Traveling for healthcare, also known as the phenomenon of medical tourism, is a fairly recent thing. Well, at least, the tag is rather new. Citizens from developed countries now opt to travel abroad to avail of healthcare services or medical treatments. In the process of availing healthcare in a foreign land, the patient takes the opportunity for rest, recreation, and leisure. The medical patient thus becomes a medical tourist.

Medical tourism is for either a leisure tourist who happens to want or need a medical check-up or a medical tourist with a hospital or clinic as destination and wants sightseeing and shopping on the side. The medical tourist has set aside his health and leisure dollar or euro, but he is not relatively rich. He is someone who is likely not insured in his First World country, or someone who cannot afford private healthcare in the US because the medical treatment he needs is not covered by his insurance.

The primary concern of a medical tourist is the medical treatment or the health and wellness concern he needs to address at the soonest possible time. He chooses to travel halfway around the globe to an exotic Asian destination for warmer climate and a different atmosphere, plus of course the cheaper cost of medical treatment and healthcare outside his country. Most likely, he has also heard of the first-rate service, professionalism, and value-added personal concern of Asian health workers who are known around the world as excellent doctors, nurses, physical therapists, caregivers, etc.

The medical tourist will need a little downtime during post-treatment convalescence, and thus avail of activities that are restive, relaxed, and pleasurable. While in this strange land for a few days, he is curious to know and experience first-hand the culture and history, sights and sounds of this place that he has known only through Internet websites.

His budget primarily and largely goes to the medical treatment he came over for (operation cost, doctors’ fees, hospital room, etc). The extra money he has will be spent on getting to know the places nearby in the remaining days left on his visa. He may also splurge most of his remaining money on a farther destination such as the famed beaches in the Orient that he has aspired to see, since these are touted to be a paradise in the Internet websites. He will most definitely sample the food of this strange exotic land.

Several key factors have brought about the phenomenon of medical tourism. There are aging populations in Japan, US, and Europe. Healthcare is expensive in developed countries, such as those in North America and Europe. Patients have experienced a long waiting period in the national health system of some western European countries. Private and social benefit schemes are getting expensive, forcing patients to look for an alternative. At times, the individual ends up paying for his own healthcare. Often, some surgeries are not covered by insurance and will, therefore, be out-of-pocket expenses.

Outsourcing of healthcare becomes an attractive alternative because Third World prices are more affordable. The technology and quality gap between First World and Third World has been eradicated. Developing countries now boast of improved medical technology, as well as competitive healthcare prices. The Internet has compressed the world, offering a wide array of comprehensive information. International travel is easy and affordable. Add to all these is the prospect of fun and relaxation in a new land.

Categorized as an export product, medical tourism is basically marketed to people in the First World countries who are not insured or people who cannot afford private healthcare in the US. The phenomenon of medical tourism is said to now be a US$40 billion global industry and is projected to grow to US$188 billion by 2013.

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