The American Medical Association (AMA) defines Medicalxtourism as "the organized travel beyond one's health care jurisdiction, usually one's country, to boost or restore health through medical intervention." A less technical definition originates from Harvard Business School, which defines Medicalxtourism because the act of "traveling far and wide for healthcare that is often better and definitely cheaper than at home." The practice can also be known as health tourism, medtrotting, or cross-border health tourism.
Medicalxtourism is booming and he has become a $40 billion dollar industry. Approximately 10,000 Americans participate in Medicalxtourism annually, excluding cosmetic surgery and dental procedures. Other estimates vary from 50,000 to 500,000, including all procedures. In 2005, about 150,000 people worldwide were medical tourists. Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and India would be the leading countries in the Medicalxtourism industry.
Although it has become very popular only recently, Medicalxtourism is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, hundreds, even 1000's of years ago, people have been to recognized to visit areas known for their healing powers. In England, the planet Heritage City of Bath took its name from the numerous heated mineral springs and roman baths that became very popular with the rich and famous of Europe from the 17th and 18th century. The term "Spa" is taken from a little Belgian capital of scotland- that name, famous for its thermal springs. In france they Riviera has also a history as a wellness getaway for English and Russian nobilities escaping the cold winters of northern Europe,
In additional recent history, Medical tourism followed advances in medicine as rich people from developing countries travelled to more civilized world such as the US and the UK. Other countries (e.g. Switzerland) focused on boutique health services, for example cosmetic surgery and rehabilitation clinics.
Globalization and widespread airline travel have triggered the rise in Medicalxtourism, causing two major trends in health tourism.
(1) Medicalxtourism went mainstream. Whereas before, just the rich and the famous can afford to be medical tourists, Medicalxtourism has become accessible to everybody. Hundreds of travel agencies have focused on this rather lucrative niche. In Europe, where crossing national borders are in possession of fewer restrictions with the inclusion of eastern Countries in europe to the European Union, Medicalxtourism is becoming widespread. This is aided by the short distances cheap the health care destinations are reachable by car, by train or perhaps a short flight. For Americans, Medicalxtourism may entail travelling long distances however with cheaper flights, Central American countries have grown to be favorite destinations.
(2) Medicalxtourism is different directions. Medicalxtourism of fifty years ago mainly consisted of trips from the less developed country to some more developed and medically advanced country. Nowadays Medicalxtourism gets into both directions, but mainly in direction of developing countries where top quality but affordable healthcare are available.
The current trends in Medicalxtourism are closely related to the following factors:
(1) Rising healthcare costs. Rising health care costs in civilized world especially the US are forcing their citizens to find affordable health care elsewhere. Charges for common procedures for example heart bypass can be $11,000 in Thailand when compared with $130,000 in the United States. Knee replacement may cost $40,000 compared to $13,000 in Singapore. This really is even encouraged by medical health insurance companies and employers offering coverage of Medicalxtourism expenses. One case is the insurer WellPoint Inc. along with a self-funded, Wisconsin-based specialty graphics business called Serigraph. Based on reports, "Serigraph will waive co-pays and coinsurance for just about any of their 650 employees to fly to India for several non-emergency medical procedures such as major joint replacement and lower and upper back fusion. In addition, Serigraph covers all travel expenses for that employee as well as a companion".
(2) Cross-border medical training. Increasingly more doctors from developing countries have studied and specialized abroad. India, for instance, has many doctors trained in the united states and the UK who speak excellent English and completely understand the medical needs of medical tourists from Western countries. This is also true for Mexico in relation to the united states and Australia in relation to Thailand.
(3) Holistic method of medicine. The last decade also witnessed the recognition of alternative medicine. More and more people look for alternative health care such as chinese medicine, Ayurveda (India), Unani (Arabic), homeopathy, and herbal medicine, amongst others. Many countries in Asia offer these kinds of medicine for Western tourists.
(4) Accreditation. To beat the scepticism of patients, many Medicalxtourism facilities make an application for accreditation. Several American organizations conduct inspections, evaluations of and grant accreditation to medical facilities away from US. One of these is the Joint Commission International (JCI). More encompassing is accreditation through the International Society for Quality in Healthcare the umbrella organization for accreditation agencies in lots of countries including Australia, Nz, Japan, Canada and Ireland.
