Medical Tourism
Commentary from Caribbean Net News:
By Sir Ronald Sanders
Many of the state owned and operated hospitals in the Caribbean are in poor condition. Notwithstanding competent doctors and nurses, the physical condition of many of the hospitals is bad and their equipment and technology are inadequate.
A huge market is rapidly developing in the United States, Canada and Europe of people who are going abroad to seek urgent medical attention, cosmetic surgery and rehabilitation in salubrious climes.
And, there is a massive drive by several developing countries to corner a significant portion of this growing industry.
The Department of Tourism in Kerala, a state in the South of India, in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is organising a show and an international conference on health tourism which will be attended by prominent medical tourism hospitals, medical insurance companies and the travel trade.
The state minister for tourism, Kodiveri Balakrishnan, said: "As a state, Kerala is leading in the area of medical tourism… We are planning to announce a Medical Tourism Policy during the inaugural session” of the show.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/oped/oped.php?news_id=510&start=0&category_id=6
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Comments: 10
I just read your article and the one you'd linked to - what are your thoughts as to the medical care that's being implented in the other countrys as opposed to the medical care here, in the States? It sounds about the same to me, from reading the article, though you can get surgery/medical care for a lot less - that is, until the prices go up. I wonder if the insurance companies that are insuring people through their workplace will used over there?
It was funny or ironic as one of the first things mentioned, was a hip replacement - which will probably be a surgery at "some point" for me, when/if I have insurance again. For now, the cane works. Thanks for this article - interesting!
Marilyn
And, yes, it can be scary to consider heading to a faraway place, and meeting a perfect stranger who will perform a sometimes complex procedure on your body. Yet, as the medical world becomes more transparent, and increasingly a player in the global healthcare village, informed American patients are packing their bags and heading overseas for high quality, safe medical treatment.
In the past five years, more than 120 foreign hospitals have received accreditation from the same agency that accredits hospitals here at home. This fact alone provides great comfort for many who might be otherwise hesitant to travel for treatment.