The Effect of

Medical Tourism
on Destination
and Departure
Countries
The major medical tourism destinations are in lower and middle
income countries, where the competitive advantage rests with
lower exchange rates (Johnson et al. 2010) lower labor costs,
inexpensive pharmaceuticals, low-cost or absent malpractice
insurance; all of these factors allow cheaper treatment costs for a range
of medical conditions (Hopkins et al. 2010)
 The medical tourism industry has invested in promoting a more
positive image of third world destinations, emphasizing the
credentials of those who will perform the medical service and the safety
accreditations of the destination health services, while simultaneously
promoting destination as the ideal place to recover from surgery and/or
other treatments. (Johnson et al. 2010; Hopkins et al. 2010; Connell
2006)
- No regulatory framework for medical tourism thus health
inequities is evident
- Hinges on the development of private provision of care, for
profit, for those who can afford it
- The issue of distributive justice and the challenge it presents
to notions of social good and universal public provision of
health care
- All high income countries are experiencing pressure on their
health care systems, increase of people with chronic
conditions and cost associated with treatment and care
(WHO 2008)
- Medical tourism seemingly offers a panacea to the pressure
within high income countries to deliver certain kinds of
surgery and care whilst simultaneously providing cheaper
option for those prepared to pay for their health care.
(Turner 2007,2008)
- When the medical tourist steps out of their own health
system because they cannot procure a service, or the
waiting lists are long, they simultaneously undermine
domestic lobbying for improved health services in their
own country (Snyder et al. 2012:3)
- Number of risks associated with traveling for treatment ,
including: embarking on long flights after surgery and
the risk of embolisms (Carabello 2008); disruption of
care when the patient travels home (Jesitus 2006); and
inability to address malpractice in the destination
country (Burkett 2007)
- There are no statistical data on complication rates for medical
tourists but there are anecdotal accounts of medical
misadventure (Hopkins et al. 2010: 191)
- Brokers can make ill-informed judgements about the care
needed, direct patients to seek treatments, and facilitate
treatments abroad that are un approved at home because it is
too risky (Turner 200; Synder et al. 2011b)
- International travel for medical care can also expose medical
tourists to infectious diseases
The inability for local or national health authorities to monitor
or predict what may or may not be coming in across borders
(Crooks et al. 2010)