MEDICAL TOURISM

AHMET PEK
ENGN ETN PHYSICAL THERAPY AND REHABILITATION 3RD YEAR ,5 TH GROUP

AHMET DEMREL

 Medical tourism is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidlygrowing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain health care. It also refers pejoratively to the practice of healthcare providers travelling internationally to deliver healthcare.

 Services typically sought by travelers include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries. Individuals with rare genetic disorders may travel to another country where treatment of these conditions is better understood. However, virtually every type of health care,

including psychiatry, alternative treatments, convalescent care and

even burial services are available.

HISTORY
The first recorded instance of medical tourism dates back thousands of years to when Greek pilgrims traveled from all over the Mediterranean to the small territory in the Saronic Gulf called Epidauria.This territory was the sanctuary of the healing god Asklepios. Epidauria became the original travel destination for medical tourism.

 Spa towns and sanitariums may be considered an early form of medical tourism. In eighteenth century England, for

example, patients visited spas because they were places with

supposedly health-giving mineral waters, treating diseases from gout to liver disorders and bronchitis.

DESCRIPTION
Factors that have led to the increasing popularity of medical travel include the high cost of health care, long wait times for certain procedures, the ease and affordability of international travel, and improvements in both technology and standards of care in many countries.The avoidance of waiting times is the leading factor for medical tourism from the UK, whereas in the US, the

main reason is cheaper prices abroad.

 Many surgery procedures performed in medical tourism destinations cost a

fraction of the price they do in the First World. For example a liver transplant that cost $300,000 USD in America cost about $91,000 USD in Taiwan.[8] A large draw to medical travel is convenience and speed. Countries that operate public health-care systems are often so taxed that it can take

considerable time to get non-urgent medical care. Using Canada as an

example, an estimated 782,936 Canadians spent time on medical waiting lists in 2005, waiting an average of 9.4 weeks.[9] Canada has set waiting-time benchmarks, e. g. 26 weeks for a hip replacement and 16 weeks for cataract surgery, for non-urgent medical procedures.

 Medical tourists come from a variety of locations including Europe, the Middle East, Japan, the United States, and Canada. Factors that drive demand for medical services abroad in First World countries include: large populations, comparatively high wealth, the high expense of health care or lack of health care options locally, and increasingly high expectations of their populations with respect to health care.

 In First World countries like the United States medical tourism has large
growth prospects and potentially destabilizing implications. A forecast by Deloitte Consulting published in August 2008 projected that medical tourism originating in the US could jump by a factor of ten over the next decade. An estimated 750,000 Americans went abroad for health care in

2007, and the report estimated that a million and a half would seek health
care outside the US in 2008. The growth in medical tourism has the potential to cost US health care providers billions of dollars in lost revenue. An authority at the Harvard Business School recently stated that

"medical tourism is promoted much more heavily in the United Kingdom than
in the United States".

 Additionally, some patients in some First World countries are finding that
insurance either does not cover orthopedic surgery (such as knee/hip replacement) or limits the choice of the facility, surgeon, or prosthetics to be used. Medical tourism for knee/hip replacements has emerged as one of the more widely accepted procedures because of the lower cost and minimal

difficulties associated with the traveling to/from the surgery. Colombia

provides a knee replacement for about $5,000 USD, including all associated fees, such as FDA-approved prosthetics and hospital stay-over expenses. However, many clinics quote prices that are not all-inclusive and include only the surgeon fees associated with the procedure.

 Popular medical travel worldwide destinations include: Argentina, Brunei, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and recently, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Korea, Tunisia, Ukraine, and New Zealand.

 Popular cosmetic surgery travel destinations include: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Turkey,and Ukraine. In South America, countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia lead on plastic surgery medical skills relying on their experienced plastic surgeons. In Bolivia and Colombia, plastic surgery has also become quite common. According to the "Sociedad Boliviana de Cirugia Plastica y Reconstructiva", more than 70% of middle and upper class women in the country have had some form of plastic surgery. Colombia also provides advanced care in cardiovascular and transplant surgery.

