About a third of hospitals in England and Wales are ignoring government advice to charge foreign visitors for NHS treatment.

Guidance published in 2004 stipulates hospitals should check whether foreign nationals are entitled to free care. But a third of overseas visitor managers polled by their association admitted patients were not routinely asked about their entitlement.

The Department of Health said those not entitled to free care should pay.

Tunde, not his real name, lives in Lagos in Nigeria and has been suffering with heart trouble for the past three years. But, instead of paying for treatment at home, he travels to the UK for free care on the NHS. "I have an NHS card. I registered it through the GP. I book an appointment with a GP and I am referred to the hospital," he said.

NHS | Health Tourist

The Wellness and Spas Middle East exhibition is set to be firmly established as the largest exhibition of its kind in the Middle East, fueled by the upsurge of 11.2 million medical tourists expected to arrive in the UAE, generating Dhs7bn for the UAE's flourishing tourism industry by 2010, according to market research.

A report issued recently by the information centre of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce (ADCCI) predicted that the country's medical tourism will grow by 15% annually, in line with the increase of tourists' demand on this segment of the tourism industry.

'The Wellness and Spas Middle East exhibition, organized in tandem with Beautyworld Middle East will capitalize on this new development and further expand in the coming years,' said Eckhard Pruy, CEO of Epoc Messe Frankfurt, organizers of both these exhibitions. 'As the UAE becomes a leading destination for medical tourism in the Gulf, Wellness and Spas Middle East will be the ideal platform for manufacturers and suppliers of products, equipment and services wishing to tap into this growing sector of the tourism business'.

To be held from May 18 to 20 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wellness and Spas Middle East is an international trade fair for the professional spa and wellness industry, presenting exhibitors from over 25 countries showcasing the latest products, services, trends and solutions for the spa, fitness and wellness industries from all over the world.

Wellness & Spa Middle East | Dubai | UAE | Beautyworld Middle East |International Spa Association

Broad incentives but big pitfalls in traveling for cosmetic care

Americans unhappy with what they see in the mirror are looking past borders—and oceans—to save money on face-lifts, breast augmentations, and other elective procedures not covered by insurance. The Internet is littered with companies offering cosmetic surgery vacation deals to exotic locales like Costa Rica, the Philippines, Mexico, and Brazil. But experts caution that so-called cosmetic surgery tourism can wind up costing patients more—both in health and money—than they expect.

Many overseas surgery practices use specialized travel agencies to package their cosmetic procedures with vacations. A typical offer includes your pick of operations—say, liposuction and a tummy tuck, for as little as half the U.S. cost—plus tour itineraries, tony resort stays, and pampering at posh spas during recovery.

But shopping around for the lowest fee or the best destination is not the way to choose a cosmetic surgeon. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has vetted and certified about 1,500 surgeons in 73 countries who meet U.S. standards; isaps.org has a surgeon-finder tool. Surgeons who aren't on that list may be good, but their credentials, training, and prior disciplinary record can be hard to verify, says John Canady, incoming president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

A long list of unknowns didn't stop Felicia Pappas, a Woodbridge, Va., medical assistant, from traveling to Bolivia in February for breast augmentation, liposuction, and a tummy tuck. She found her surgeon through a friend, never researched the doctor's qualifications, and had no communication with her until the day of the first surgery.

Medical Tourism | Brazil | India | Thailand | Cosmetic Surgery

SEOUL (AFP) — After building its economy on semiconductors, ships and steel, South Korea is touting its surgeons' skills in the beauty business to carve out a new niche. Helped by active government support, a boom in cosmetic surgery and a pool of experienced surgeons, the country wants to surpass Singapore, Thailand and India to become Asia's new medical tourism hub.

"In foreign countries, the combination of the health and tourism industries is emerging as a new future-oriented industrial sector," President Lee Myung-Bak said at a recent policy briefing.

"South Korea, which has world-class medical staff, has failed to capitalise on the combination of health and tourism, mainly due to excessive regulations."

