Countries like India are famous for its long sandy beaches and rich royal heritage, while Costa Rica is famous for its rich, tropical landscape. However, this article is not about the beautiful places in the world. It is seen that almost 400,000 Americans and more than two million international citizens travel abroad each year only to avail to the most affordable health care services, treatments and surgeries in the world.
Now this is important. Every standard medical procedure is available overseas. The saving you make depends on the type of treatment and the country you choose to go with. A few of the most common treatment includes orthopedics, cardiovascular surgery, dental care, cosmetic surgery, and cancer diagnosis. Patients from US are especially seen travelling for treatments like vitro fertilization (IVF) and bariatric surgeries.
The Cost Comparisons
Let us make a small sample comparison on the cost. You will be baffled. A heart bypass surgery in the U.S. usually costs $70,000 to $133,000 but will cost around $7,000 in India or $22,000 in Thailand. Hip replacement in India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand costs as low as one-fifth of the cost in US. A facelift on the other hand cost $10,500 to $16,000 in the U.S. but only $5,500 to $6,500 in Brazil, $2,400 in Thailand and $4,000 to $8,000 in Singapore, South Korea and Mexico.
These awesome figures are inclusive of the hospital stay in private rooms.
Today it is seen that a lot of hospitals and treatment centers in most of the countries of the world have Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation to promote medical tourism. The scale for accreditation is measured against the rigorous U.S. health care standards. The standards are also held up for the medical staff, procedures, medical equipment and instruments, and administrative infrastructure.
Below are the top 10 best medical travel destinations of the world that has been recognized as the best. The number of reliable agents, recovery accommodation and travel support services are hence increasing in these countries every year.
1. India
India is one of the Most famous medical tourist destination specially for cardiac and orthopedic procedures. The larger cities of Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai especially host these visitors. It is seen that the rate of medial travel to India is growing by 30% with each passing year. Americans, Canadians and Europeans top the list seeking mostly for cardiac and orthopedic surgeries. This is because they can save tens of thousands of dollars compared to the home countries with the same efficiency.
2. Brazil
Brazil has the highest per capita number of practicing cosmetic doctors in the world. Tourists not only flood in to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro but also to other cities like Porto Alegre and Santos. They charge $3,000 to $6,500 for procedures like tummy tucks, breast augmentations, facelifts and rhinoplasty.
3. Costa Rica
Almost 15% of international tourists visiting Costa Rica avail to medical services like cosmetic surgery and dental care. San Jose and its surrounding area is where you will find hosts of board-certified doctors, surgeons and dentists. Costa Rica is one of the top five medical tourism destinations for Americans today.
4. Hungary
Hungary that is famous for its mineral springs, lakes, baths and spas is a hot dental surgery spot. The country has around 30,000 (Mosonmagyaróvár) surgeons near the Austrian border with 160 dental offices. A lot of Europeans flood to this part of the globe for cosmetic oral surgeries, full-mouth restorations and implants.
5. Mexico
Most of the people residing in California, Texas or Arizona floods Mexico every year for medical treatments. Patients from San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson and Brownsville only need to make a two- to six-hour drive across the border because of its favorable location. They mostly flood for checkups, dental cleanings, physicals and other treatments that costs hefty in the US.
6. Malaysia
Malaysia also gives a neck to neck competition to countries like Thailand and Singapore when it comes to medical facilities, skill and costs. They have world famous special burn treatment centers with “well-man” and “well-woman” packages like extensive, low-cost physicals and tests promoting preventive care. Package tests like blood work, bone density scan, chest X-ray and treadmill usually costs $340 as compared to $2,500 in the U.S.
7. Singapore
Singapore, a tiny little Asian nation with a population of four-and-a-half million has the best health care system in Asia and sixth best in the world as accredited by the World Health Organization. International patients crowd the country for its awesome treatment in the field of cardiology and cardiac surgery, gastroenterology, general surgery, hepatology, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedics and stem cell therapy. A few other inclusions will be the $300-million Biopolis, a seven-building, 2-million-square-foot biotechnology research center inaugurated in 2003.
8.Turkey
Turkey has the most number of JCI-accredited health care facilities than any nation outside the U.S. Health care. The doctors are Western-trained and fluent in English. They charge almost as same as Asian countries. The Turkish government enforces strict quality standards in medical technology, facilities and personnel. Dunyagoz is a center for ophthalmology in the country.
9. South Korea
South Korea is considered to be one of the most technologically and scientifically advanced nations in the world. They are famous for their spinal surgeries, cancer screenings and treatments and cosmetic surgeries. Most of the health care centers are fully digitized, with electronic health records as the standard. Daegu hosts a well-known herbal medicine market that can be traced back to the 17th century. The local Hanyang University Medical Center is mainly targeted for the low-cost and comprehensive health screenings.
10. Thailand
Thailand is famous for its cosmetic surgery with an excellent medical infrastructure to support it. As such this tourist destination spot has been effectively able to grab patients from nearby countries like Japan, Vietnam, China and South Korea. Again, Westerners also come to Bangkok and Phuket for elective surgeries as they are much less cost compared to the US.
Akshay Agarwal
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