MMedsolution – Medical Dental Tourism Resource On-line

KARACHI:
“Every country, except Pakistan, is concerned with medical tourism,” say doctors, who bemoan the fact that our government is sleeping over a golden opportunity.

Medical tourism – a buzzword in global healthcare – is a term used to describe the worldwide trend of people travelling across international borders to obtain healthcare.

India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand and Dubai are some of the top destinations to where patients flock to to get better treatment.

Gynaecologist Sadiah Pal says there is no need for Pakistanis, at least, to travel abroad for treatment; she believes that Pakistan has specialists and high-quality hospitals where comparable care is available.

Pal says the cost for infertility treatment abroad can range between Rs2.5-3 million, while the same treatment in Pakistan costs around Rs0.2 million.

“Some patients who come from the US are those who don’t have insurance cover there; and so, they come here [for treatment],” she says.

She says the government, if it wants, can jump onto the medical tourism bandwagon and market it like other countries do.

“We too have the best doctors and hospitals. We just need to package it right; like it is being done in India. They throw in a sightseeing tour and a massage therapy session along with the treatment.”

Pakistan Medical Association Sindh President Dr Samrina Hashmi says there is huge potential for Pakistan in becoming a hub for medical tourism, like so many other countries in its neighbourhood.

“Already, a number of patients from places such as the Middle East, UK and US seek a range of treatments in Pakistan; these include cardiac surgery, infertility treatments and cosmetic surgery,” she says.

Costs for treatment in Pakistan are more than 50% of what doctors and hospitals charge abroad, she explains. At the moment, most foreign patients who come here for treatment are of Pakistani origin.

In the past, a sizable number of such globe-trotting patients came here for kidney transplants. “However, these cases have gone down since legislation came into place to regulate the illegal trade of selling kidneys,” she says.

Hashmi says medical tourism can be a huge opportunity for Pakistan if the government focuses on key issues. “Just improve the security situation here, and you’ll see that people from all over the world will skip places like Thailand to seek healthcare in Pakistan.”

Liaqat National Hospital’s plastic surgeon Dr Shehab Beg says he receives about 50 patients per year from abroad.

“Most of them come for plastic surgery; such as liposuction and hair transplantation.”

Liposuction can cost between Rs0.7-0.8 million abroad, while the same procedure here can be done within Rs0.2 million, he says.

“Pakistan, too, can give the world a tough competition in medical tourism,” Beg says. He echoes Hashmi in saying that unless the law and order situation in the country is improved, the business side of the health industry may not grow.

“Already, a number of health professionals have left the country to work in hospitals abroad. They could have done the same work here in Pakistan, if only the situation here had been better.”

‘Foreign Agents’
In fact, in Pakistan, some doctors work as agents for foreign hospitals; earning commissions if they send affluent Pakistani patients for treatment to their patron hospitals.

One such agent is a man who calls himself Dr Mian Atif Fayaz. He has set up an office for the Thailand-based Bumrungrad International hospital in Lahore. His ads for the hospital are currently doing rounds over the internet and email.

When a reporter from The Express Tribune dialled the office’s number posing as a potential patient, Dr Mian Atif Fayaz – who answered the phone himself – said that not only had he set up a regional office for the international hospital in Lahore, but was also the managing director of globalhealthtravel.pk, a web-based company.

The Thai hospital, he claimed, provided healthcare for all types of illnesses. He asked for patient reports to be sent over to him via email, which he would then forward to the hospital abroad.

He explained the expenses would include a ‘nominal processing fee’ and a detailed breakdown of the cost of seeking treatment at the hospital would be provided to the hospital. He added that treatment expenses increase depending on the type of rooms and degree of comfort one sought at the hospital.

Doctors say there is nothing illegal about marketing for hospitals based abroad, but it hurts their clientele base.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/365757/untapped-market-can-pakistan-become-a-hub-for-medical-tourism/

Medical Tourism Resource Online

For one reason or the other, individuals travel across international borders to access health services that are available in their destination countries. Similarly, medical tourism could also be referred to as the practice whereby some physicians, doctors or health-care providers are itinerant travelers to different parts of the world to deliver health-care services to potential patients.

