Why People Prefer Traveling Abroad for Availing Medical Treatment

Posted by Inder Singh on January 19th, 2016

Medical tourism is the process of traveling to another country for receiving medical care. It is becoming increasingly common for people to travel abroad for seeking medical treatment. With the advent of globalization, the world has become sort of one large village. Most countries are today well-connected and it has become easier for people to travel anywhere they wish to. Medical industry too has benefited from it, and has been swiftly surging ahead all around the world.

There are several reasons why medical tourists travel abroad for seeking medical care. These include:

Costs

High costs of medical facilities in some countries prevent many people from gaining access to good-quality medical care. They find it more affordable to travel to another country to obtain similar treatment. In the US, for example, the costs of mode medical treatments are quite high. In developing countries like India and Malaysia, on the other hand, medical treatment costs are quite low. Such low costs are among the key factors that encourage people to travel abroad for medical care.

Better medical facilities

There are so many developing countries in the world where good-quality medical care is usually not available. Some war-torn countries don’t even have the basic medical infrastructure. There are many countries where there is shortage of hospitals and medical equipment till date. Some of the popular medical tourism destinations like India have made huge investments to improve their health-care systems and aid such people in the process. There are many good hospitals in based in different parts of India, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries. Equipped with state-of-the-art amenities and highly-qualified doctors, these hospitals provide the best medical treatment to every patient.

Shorter waiting periods

In many countries, the waiting periods for several kinds of medical treatments are quite long. Many a times, the patients are not in a situation to wait for such longer intervals. A deteriorating condition makes it essential for the patient to get to the operating table immediately. Medical tourism makes it possible for the patients to receive swift medical care and avoid such long delays.

Specific medical treatments

There are some medical treatments that are excluded from the health insurance schemes. Cosmetic surgeries, vision treatments and reproductive health procedures are some of the common types of medical treatments that are not covered by many health insurance plans. As a result, patients would have to pay for these out of their own pocket. The costs of these procedures at times can be quite high. For this reason, many patients decide to travel to another country where these procedures are available at significantly lower costs.

In recent years, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have emerged as some of the most popular destinations for medical tourists. India medical tourism industry is expected to cross billion by the year 2020. An increasing number of people from all parts of the world today go for cancer treatment, weight loss surgery, organ transplantation and heart treatment in India. There are many reliable companies too that can assist all these medical tourists and help them avail the best treatments in the destination of their choice. Availing the services of a reliable company will provide easy access to the best hospitals and doctors in the country.