 In Europe Belgium, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine are also breaking into the business. South Africa is taking the term "medical tourism" very literally by promoting their "medical safaris". A specialized subset of medical tourism is reproductive tourism and reproductive

outsourcing, which is the practice of traveling abroad to undergo in-vitro

fertilization, surrogate pregnancy and other assisted reproductive technology treatments including freezing embryos for retro-production. However, perceptions of medical tourism are not always positive. In places like the US, which has high standards of quality, medical tourism is viewed as risky. In

some parts of the world, wider political issues can influence where medical tourists
will choose to seek out health care.

MEDICAL TOURISM IN TURKEY

Turkey attracts medical tourists from Europe and the Balkans, the United States, Eurasia and the Middle

East, hosting about 40,000 annually.

 Patients traveling to Turkey, elective procedures such as liposuction, orthodontics, lasik, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation as well as complex specialized procedures such as cardiovascular surgery, brain surgery, orthopedic joint (knee & hip) replacements can result in savings of up to 75%- 90% as compared to what they cost in the US and in Europe.

 Among other procedures for which patients travel abroad are medical oncology, hematological oncology, radiation oncology, Cyberknife, kidney dialysis, prostate operations, organ transplants (heart, kidney, liver, pancreas, small intestine, bone marrow), in vitro fertilization treatments and fertility operations, dental treatments and surgery; eye

operations; plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic surgeries.

WHY TURKEY?
The Turkish American Chamber of Commerce & Industry - Midwest is proud to organize the Chicago conference to educate and inform the participants on current issues and trends facing the global healthcare and medical tourism industry, while introducing Turkey as a new healthcare partner and an emerging medical destination. Turkey is a destination where you will feel at home while experiencing world famous Turkish hospitality. Bordering eight different countries from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, Turkey has a unique and strategic geographical location forming a bridge

between the continents.

 For thousands of years it has been the cradle to more civilizations than any other country in the world. You will be able to combine your medical trip for top quality, affordable health care with a variety of short vacation and tourism opportunities in a culturally and historically rich environment to make it a more relaxing experience. Turkey is ready to be an important player and

partner in this rapidly growing industry.

 With its top quality medical, spa, wellness, and thermal facilities
and five-star hotel accommodations in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya and other major cities, Turkey has already been attracting patients from Europe and other countries such as England, Holland,

Ukraine, Romania, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Russia and Bahrain.

Over the last decade or so, the Turkish health industry has been undergoing substantial economic and infrastructure developments and improvements, and Turkey is now ready to play the leading role in

the global healthcare industry with its high quality infrastructure.

GEORGIA: TBILISI TRIES TO BECOME MEDICAL TOURISM DESTINATION

Estimated at $20 billion annually, the medical tourism market is projected to double over the next two years, according to Patients Beyond Borders, a guide book for medical travel. Despite Georgia's sketchy history of medical reforms and a dilapidated medical infrastructure, some Georgian doctors, such as Dr. Mariam Kukunashvili, the director of Healthcare Agency

International (HIA) in Tbilisi, believe the country can compete for

international patients.

 According to the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, the country's medical services should be accessible to all citizens and attractive for foreigners.

As reported by "Georgia-News",
this is what the president said during a visit to the diversified clinic New Hospital in the Georgian capital.

 The President has inspected the-art medical machinery, which is

equipped the hospital, operating theaters and dining room and also has talked to hospital staff and patients. Saakashvili was accompanied by Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia Andria Urushadze and the head of the Committee on Health and Social Affairs Gigi Tsereteli. "Our best experts and investors have created a clinic which previously we could only dream of. This means that Georgia should not have any minor issues" - Saakashvili said.

 Kukunashvili has been bringing patients to Georgia - and sending

Georgians abroad for treatment - for the past three years. She said that while the country has its "drawbacks," Georgia is an "attractive" medical treatment destination in certain fields, in particular infertility treatments and surrogate mother selection. This is so in part because Georgia permits procedures that are banned in Europe and elsewhere.

 "I look forward to the time when the citizens of Georgia will no
longer travel abroad for treatment. You have seen yourself that already foreigners come to Georgia for treatment. One of the important parts of tourism is a medical tourism which must be

developed in Georgia as well as, for example, in Switzerland and

Austria. We have a great potential for this, since we have such highly skilled doctors most of whom speak a foreign language" Saakashvili said, stressing the importance of development of so-

called "medical tourism".