Healthcare Tourism in India

Healthcare tourism is a term that has risen from the rapid growth of international healthcare where people from all around the world are traveling to other countries to obtain general medical surgery, cosmetic plastic surgery and dental surgery at a fraction of the cost of healthcare in the USA, Canada or UK. At the same time as receiving surgery abroad, patients can experience the excitement and adventure of the cultural attractions their destination country offers.

There are many reasons for the increased popularity of medical travel services:

* Exorbitant healthcare costs in industrialized nations
* Long waiting lists for surgery in countries offering socialized healthcare
* Ease and affordability of international travel
* Favorable currency exchange rates in foreign countries resulting in low cost surgery
* Rapidly improving technology and standards of care in many countries
* Proven safety of healthcare in select foreign nations
* International accreditation of foreign hospitals
* U.S., U.K. and Australian board certified surgeons operating in select foreign countries

More and more people are traveling abroad as an affordable, enjoyable, and safe alternative to having medical, dental, and cosmetic surgical procedures done in their home countries.

Currently medical tourism patients are traveling in large numbers to India where the quality of affordable healthcare is equal to anywhere else in the world and yet the cost is significantly lower. India also offers numerous options for touring, sight-seeing, shopping, exploring, and relaxing.

It has been mentioned that overseas healthcare, sometimes referred to as medical tourism, medical travel or health tourism, is expected to become a multi-billion dollar industry by 2012. Whether you call it medical tourism, medical travel or health tourism, the concept is the same. It appears as though this concept of traveling abroad to receive health care is going to become a viable option for many years to come.

Many options exist for the medical tourism patient - from purely elective procedures such as face lift, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, liposuction, tummy tuck, breast augmentation, orthodontics and LASIK, to more serious procedures such as knee replacement, hip replacement, gastric bypass surgery and cardiac bypass surgery. Medical tourists can now obtain essentially any type of medical or surgical procedure abroad in a safe and effective manner for a fraction of the cost that they would face in America or England. The cost savings are enormous!

Although "medical tourism" has been the descriptor for this new emerging industry, it is important to comprehend the seriousness of receiving high quality medical care and then allowing your body to recuperate from the surgery. The vacation part of the process should be viewed as the least important factor.