US also have established special international patient centers, whose purpose it is to cater to foreign travels who are looking for medical treatment.

• Lower costs lure U.S. patients abroad for treatment
• Kaiser Health News

Qualification

One of the areas of medical specialty that medical tourism best highlights is the sex-change or sex reassignment field. In the US, for example, surgeons experienced with and trained in performing sex reassignment surgeries are few. The small town of Trinidad, Colorado, is said to be the sex change capital of the US, yet only 1000 or so people get the surgery each year in the US. In contrast, a Belgrade doctor by the name of Sava Perovic is considered the world leader in many types of sex reassignment surgery; his work also typically costs substantially less than American procedures.

• Medical Tourism in Thailand
• The Sex Change Capital of the US
• SRS Miami

Niche Care

Niche care relates primarily to the cosmetic surgery industry. Procedures like face-lifts or Lasik eye surgery are available to American consumers in other countries like South Africa or what many would consider other third world countries for only a mere fraction of the cost. Brazil, in particular, has long been regarded as the choice destination for cosmetic surgery. For instance, compared to the US, plastic surgery procedures are done in their own plastic surgery-only hospitals as opposed to mere, in-office settings. Other countries like Bolivia, Argentina, Columbia, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Turkey and Costa Rica are also considered plastic surgery meccas, but to a lesser extent than Brazil. Many countries in South America are leaders in plastic surgery because many middle and upper class women in those countries have had plastic surgery.

• Medical tourism in Brazil
• Costa Rica

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