Health Minister Kim Soung-Yee said recently the government would step up efforts to win parliamentary approval of a bill that would legalise profit-oriented medical brokerages linking hospitals and patients. Even without local insurance benefits, foreigners find high-quality services cheaper than in the United States or Japan, Kim said.

"And for cosmetic surgery, Korea has already become popular with the wealthy of Southeast Asia."

The health ministry helps hospitals in marketing or providing consultations and is pushing to simplify visa issuance for overseas patients. Hospitals have set an ambitious goal of 100,000 foreign patients annually by 2012. In March last year 36 hospitals and state agencies formed the Council for Korean Medicine Overseas Promotion (CKMP) to tap the fast-growing market.

South Korea │ Medical Tourism Korea│ Cosmetic Surgery | Southeast Asia | Korean Medicine Overseas Promotion | Tourism Bureau

Costa Rica has been named as one of the top destinations for health tourism, a growing industry of people travelling abroad to have cosmetic surgery that is too costly back home. Other countries in the top 5 were Malaysia, Panama, India and Brazil.

These countries are most popular because of their advanced, high quality health services, and low costs. Malaysia and India attract people from all over the world, as do Costa Rica Brazil, and Panama, but the latter three attract the most U.S. citizens, because of the above reasons as well as their Americanised cultures.

Costa Rica's medical tourism industry is one part of the economy that has been growing lately, and experts predict this is a market sector that will continue to see growth for the foreseeable future, especially given that these places are developing people's trust having been popular with medical tourists for a few years now, and benefiting from word of mouth. Trust is an integral part of a developing country becoming popular with medical tourists.

David Stanley Redfern Ltd releases have touched on the growing medical tourism industry in Costa Rica before, but only that growth in the sector will continue Costa Rica's ability to grow economically, and how the incoming visitors are strengthening the rental market in Costa Rica.

The factors not mentioned were, that countries like Costa Rica, in order to maintain their reputation as a medical tourism destination, must make themselves attractive to specialist surgeons from more advanced countries. To do this they rely on the ability to provide high quality rented accommodation. This is excellent news for the Costa Rica property market.

Costa Rica Health Tourism | Medical Tourism | Brazil | India | Thailand

Your next heart surgery could well be in Bangkok -- but don't worry, it'll be "in network." How your health care is taking wing ...

"This doesn't look like a hospital," says Ruben Toral, showing me around. "It feels more like a hotel or an upscale mall." After studying the gleaming lobby of Bumrungrad International for a minute or two, I'm inclined to agree. Americans in shorts recline across from Arab couples in flowing white dishdashas and black abayas, the latter accessorized with designer handbags and sunglasses. We're in Bangkok in August, when even the asphalt is overripe and malodorous, but the only scent inside is a faint whiff of espresso from the Starbucks in the corner.

Toral is responsible for luring that cosmopolitan clientele here, thousands of miles from home, for a knee replacement or a triple bypass or even just a checkup. Before he arrived in 2001 as Bumrungrad's marketing director, "we were a Thai hospital serving a Thai community," he says. "Now we're an international hospital that just happens to be in Thailand."

Toral himself just happens to be a dead ringer for George Clooney, and he tells his story in similarly seductive tones. He's still amazed, seven years later, that folks who have never set foot on a plane, let alone owned a passport, will log a 24-hour flight -- in coach! -- to put themselves in the care of a hospital whose name they can't even pronounce. Overseas patients have more than doubled on his watch, to 430,000 in 2006, generating the majority of the privately owned hospital's revenue. "It's the high-school-cafeteria person," Toral says. "The independent businessman, the doctor, the lawyer. They tell me, 'We did the math. We can't afford to pay $1,200 for insurance every month.' " 

Read complete article...

Traveling for your health can combine feeling good with great destinations.
 
