Medical tourism continues to grow, and prosper

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/02/2022 (1388 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There has been a number of stories lately about the backlog of surgeries — and whether Manitoba Health should be covering all expenses should a patient choose to have the operation in a different country.

There is an entire segment of this part of the travel industry which falls under the title of medical tourism. Notwithstanding whether a government will pay any portion of care, a number of countries have focused on this sector by creating exceptional hospital care facilities, specifically targeted to attract those wanting less expensive, or more urgent treatment.

While cosmetic and bariatric surgery led the way in the early day. For US residence in particular, it was so much more cost efficient and accessible in a number of the countries below the U.S. southern borders. It is noteworthy that before the pandemic, Canada was valued as a safe and economical destination for dental and cosmetic procedures as well.

Estimates vary, but a 2021 report suggests that the current medical tourism market is over US$100 billion and is expected to more than double by 2030.

The non-profit Medical Tourism Association, has strong guidelines and mandates for its members which include major hospitals around the world — as well as governments who see the massive economic potential in building dedicated trustworthy facilities for this destination market.

While medical tourism saw unprecedented growth over the last number of years, the pandemic has hit this industry hard as well.

With travel restrictions, and an overall concern about what COVID precautions are being taken in so many countries — people who would normally look outside their own jurisdictions for faster, or less expensive health care — have chosen to wait until a greater degree of normalcy returns.

There is a sense that much of that business is on the edge of coming back soon — and that travel for care to foreign countries will restart quickly and in greater numbers because of worldwide surgery wait lists.

The CDC in the U.S. does caution would be users that medical tourism can be risky.

Even if patients find a quality care facility, CDC reports cases of antibiotic resistance, communications challenges, continuity of care upon return to the home country, and risks that can come with air travel, such as deep vein thrombosis and other issues related to changes in atmospheric pressure.

While the Medical Travel Association purports to closely monitor its members, the consistency of care may not be as great in some facilities or countries.

With the ongoing and extreme pain many are going through as wait lists get longer and longer, there is no doubt that many, like Max Johnson, who initiated some of the current debate around this issue after going to Lithuania for a knee replacement — will start doing research on hospitals and countries which specialize in their needed procedure.

CDC advises that doing research should be an important component in the process of choosing the provider who will be trusted in the care and follow up of whatever health protocols will be required.

In selecting Lithuania, Johnson did his research well—and selected a country that is searched frequently— and rated highly as a medical tourism destination.

Medical tourists have many options around the world in sourcing countries which specialize in their specific health needs.

Asia has facilities which have good reputations for orthopedics and cardiac surgery. Thailand, India and Singapore have large modern hospitals professionally staffed for a wide range of complex procedures.

The U.A.E. has really progressed in creating a health platform dedicated to building a sector economy around tourism health care.

Others include Poland, Germany, South Africa and Mexico.

Getting Manitoba Health to contribute financially can be a slow cumbersome process — but some succeed. Johnson chose to have his procedure without prior Manitoba Health approval. From their online policy guide, there are a number of pre-approval requirements outlined.

A close friend had surgery in a Mexican hospital for bladder cancer — which required a transurethral resection of the bladder tumor — did follow the approval process.

He reports that it all took a long time; There were loads of forms, response time was continually slow, he had to deal with three different departments — and it took about six months to get reimbursed. But he finally did get approval to proceed — and was extremely happy with the care and the successful result he achieved by working with the Mazatlán medical teams.

With the different dollar values and accepted coverages between Mexico and Canada — he still had to pay for many non-qualifying costs — but in the end was still happy with the support.

With all the recent publicity around medical tourism, there is little doubt Manitobans will be are searching for alternative solutions abroad — with or without government support.

pradinukr@shaw.ca