Affordable Medical treatment

Medical tourism is simply the practice of going to another country to obtain medical services. This practice allows the patient to receive top quality medical services in a country of choice.

Traveling abroad for medical services is a new concept to many of us, yet the elite have been traveling to foreign countries for years. Medical tourism is not just for the rich and famous anymore, and Switzerland is not the only destination. About ten years ago, countries in Asia realized that the opportunity exists to fill the unmet needs of millions worldwide. Top quality medical care is available, at a fraction of the price, in a plethora of countries across the world. India and Thailand are currently competing as the forerunners in the medical tourism industry; however they are not the only destination options. Countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Poland and others are offering world class services at third world prices!

There are still many skeptics that wonder if it is same to consider medical services in a foreign country. There is expressed concern of safety, the knowledge and skill of the staff, and the quality of services that are offered. If a person would travel thousands of miles to vacation, why not travel that far to have a medical procedure done? If a person is willing to risk having a foreign doctor perform the procedure in the developed country (E.G. a cardiologist from India, working in Chicago) why does that person not trust going to the same caliber cardiologist in the country of India itself? If a person is willing to fully research the hospitals and credentials in their homeland, why not check the ones abroad and save money by choosing a facility abroad?

Because of the decreased costs and ready access of air travel, medical tourism is a viable option for ALL people now! A person can obtain timely and quality medical services in a vacation paradise, for a fraction of the cost of the same medical procedure in the home country.

How does a person begin the task of choosing a country to consider traveling to as a medical tourist? It is advisable to begin by researching which countries offer medical tourism services and which are safe to travel to. There are medical tourism travel agents that can aid you with your research, as well as well researched books that will give you the guidance that you need.

Regardless of the country that you choose to receive services in, including your homeland, you will need to search out and choose a facility and doctors that you are confident in. It is true that all countries have good facilities and bad, all countries have highly skilled doctors as well as those who are poorly trained and running less than desirable operations. Again, the information is already researched for you, and you would be wise to access those resources.

All that is left for you to decide is which continent you want to go to, and which country in that continent you have always wanted to visit. Once you have decided that, you will need to think about particular parts of the country you desire to see while there. The process that you need to use in determining the country of choice is similar to if you were planning a vacation. As stated earlier, medical tourism is simply the practice of combining vacation and medical procedures. Where is it that you have always wanted to visit? There are several medical travel agencies available that offer a full menu of choices of destinations, and procedures offered in each!

India has a mission of becoming the leading medical tourism country in the world. There are multitudes of hospitals, located all over the country, that are top quality and accredited by the international organizations. Their doctors are often U.S., Canadian or U.K trained and they are fluent in English. Their intent is to cater to tourists from the U.S., Canada, the U.K and Australia; in particular. If a prospective medical tourist has always desired to see the Taj Mahal, then Arga would become the destination of choice. Kerala is another choice destination, with the Western Ghats towering 500-2700m to the east and is the meeting of forty four rivers. If it is the hustle and bustle of the Indian city that a person wants, then New Delhi or dozens of others might be a better choice.

Although India has been highlighted, the other choices are equally as beautiful. The destination is really a matter of deciding where it is that you have always longed to visit, and then combining that with your vacation, to create a "health holiday". Thailand offers some of the most pristine beaches in the world. Brazil offers rain forests, Costa Rica offers jungles and beaches both, France offers beautiful countryside and the glitter of Paris, Italy offers romantic villas, and Switzerland (of course) offers the Swiss Alps! There are many more, unnamed that are options that a qualified medical travel agent can assist you with searching out.

Medical tourism India

India is one of the most reputed medical tourism destinations in the world. It is known in general for heart surgery, hip resurfacing and other areas of advanced medical science. The government hospital and private health service groups are committed to the target of making India a world leader in the industry. The industry's main focus is low cost health services. Many estimates says treatment costs in India start at around a tenth of the price of comparable treatment in America or Britain.
As an example, "Howard Staab, a self-employed, uninsured, middle aged carpenter who belong to North Carolina," needed surgery for acute mitral valve prolapse, which would have charged him a fifth of a million dollars in his home state. Staab was treated in New Delhi, the capital of India, for less than seven thousand dollars by an Indian doctor. Consider the rising popularity of "preventive health screening". At one private health care center in London a thorough men's health check-up that includes blood tests, electro-cardiogram tests, chest x-rays, and abdominal ultrasound costs ?345 ($574, ?500). A comparable check-up at a clinic operated by Delhi-based healthcare company Max Healthcare costs $84.
The Escorts Heart Institute and Research Center in Delhi, India performs nearly 15,000 heart operations every year, and the post-surgery mortality rate is only 0.8 percent, which is less than half of most major hospitals in the United States.Amount of the value of medical tourism to India go as high as $2 billion a year by 2012. In the year 2003, Indian finance minister Jaswant Singh called for India to become the global health destination. The highest stumbling block preventing the fast growth of India as a healthcare destination is its poor infrastructure and less of quality hotels. However, the Indian government is taking steps to overcome these issues.
By January this year, 3.3 million travelers had already visited India, spending close to $ 5 billion. The domestic medical tourism is also witnessing fast growth. Around 368 million Indians are venturing out of their homes, based on increasing incomes, least aviation costs, and more leisure time. The World Travel and medical tourism Council has forecast that medical tourism will grow at a fast rate of 8.8% per year for the next twelve years, the highest in the world. The medical tourism industry is projected to attract a capital investment of around $21 billion by the year 2014, up from about $10.2 billion estimated in the year 2004.
Medical Tourism in India is the best alternative available to patients across the globe. Lacks of people come every year to get treated and then entertain their holidays in India. People from different types of life cut across the entire span of the world come to India to have their treatments done with peace of mind. India serves world class medical services with hospitals and specialized multi specialty health care centers giving their expertise in the areas of Cosmetic Surgery, Heart Surgeries, Coronary Bypass, Heart Check up, Valve replacements, Knee Replacements, Eye surgeries, Indian traditional treatments like Ayurvedic Therapies and much more, practically covering every aspect of medicine. Dental care centers has attracted in India, with tourists coupling stays in cities like Udaipur with general treatments and complex procedures.
Our nation India is best known for heart surgery, hip resurfacing and other areas of latest medicine. The government and private health service centers are committed to the target of making India a leader in the medical tourism industry. The industry's main focus is least cost treatment. It is said treatment fees in India start at around one tenth of the price of comparable treatment in the nation like USA and UK.
Writer Radha