Medical Tourism: the way to go?
May 14th 2008 07:50
Category: No Category
When I went to the last Travel Expo, I picked up a tourism magazine of Taiwan that had a bit on the increase in medical tourism in Taiwan.
Medical tourism is a term used when someone leaves their own country to another country specifically to under go medical treatments that they cannot afford in their own countries. In places in Taiwan where medical treatments can actually be cheaper, even if as a foreigner paying full fee, is now advertising medical tourism, inviting foreigners to go to Taiwan's medical establishments for their treatment, and at the same time, being able to see a new country.
It's not new, however this concept historically are generally referring to 'black market' medical which can be illegal. People used to go to countries like Indonesia and Thailand where they can get black market kidneys and other organs that may not be available in their own countries and risk not having a proper medical procedure done and sometimes even risking their lives.
Of course, now the concept 'medical tourism' is official and countries like Taiwan and Singapore DO have very advanced medical facilities, I don't see why not, considering how expensive it is in Australia to go to the doctors.
According to this report: Australia advised to part-take in medical tourism trend that Australia should get into the field of medical tourism to increase our tourism income.
I really don't see how. It's understandable places like Taiwan, Thailand and Cuba are actually cheap to have foreigners to especially travel there to under go treatment. In Australia it is expensive even for the locals to under go medical treatment that I couldn't possibly see why anyone in their right mind would want to spend the money to come all the way here to pay more to get treated for an illness where they could pay half the price somewhere else? (I know this because my mum is constantly in and out of the hospital. Even she is considering going to Taiwan to under go certain medical procedures to save costs!)
What do you think of medical tourism? My arguments are a little fluffed above I admit, because I don't really know very much about it. What are you views?
Medical tourism is a term used when someone leaves their own country to another country specifically to under go medical treatments that they cannot afford in their own countries. In places in Taiwan where medical treatments can actually be cheaper, even if as a foreigner paying full fee, is now advertising medical tourism, inviting foreigners to go to Taiwan's medical establishments for their treatment, and at the same time, being able to see a new country.
It's not new, however this concept historically are generally referring to 'black market' medical which can be illegal. People used to go to countries like Indonesia and Thailand where they can get black market kidneys and other organs that may not be available in their own countries and risk not having a proper medical procedure done and sometimes even risking their lives.
Of course, now the concept 'medical tourism' is official and countries like Taiwan and Singapore DO have very advanced medical facilities, I don't see why not, considering how expensive it is in Australia to go to the doctors.
According to this report: Australia advised to part-take in medical tourism trend that Australia should get into the field of medical tourism to increase our tourism income.
I really don't see how. It's understandable places like Taiwan, Thailand and Cuba are actually cheap to have foreigners to especially travel there to under go treatment. In Australia it is expensive even for the locals to under go medical treatment that I couldn't possibly see why anyone in their right mind would want to spend the money to come all the way here to pay more to get treated for an illness where they could pay half the price somewhere else? (I know this because my mum is constantly in and out of the hospital. Even she is considering going to Taiwan to under go certain medical procedures to save costs!)
What do you think of medical tourism? My arguments are a little fluffed above I admit, because I don't really know very much about it. What are you views?
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