Medical Tourism in Developing Countries

CHAPTER 1Introduction to Medical TourismAn American woman travels to India for state-of-the-art hip replacementsurgery and convalesces for two weeks at a coastal resort. AnEnglishman opts for elective eye surgery in Thailand at a fractionof the price he would pay in London (while his wife and children enjoy abeach vacation nearby). A Canadian mother takes her child to Costa Ricafor nonemergency surgery because the waiting time under her nationalhealth insurance plan is over one year.State-of-the-art technology in India? Delicate eye surgery in Thailand?Trusting one’s child to a doctor in Costa Rica? The mere names of thesecountries bring to mind images of heat, unpaved roads, mud huts, andhungry children. Most Westerners who have visited India, Thailand, andCosta Rica have most likely traveled on a Western airline, stayed in aWestern hotel that offered modern conveniences, and ate in restaurantsserving food modified to Western tastes. It is also more than likely that theirinteraction with the local population was limited to the waiter, the chambermaid,and, from a distance, the local tribal dancers performing on stage.For people with such experiences, as well as those with no experiencebeyond perusal of the Discovery Channel, the idea that Thailand or Indiamight have state-of-the-art hospitals where highly skilled medical personnelprovide high-tech services seems ludicrous. Yet it is true. The sale of hightechmedical care to foreigners is currently a reality in numerous developingcountries. It has come to be called medical or health tourism, and in thecourse of 2006, it has captured the worldwide attention of governments,policy makers, academics, and the press in both destination and sendingcountries. It is a growing trend, despite possible risks of life-threateningcomplications far from home.Loosely defined as travel with the aim of improving one’s health, medicaltourism is an economic activity that entails trade in services and representsthe splicing of at least two sectors: medicine and tourism. Tourists from the