Medical tourism

October 28th, 2008

There’s a pretty good three-part series on medical tourism written by Corrie MacLaggan of the Austin-American Statesman. Part 3 was in the paper today; but you can read them all on their website now:

• Part One: In pain and uninsured, a Texas truck driver goes to India to get his hip fixed
• Part Two: U.S. insurers consider sending patients overseas for cheaper treatment
• Part Three: Issues can arise after surgery far from home

It’s exciting to see the growth in an industry which may help depress health care costs at home. There are still a lot of obstacles to overcome, like malpractice and the certification of health tourism agencies. Of course, the opponents of medical tourism are doing their part to inject scare tactics into the argument — not unlike the pharma industry’s “warnings” of buying prescriptions from Canada. That’s fine; there are bound to be issues raised on both sides, so long as the opinions are well-founded and intelligent. Unfortunately, to be quoted saying things like “I’m sure it’s a nice place” can’t be interpreted as anything other than ignorant and arrogant.

All in all, I thought the piece did its job in walking us through a constantly-advancing medical tourism industry. It’s likely that the industry in 2 years will look nothing like it does today. Whether it’s more regulated or more “cowboy”, there’s no telling.

Check out the sweet map of medical destinations while you’re at statesman.com.

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