FACT:
Medical tourism is increasing by 30% per year in India. A recent McKinsey Consulting study stated that medical tourism in India could become a US $ 1.2billion industry by 2012.

During the last twenty years, the private healthcare systems of a number of overseas countries have developed rapidly with leading medical centers reaching equivalent levels to those in the United States, Canada and Europe. Many top physicians in the best medical centers abroad received their medical degrees from prestigious US, Canadian, Australian and European medical schools. In many instances, these physicians interned, worked and received their board certification abroad prior to returning to their home country.

FACT:
Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism estimated that the medical centers in Bangkok, Thailand will treat over 1 million medical tourists in 2006.

During the last five years, hundreds of thousands of people have sought affordable, high quality medical care outside of their own country. Patients have looked beyond their borders for quality medical care due to the increasing cost of medical care at home, restrictive medical insurance coverage or to avoid long waiting times for medical attention. To meet this growing demand, the medical establishment in many countries began to specialize in treating overseas patients in the late 1990’s.

The most prestigious medical centers that focus on medical tourism are state-of-the-art facilities. These medical centers have invested in the latest technology in laboratory, diagnostic and surgical facilities. The level of service in terms of nursing care is second to none with nurse-to-patient ratios approaching one-to-one. Leading overseas medical centers are run by highly proficient managers with international experience.