This year, hundreds of thousands of Americans will travel outside the United States for health care. The rising cost of medical treatment in the U.S. sends Americans abroad in record numbers. Around 500,000 Americans leave the country each year for some sort of elective medical procedure, including Orthopedic procedures.
Medical tourism originated in the 1990’s with cosmetic procedures. Today, a large percentage of patients travel for common Orthopedic procedures—total hips, total knees, spine fusions, etc. There is no rule of thumb, but a total joint procedure outside the US typically costs the patient 25%-75% less than in the US.
This trend is driven by economics, demographics, globalization and technology, and cannot be ignored. The huge scale and logistics become as simple as calling your travel agent. If you don’t believe it, just take a look at WorldMedAssist http://www.worldmedassist.com/ or PassportMedical http://www.passportmedical.com/ as examples.
Choose a procedure, choose a country, and book your trip. One, two, three.
Articles about Medical Tourism
In Need of a New Hip, but Priced Out of the U.S – A case study for Medical Tourism
Here’s a new twist – Medical Tourism...
