Medical Tourism it´s easily defined: the process of traveling outside your country to receiving medical care. Over the time this usually means travel from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed nations for treatments unavailable at home.
However, this has been changing. In recent years medical tourism also refers to patients from developed countries who travel to developing countries looking for lower-priced medical treatments.
For several years from now, Mexican border cities have been popular among foreign citizens seeking more affordable medical services or prescription drugs.
With thousands of patients flooding a day, commonly from the U.S., and Canada, medical tourism in Mexico has seen a significant boom.
For example, travel from San Francisco all the way to Tijuana worth it even for basic health-care appointments. In a three-day trip south of the border, you can go to the dermatologist, gynecologist, and dentist at least.
However, people most commonly travel to Mexico for more specialized procedures and treatments like bariatric surgeries, dental work, stem cell treatments or fertility treatments. In Mexico, you can find dental care 60 percent cheaper than in the U.S., and bariatric surgery that’s 70 percent cheaper.
In Mexico, bariatric surgery is less expensive because healthcare has different regulations. Surgeons wages and the cost of the same equipment tends to be less as well, but this doesn’t influence the quality of the service you can find in Mexico´s bariatric centers.
The main advantages of Medical Tourism include:
Cheaper medical services than in your country of origin. Lower cost is the main reason to travel abroad for medical treatment. The possibility of affordable healthcare particularly appeals to patients who don´t have medical insurance in their home countries. The savings achieved will depend on the procedure their chose.
The convenience of a great service. It´s a common misconception that medical treatment in Mexico or other developing countries is not as good as in the U.S. But in fact, foreign hospitals and clinics that cater to the tourist market are often some of the best in the world. Almost every foreign hospital that offers Medical Tourism services has state-of-the-art facilities, highly skilled surgeons and nurses, and high-quality care.
The possibility of combining travel with high-quality medical treatment. A medical treatment away from home is a double opportunity to visit a new country and focus on your recovery away from the stresses and strains of day-to-day life at home. Why not spend your free time before and between procedures visiting exotic places and getting to know a foreign culture?
Among these, the main reason why people always choose to travel to receive medical treatment outside their city is the cost. Even those who have good insurance can choose to travel for medical care, especially when the total cost of the trip and treatment can be cheaper.
So, if you want to access to all the goodies of the medical tourism, look out carefully your options and think wise before choosing.