Medical tourism could be termed as a magnet. It goes on to attract medical tourists from worldwide. One thing is for sure this is a fast growing sector and the number of patients going overseas for medical related needs will increase in the days to come as well. Some of the countries which are popular medical tourism destinations are as follows.
Malaysia
This country goes on to attract half a billion medical tourists each year. The English speaking population along with the infrastructure are the pillars on which the industry thrives. Any blood or physical work that might cost you hundreds of dollars is cheap here. Coupled with the fact that the country is famous for burn treatment.
India
Next we have India on the list. The government has taken notice of the development of this sector. Indian medical visa happens to be the easiest to obtain in the world. Suitable relaxations for certain countries in the form of visa on arrival has been rolled out by the government as well.
Here we are going to focus our attention to India. This would be in particular reference to the English speaking population of the country. For example if you compare the cost of treatment in US for a heart surgery and then draw an analysis with India. You will find that even after taking the cost of transport you will be saving substantially on the cost front. There are a host of procedures which we simply put it is affordable in India. Say for example, the cosmetic procedures. Most of the insurance companies do not have any scope of coverage.
In addition most of the hospitals in the country go on to use the latest in technology. This would mean that the facilities are par to the one as per international standards. In addition India is also the home of alternative form of medicines like Ayurveda. If you think on the serious lines you can compare a medical trip with a round trip of the beautiful tourist locations of the country.
Though all trends do point to the growth of medical sector. But the real challenge lies in the fact whether it would follow the same pattern as information technology or not. Here you would need to consider a host of factors as well. First and foremost you would need to have one eye on the infrastructure support by the government. In a way you would need private investments coming in. here the government would need to provide basic services as well.
Once again easy entry to the country happens to be also important. Currently if you see medical tourists need an M visa to make an entry into the country. In a way in order to obtain this visa you would need to cross a lot of hurdles as well. Then the government would do a great job in increasing quality standards and this would be in particular reference to the western tourists.