Just as more travelers are visiting foreign lands for affordable medical procedures, the popularity of "wellness destinations"—spas and other retreats where you can nurture your physical, mental, or spiritual well-being—is also growing. Traveler investigated hundreds of wellness destinations worldwide to come up with the following selections. We looked for spas that reflect the local culture, that offer authentic treatments, and that are set in attractive destinations. We avoided chain spas, preferring one-of-a-kind facilities. Our list includes ten spas in North America, ten in South and Central America, ten in Europe, ten in Asia, five in Africa, and five in Oceania. For an in-depth look at three of the spas listed here, see the March 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler, where you can share the experiences of our writers at an old-time Czech Republic resort, a Colorado meditation retreat, and a Bangkok temple day spa. And see our online glossary of wellness-related terms to better understand this type of travel.

Wellness Tourism | Great Health Tourism Destinations | Affordable Medical Procedures | Authentic Treatments

There is this booming industry in medicine that more and more people are becoming aware of. It’s called Medical Tourism. It doesn’t mean that you go around the world touring medical sites. It’s actually the concept of people traveling to different countries to have medical procedures done. Perhaps they are seeking a special physician that can do a procedure. Perhaps they are seeking a new procedure that is not yet approved in the U.S. Perhaps the procedure they want is less expensive elsewhere. Sometimes it is just that patients want a vacation in combination with their medical procedure so they will go to a resort island to have the procedure done and get their rehabilitation in a relaxing environment.

There is a flip-side of this concept of Medical Tourism. The common perception is of Americans traveling elsewhere for procedures. However, in foreign countries, either foreigners or expatriates may seek care from physicians trained in other countries. For example, many expatriates in China do not trust the medical system there. They want their surgery done by a U.S. or European trained specialist. Thus, the market for Medical Tourism is booming.

Medical Tourism | Less Expensive Medical Procedures | Expat Medical Care | Global Health Care

NEW DELHI: For Indian doctors, western shores could be greener. But for an increasing number of foreign patients, Indian hospitals are fast becoming their first choice. Over 1.5 lakh medical tourists travelled to India in 2002 alone, bringing in earnings of $300 million.

Since then, the number of such travellers has been increasing by at least 25% every year. A CII-McKinsey report projects that earnings through medical tourism would go up to $2 billion by 2012.

Most patients visiting India are from SAARC countries, but an increasing number of NRIs settled in the US and the UK have also been availing of healthcare services in India. The Planning Commission holds superior quality of medical service coupled with the low cost of surgeries responsible for making the country one of the most attractive destinations for medical value travel. In its latest high-level report, the commission has done a cost comparison of various medical procedures.

Released by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday, the report reveals that while a heart bypass surgery would cost a patient $6,000 in India, the same surgery would cost the person $7,894 in Thailand, $10,417 in Singapore, $23,938 in the US and $19,700 in Britain.

Medical tourism can mean attractive opportunities for foreign patients and investors

In our previous article, Medical Tourism: Seeking Affordable Healthcare Overseas, NuWire investigated the modern concept of medical tourism—traveling to foreign countries for lower cost of care. Medical tourism destinations have emerged all over the globe, from Thailand to South Africa, and even European countries such as Hungary. The industry anticipates a great deal of growth in the coming years, from a 2004 estimate of $40 billion to $100 billion by 2012, according to statistics produced by McKinsey & Company and the Confederation of India.

Experts believe that medical tourism will have a positive impact on the economies of destination countries and benefit skilled and unskilled trades alike. The medical tourism phenomenon may also bode well for foreign investors who hold an interest in those countries.

Below, NuWire has selected its Top 5 Medical Tourism Destinations which present the most attractive opportunities for medical tourists and foreign investors alike. These markets were selected based on quality and affordability of care as well as receptiveness to foreign investment. It should also be noted that medical staffs in the following countries are largely English-speaking, and thus language barriers do not pose a major obstacle for foreign patients.

Affordable Healthcare | Medical Tourism | International | Malaysia | Rankings | Panama | India | Costa Rica | Brazil