Medical tourism is the process of traveling abroad in order to receive medical care, be it cosmetic surgery, heart surgery, breast implants, a hip replacement, or dental work.

Rising health care costs and longer waiting times in the western countries like United States, Canada, and UK etc. are inducing patients to seek treatment overseas. While U.S. consumers are concerned mainly with the exorbitant cost of health care, Canadians are more troubled by wait-times for certain treatments. Indeed, approximately 1 million Canadians claim to be experiencing difficulties in access to care. As for UK, it is believed that more than 50,000 people from the UK travel for treatment abroad because of high medical care costs in UK.

Medical Tourism in South Korea

South Korea has been growing as a tourist destination of choice for health and vacation because of their world class physicians, modern technology, and unique caring and compassion at great values for money at a fraction of the cost in the west. The country is home to some of the best hospitals and stand alone Specialty clinics in the world, offering world-class expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, http://www.koreahealthtour.co.kr and the warmth of hospitality. Also, some of the world's best spa retreat resorts and tour destinations can be found in this part of the earth. Additionally, it's not unusual to find plus accommodations, foreign language translators, and other amenities at some of the major facilities.

South Korea has made its initial foray into the lucrative market of medical tourism by launching the Council for Korea Medicine Overseas Promotion. Funded by the Government and 28 private hospitals, this organization will market medical packages to foreign patients seeking affordable health care. The Council has initiated a set of measures to promote the medical vacation industry by aiding hospitals in their marketing strategies. In this way, South Korea can generate greater overseas awareness of the country's medical and tourism offerings. According to a Council official:

The average charge for an in-patient visit in a US hospital is dollar3,762, which is 13 times higher than in South Korea.

The average charge for outpatients in the US is dollar13,000 which is 9 times higher than in South Korea.

South Korea's affordable health care system has seen the number of foreign patients rise from 10,000 to 13,000 in just 2 years. With all these added measures in place, South Korea is on its way to claim its share in the prosperous medical vacation business

Benefits of Medical Tourism

Health care costs are constantly on the rise in countless Western countries. In the US alone, it is already a multi-billion dollar industry that shows no sign of stopping (worldwide it is over dollar3 trillion US). But why pay exorbitant prices at home when you can travel abroad and receive the same treatment (if not better) from a fully certified medical facility for a fraction of the price?

The following are some of the benefits of medical tourism:

Affordable

For many procedures, it's often more expensive to receive treatment at home than it is to purchase a plane ticket, book a hotel, and pay for all medical expenses out of pocket in a foreign country. This is especially true in popular medical tourism destinations such as India, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea.

No wait times

Because popular medical destinations actively recruit patients from abroad, they do everything they can to eliminate wait times, provide patients with options, and ensure optimal care.

Many Options are Available

Some countries heavily regulate (or even ban) certain elective procedures or complicated surgeries. Hip resurfacing, for example, was only recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, despite its widespread use and success rate at many popular medical tourism destinations around the world. With medical tourism, you can travel to parts of the world where hospitals specialize in the aforementioned procedures.

More personalized care

Many providers offer more personalized care--i.e., a higher physician-to-patient ratio--than is commonly available in the United States or Canada.

Enjoy the Medical Vacations

The fact of the matter is, most of us need medical treatment from time to time, and most of us plan vacations every year or so. Combine the two into an all-out medical vacation and enjoy! Recuperating after surgery on a white sand beach while sipping island drinks and receiving full-body massages.

Important Tips

Besides doing a thorough research on the procedure, hospital, surgeon and the destination country, keep the following contact information handy when you go abroad for any medical treatment:

Emergency contacts like relatives and friends

Destination embassy

Hospital

Hotel

Local surgeon / doctor

Employer

Conclusion

Depending on the location and procedure, a medical vacation can cost 50%, 30%, or even 10% of what you would pay at home. The appeal of this phenomenon is driven by cost savings as high as 90%, depending on the procedure and the country in which it is performed, and virtually no wait times. Even when you factor in air fare, hotels, travel insurance, car rentals, shopping, and dining, many medical vacations are substantially more affordable than domestic health care is. This means that those who choose medical tourism are able to utilize the services of some of the top surgeons in the world, all while enjoying exotic locales and accommodations. Patients can put the money they are saving on the procedure into turning their journey into a magnificent, world-class retreat. For millions of patients, it is the only way to get the needed or desired medical treatment, without wiping out their entire life-savings.

For more information about medical tourism visit: http://www.koreahealthtour.co.kr/eng/medical-tourism.jsp