CAIRNS, the tourism hub of tropical north Queensland, is reinventing itself as the cosmetic surgery and IVF mecca of Australia - targeting US defence personnel in Guam.
Over 50 nations, including Cuba, South Africa, Canada, Panama, China, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, and India, recognize medical tourism as a national industry. In 2007 over 750,000 Americans traveled outside of the U.S. seeking medical procedures in other nations, while the number of American medical tourists will likely number in the millions in 2009.
A 32-member tour group from Beijing is in Taiwan for health checks, spa treatments and sightseeing, making it the second Chinese group to visit Taiwan for medical tourism since last month.
Produced in collaboration with Malaysia's Tourism Ministry and The Association of Private Hospitals (APHM), the 240-page guidebook features 16 colour pages and offers an in-depth overview of Malaysia’s international hospitals, selected health travel agents, recovery and guest accommodations, and area travel information.
One of the most renowned Wellness and Health services provider in Asia – Asian Medical Tourism - had currently dominated the Medical Tourism in the Philippines by introducing Gamma Knife Surgery health services and consultations as well as in presenting licensed and certified surgeons and physicians who specialize in brain surgery using gamma knife procedure.
Gamma Knife Surgery is recognized worldwide as the most preferred treatment for brain dysfunctions and brain tumors. It offers a non-invasive alternative for many patients whom traditional brain tumor surgery is not an option. Gamma Knife Surgery also erases the physical trauma and the majority of risks associated with the conventional brain surgery.
The uses of high radiation in Gamma Knife surgery to kill cancer cells and shrink brain tumorsare delivered precisely to avoid damaging healthy brain tissue. This procedure is able to accurately focus the beams of high-intensity gamma radiation to converge on the brain tumors. Each beam is relatively low energy, so the radiation has little effect on intervening or damaging healthy brain tissues and is only concentrated in the brain tumor.
Though Gamma Knife surgery is getting recognized in the Philippines, there are only a handful of skilled and certified nuero- surgeons who can expertly perform the procedure. Also, there are only few medical facilities that offer the needed equipment for Gamma Knife Surgery.
However with the help of Asian Medical Tourism, patients with brain tumors is presented with a better non-invasive brain tumor surgery as well as the opportunity to make informed choices through the organizations quality and affordable wellness and health services.
Central and Eastern European countries are quickly developing their medical tourism. The countries offer cheaper yet quality health care and they are easily accessible from Western Europe. The biggest attraction for medical tourists is almost always the cheaper price. Sometimes the cost of a surgery in Eastern Europe may be even 70 per cent cheaper than in the US or in the UK.
West Palm Beach, FL -- (PR.com)-- World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress would like to announce The Tourism Authority of Thailand as a Bronze Sponsor at the 2nd Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress in 2009.
Johannesburg — SA CAN accommodate up to 1-million health tourists each year and is ideally placed to the become the destination of choice for medical and cosmetic surgical procedures, Cawe Mahlati, the organiser of the inaugural Health Tourism Congress, said yesterday.
Mahlati said a strong health sector could bring down the cost of healthcare in SA. "There is a need to explore all possible avenues that would create a secondary income stream to subsidise public health. Health tourism is the low-hanging fruit," she said.
More than 300 delegates representing health facilitators, hospitals and healthcare providers, dentists and doctors, government representatives and insurers are expected to descend on Sandton today for the congress which, says Mahlati, aims to create a health tourism cluster, pulling together all stakeholders to market SA as a healthcare destination.
"The aim of the congress is to position SA as a cost-effective, quality provider of medical services, making the country a destination of choice for medical and cosmetic procedures," said Mahlati.
The congress has received the support of the government with both Deputy Health Minister Thokozile Xasa and Deputy Tourism Minister Molefi Sefularo speaking at the event.
Mahlati said that medical tourism was a fast-growing industry catering for wealthy, uninsured patients from developed nations seeking cheaper and better alternatives; Africans looking for quality healthcare not available in their own countries; and insurers hoping to contain their costs.
"We have people and companies in the country at the moment who are scouting out cheaper and quality health services for their clients. Among the insurers is Blue Shield, one of the largest medical insurers in the US," said Mahlati.
There is little research into the size of the industry but Mahlati says it is believed that Gauteng received 410000 health tourists last year. It is for this reason that she is advocating the creation of a health visa which would allow better management of the sector.
SA has long established itself as a popular destination for health tourists, with thousands of foreign patients electing to have cosmetic or medical procedures in local hospitals.
Lorraine Melvill, owner and founder of health tourism facilitators Surgeon & Safari said that her company had brought close to 10000 tourists to SA in the past 10 years.
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