Category Archives: Reports,Features, Statistics

Would you consider traveling to Mexico or India for a less-expensive rhinoplasty or breast augmentation procedure? Many Americans are doing just that—and the trend is having an impact on the market for cosmetic plastic surgery, according to an article in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery—Global Open, the official open-access medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

The paper, by ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Kevin C. Chung and Lauren E. Franzblau of the University of Michigan, discusses “the rise and transformation of the medical tourism industry, foreign and domestic forces that influence cosmetic surgical tourism, and the pros and cons for all involved parties.” Chung and Franzblau write, “The rapid globalization of the industry also marks a fundamental shift in the world’s perception of elective procedures: patients are becoming consumers and these medical services are being viewed as commodities.”

More ‘Medical Tourists’ Are Traveling for Cosmetic Surgery…

Traveling for medical care is nothing new—but in the past, people were more likely to travel from poor countries to obtain higher-quality care in wealthier countries. Today, prompted by the ease and relatively low costs of travel, more patients from the United States and other western countries are traveling to the developing world to access less-costly medical and surgical procedures. Because cosmetic plastic surgery procedures aren’t covered by insurance, they make up a major part of the burgeoning medical tourism market.

Figures vary, but there’s a consensus that medical tourism is growing rapidly: India alone may have more than one million medical tourists per year. Other countries with growing medical tourism industries include Mexico, Dubai, South Africa, Thailand and Singapore.

Prices for cosmetic surgery in these countries are typically much lower than at home. For example, a breast augmentation procedure that would cost $6,000 in the U.S. can be done for $2,200 in India. Even after the costs of airfare are factored in, having an operation overseas can be much less expensive.

In many countries, governments are working actively to foster their medical tourism industry. Some destinations even market procedures performed in resort-like settings, encouraging patients to combine a vacation with cosmetic surgery. Traveling abroad also lets patients recuperate privately, without anyone at home knowing that they’ve had plastic surgery.

…Raising Potential Concerns Over Safety and Quality

The growth of medical tourism may have a significant impact on the cosmetic surgery market in the U.S., but also raises concerns over physical safety and legal protection. Although destination countries promote the quality and safety of their procedures and facilities, there is often little evidence to support these claims.

“Because the practice of medical travel does not appear to be going away in the foreseeable future, plastic surgeons must understand the international market and learn to compete in it,” Chung and Franzblau write. Since U.S. surgeons may find it hard to compete on price, effective strategies may include emphasizing superior quality and safety of care, or developing “niche markets” of procedures that can be profitably performed at home.

The authors emphasize that medical tourism “is not purely good or bad”—neither for patients nor the countries involved. Patients may be drawn by lower costs, but must consider the potential risks of undergoing surgery in a foreign country, as well as traveling after surgery. ASPS provides information for patients considering travel abroad for cosmetic surgery, including risks and follow-up care.

For the U.S. and other developed countries, medical tourism means fewer patients and less revenue—but may also bring increased opportunities for collaboration with rapidly modernizing countries in other parts of the world. Chung and Franzblau conclude, “To retain patients and be competitive in a global market, U.S. plastic surgery must be vigilant of the changes in medical tourism and must adapt accordingly.”

source: http://www.yottafire.com / Yotta Fire / Home> Health / by Press Relase, www.plasticsurgery.org / January 23rd, 2014

More than 10,000 medical tourists flew into Australia last year for procedures, pumping more than $26 million into the national economy, new figures show.

Sydney :

While an increasing number of Australians are travelling to Asian countries such as Thailand and Singapore for cheap care, Australian doctors and hospital chiefs say a small but increasing number of wealthy people from the Asia-Pacific region are coming to Australia for treatments such as orthopaedic and heart surgery, cancer services and IVF, according to Sydney Herald Tribune.

Data from Tourism Research Australia, the federal government’s agency in charge of tracking trends, shows 10,739 people came to Australia for medical reasons in the year to September 2013 – double the number in 2006. The data, which models information from surveys of 40,000 people in Australian airports each year, found medical tourists spent about $26 million in 2013, up from $12.7 million in 2006. This figure did not include their airfares and packages they had already purchased.

It comes as the Victorian government works on a strategy to increase health and medical exports including medical tourism. Opportunities are being discussed particularly in the context of Melbourne’s increasingly prestigious Parkville Precinct which includes the new $1 billion Comprehensive Cancer Centre, which is hoped to deliver cutting edge care when it opens in late 2015.
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While there is no precise data on who is coming to Australia and why, Epworth Group chief executive Alan Kinkade said his hospitals cared for about 600 international patients a year from 31 countries, including the Pacific Rim, US, New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia. Some of those patients had family connections in Australia or had heard about specialist care that they wanted here, he said, while others fell unexpectedly ill while visiting Australia.

CEO of Monash IVF James Thiedeman said about 50 medical tourists a year paid a premium rate for treatments at Monash IVF, possibly because of its reputation for new technology such as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and the fact that prices in Australia were about 20 per cent less than the US.

Economists say rising wealth in countries such as China and Indonesia could be driving people to seek high-quality care in Australia, particularly in niche areas such as weight-loss surgery, robotic surgery, orthopaedic surgery and IVF. A Deloitte report on medical tourism opportunities for the Australian government in 2011 said surveys in China had found 8 per cent travelled to other countries for medical care, with only 13 per cent believing that the quality of care available in China was comparable to the best in the world. Only a quarter said their physicians had access to the latest technology.

A 2010 Victorian government report on export opportunities also suggested Victorian hospitals set up ”assistance centres” in Indonesian cities to guide people wanting to travel to Australia for medical treatment.

”In general, the service would include transportation, medical referrals and appointments, hotel accommodations, assistance before, during and after hospitalisation, and customer service assistance for billing and financial inquiries,” the report said.

Dr Simon Woods, executive director of medical services at Cabrini Health, said although Australia had excellent potential for medical tourism, one risk was that people may bring new antibiotic resistant bacteria or ”superbugs” into local hospitals.

”If you were deliberately targeting people from some areas, you would certainly have a risk of introducing more of those patients into the system and more of those organisms into our healthcare system,” he said.

source: http://www.traveldailynews.asia / TravelDailyNews Asia-Pacific / Home> News > Special Interest Travel> Spa & Health / by Theodore Koumelis / January 20th, 2014