It is worthy of note that the health services that medical tourists commonly seek to have include dental surgery, joint (hip or knee) replacement surgeries, cosmetic surgeries, cardiac surgery, psychiatry, alternative treatments, in-vitro fertilization and freezing embryos for retro-production, and surrogate pregnancy.

Countries Associated with Medical Tourism

It is worth stating again that one of the major causes of medical tourism is the relative cost of undergoing a certain medical procedure. For instance, carrying out a liver transplant surgery costs about $250,000 in United States compared to that of Taiwan which costs about $90,000 USD. Another major reason is the lack of adequate health care facilities and services.

As a result, more of medical tourists come from places like Europe, the US, Canada, Japan and the Middle East. Health service providers from such countries stand the chances of losing billions of dollars revenue.

In the same vein, the countries where medical tourists usually consider for medical procedures include India, Jordan, Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand, South Korea, Tunisia, Argentina, Israel, Ukraine, and New Zealand.

Potential Risk of Medical Tourism

It is quite vital for medical tourists to be well aware of the risks involved in seeking health care in some other countries. This will help to determine what could be done so as to minimize or eliminate the risk factors of medical tourism.

1. Low level of expertise of some health-care service providers. There have been cases where some even practice outside of their field. This is highly risky.
2. Low health-care standards. Some countries other than First World have low standards in the health sector.
3. Lack of proper Health Insurance Scheme in some Medical Procedures.
4. The possible risk of post-operation complications after tourists’ return to home countries.
5. Lack of physical contact with the physician after medical care for essential medical check-up.

Factors Responsible for Medical tourism

1. High cost of health-care service. In fact, one of the major reason why medical tourist travel from First World countries to other places is as result of the high cost of health-care services.

2. Convenience and speed. In countries like US and UK unlike in some other countries, many health care services require long waiting times before the medical procedures are embarked on.

3. There is advanced medical technology in many countries today. Many countries are taking advantage of medical tourism by providing high standards of health care services.

4. Lack of local health-care services on certain medical problems. For instance, a medical tourist may seek help for in-vitro reproduction in a foreign country if it is not available in his own country.

From the foregoing, the views held by individuals about medical tourism are not the same at all. Some people from First World countries see it as a risky medical alternative. However, since many countries are now taking to advanced medical technology, some still consider that it is worth doing.

http://www.aetda.com/some-facts-on-medical-tourism/

Medical Tourism Resource Online
http://mmedsolution.com/

It used to be that “medical tourism” was only for the wealthy rich who wanted or felt they needed “Cosmetic Surgery”

In addition you had the benefit of being far away from home , where hopefully nobody would spot you, in your recuperative phase after your cosmetic surgery. Things have changed now. Perhaps its the high cost or long wait lines – even in places where medical care is “free” such as Canada. Canadians themselves have finally come to the conclusion that medical care is limited. If you want service you well have to go out of the country. Previously it was the USA only. Now that medical tourism has become more readily available and trusted medical tourists will travel across the world to get major – even life threatening surgery. Major operations such as hip replacement , cardiac surgery and even transplants – heart etc are not out of the question.

It used to be that once a student from the so called “third world” went to the west for his or her medical education – they were now a doctor in the USA or Canada never to return home- ever , except for holidays and vacations. Now with modern communication and transportation this is not necessarily so. On top of that equipment and such things as reliable electric power are available in these places overseas. Hospitals indeed may be close to state of the art – but certainly new. Equipment may be brand new and indeed better than that found in the USA and certainly in most cases in Canada. On top of that the hospitals are almost like 4 star hotels – staff is cheap , they love their high tech jobs . To them these are the best jobs in the world. On top of that union labor strife is not an issue . Staff at even these new mega , almost factory, hospitals have staff that are used to a slower pace of life. To most patients they are amazingly friendly and concerned as well for patient welfare. Most patients are very satisfied with their medical tourism adventure and exercise and will gladly recommend it to other potential patients as well – be they family , friend or people at work.

Medical Tourism Medical Tourism

Travel Room Hotel Room Rooms

www.mmedsolution.com