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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/

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Costa Rica is fast becoming a main destination for medical tourism, as foreigners seek out professional medical attention at a price lower than in their country of origin. The list of services sought out include elective procedures, as well as specialized surgeries.

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There is no doubt about it .  Concerns over “Swine Flu”  and its spread have affected the travel industry. 

What this means to you is easier bookings , more deals , faster service for medical tourism – slots may have well opened up for therapy that were not available before.  Not only may you get in quicker, get more attention at care but as well you may even be able to command specials at the various hospitals and health care providers overseas but as well may be able to consider medical procedures , health care tests and medical facilities that may have been out of your reach or filled to capacity , with no open slots for patients previously.

The Impact of Swine flu on the Travel Industry | InfoFork.com – UK travel company DialAFlight reports that after a two week slump in sales of airline tickets to Mexico and Cancun levels are gradually picking up and getting closer to the normal seasonal average. (PRWeb May 13, 2009) Read the full …

Hong Kong Tourists driven away by swine flu outbreak – eTurboNews.com – Swine Flu’s May 1 appearance in Hong Kong helped drive the number of tourists visiting the Chinese territory down by 13.5% from the same month last year, the South China Morning Post reported. Visitors from mainland China — who spend …

Visa Report Shows Increase in Inbound and Outbound U.S. Tourism … – Travel Industry Wire, 40 Percent of Respondents Plan to Travel Abroad in the Next Two Years; 83 Percent Modifying Plans Based on Economic Environment; Fewer Than One in 10 U.S. Adults Say Swine Flu (H1N1) Has Impacted Travel Plans …

Swine flu hits hostels where it hurts – thUMBRELLA – Why is travel rubbish at Twitter? At every travel industry conference I’ve attended recently, there has been a speaker banging on about the benefits of using Twitter. Read more » … Swine flu hits hostels where it hurts. Hostel operators are suffering the financial effects of increasing cases of swine flu in Australia as travellers cancel bookings and Singapore issues a travel safety warning for Melbourne and the state of Victoria. Brisbane hostel BUNK Accommodation …

Royal Caribbean: Swine Flu Hurt Operations – Travel News Story … – The swine flu outbreak is yet another hurdle cruise operators have had to contend with during the recession. The industry had already been struggling to keep its ships filled with vacationers, as many had curtailed their discretionary …

Is swine flu just a bonanza treat for the pharmaceutical industry … – The 1976 Swine Flu fiasco. Once WHO declares a Phase 6 Pandemic Alert, all hell could break loose with governments and population going into panic, cancellation of international travel, severe domestic travel restrictions and other …

Holiday travel ‘unaffected’ by swine flu | Tourism and Hospitality – However, corporate travel remained more or less the same for the European and North American sectors. Darshana Cabraal, Arabian Oryx operations manager, told Khaleej Times that swine flu is not affecting the travel industry as much as …

Mexico’s tourist industry recovering from Swine Flu outbreak – Although some travel companies did suspend their holidays to Mexico, the Swine Flu virus did not cause the widespread death and disruption that was initially feared, and the Foreign Office has now lifted its warning against ‘all but …

Crunch Time for Travel Promotion Act in U.S. Senate – Travel and tourism exports accounted for 8% of all U.S. exports and 27% of services exports. Without some help, the industry is set to lose over 250000 jobs in 2009, what with the economic downturn, the AIG effect, swine flu and other …

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Doctors and clinics in three South Florida counties account for most of the billions of dollars charged to Medicare nationwide for HIV and AIDS drugs and services, billing records show.

Federal health care regulators call the lopsided billing patterns “egregious” and warn that South Florida — particularly Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties — is a potential hotbed for health care fraud, waste and abuse.

“It”s all ultimately part of the money-driven, underground economy in Miami,” said Benson B. Weintraub, a health care fraud lawyer based in Fort Lauderdale.

According to a report this week by the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, health care providers in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach submitted $2.5 billion in claims to Medicare on behalf of HIV/AIDS patients in 2005.

By contrast, providers in the rest of the country submitted less than $1 billion in claims combined.

Suspected scams, which involve the recruitment of patients, kickbacks and unnecessary medical services, aren”t limited to HIV clinics.

In March, federal inspectors found dozens of wheelchair and electric scooter suppliers in Florida that ran afoul of federal rules, including phantom operations that billed the government but had no bricks-and-mortar locations.

“Medicare continues to be highly vulnerable to fraud and abuse and immediate steps must be taken,” Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson said of his office”s findings.

Mr. Levinson”s report also found that Medicare officials and contractors could not provide a “clinical explanation” for the high level of billing.

One common HIV/AIDS scam involves doctors and clinics employing “runners” who recruit HIV and AIDS patients, then pay kickbacks if patients get unneeded medical treatment. In turn, crooked providers bill Medicare for the services.

After getting shut down, some providers open different clinics under a new corporate name.

In a written response to Mr. Levinson”s report, Herb B. Kuhn, acting deputy administrator for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said Medicare officials have taken “aggressive recent actions” to crack down on fraud.

Though provider billings for HIV/AIDS in Southern Florida have increased from $1.5 billion in 2004 to $3.3 billion in 2006, CMS is getting tougher scrutinizing claims before providing reimbursement, Mr. Kuhn wrote.

In 2004, he wrote, Medicare reimbursed 66 percent of all claims and paid out $1 billion. But in 2006, CMS paid $890 million, approving just 27 percent of all claims submitted.

“In fact, many of the providers with aberrant billing activity … were referred to law enforcement and are now facing prosecution,” Mr. Kuhn wrote.

Mr. Weintraub said the federal court in Southern Florida has a reputation among lawyers as “the health care fraud capital of the United States.” He said a host of factors contribute to the problem.

The fraud often happens in disenfranchised communities and sometimes involves “illegal residents because they”re paid cash for virtually no labor, and that in my view is a very degrading and exploitative practice,” Mr. Weintraub said.

Federal authorities said they”re increasing efforts to investigate and prosecute fraud. In April, the FBI and U.S. Attorney”s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced the arrests of 10 owners of HIV clinics and medical-equipment dealers on money-laundering charges.

One company, Coral Way Professional Health Services Inc., was charged with giving kickbacks to patients. At the clinics, workers injected the patients with a saline solution but later billed Medicare for actual prescribed drugs, authorities said.

A federal task force aimed at rooting out Medicare fraud has resulted in 34 criminal cases involving a combined $142 million in Medicare bills in Southern Florida, authorities said.

R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, yesterday called the federal task force “a critical part of our continuing resolve to safeguard the Medicare program.” He said health care prosecutions have increased nearly 50 percent compared with last year.

Investigators are largely focusing on infusion therapy and medical equipment dealing schemes, Jonathan I. Solomon, special agent in charge of the FBI”s Miami field office, said yesterday. Infusion therapy mostly deals with medication given intravenously or through a feeding tube.

HIV/AIDS billing scams have been occurring for years in Southern Florida. In 2005, the state Board of Medicine convened a meeting to discuss the problem.

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