Medical Tourism could be better described as patient movement throughout the world, where patients would be seeking alternative care by passing the health services provided by their own state or communities.
Medical Tourism is said to differ from the ongoing traditional medical travel where the patients travel from less developed countries to highly resourced nations to receive the necessary treatment that is not available within their home nation. Medical Tourism is often related to globalization of the number of various health care policies that are challenged by the quantity and quality of the kind of service that would be offered within their home nations.
The services that are sought after range from discrete to more specialized surgeries amongst others which are:
- Joint replacement (knee / hip)
- Cardiac Surgery
- Dental Surgery
- Cosmetic Surgery
- Specialized Rehabilitation
- Specialized Screening , Testing and Scanning methods
- Specialized Rehabilitation tackling disability
- Specialized Obesity tackling techniques
- Specialized Consultations
- Cosmetic treatment
Families and individuals may seek to get treated abroad as an alternative option to bypass the long waiting list or the necessary treatment needed might not be available locally. Travelling to other countries for treatment could result into being a medical holiday for all the family.