Why Travel Abroad for Medical Treatments?

Stepping outside your comfort zone can be nerve racking, especially when it includes a minor or major medical procedure in a foreign country.Yet, millions of patients every year pack their bags  for various treatments across the globe. The motivation being the ability to save 

money on exorbitant medications and surgeries. Many tourists have saved thousands of dollars by getting dental work, undergoing surgeries, picking up prescription medication, and even giving birth in other countries.

According to healthcare providers, there are a myriad of factors that are responsible for driving up the cost  of healthcare in their home countries. Most people who travel for medical procedures claim that, despite the low cost of health services in other countries, the quality is comparable — or even superior — to that of their home country, with almost almost 85% of 

patients find they received more personalized medical care than in their own country.

Given the high cost of healthcare in Europe and America, medical tourists cite savings as the most common reason to travel abroad for health treatment. For people without health insurance, the difference in cost can be staggering. While uninsured Americans can expect to pay $30,000 for a knee replacement in the US, they could get the same surgery for $12,000 in India.

And even for those who are insured, most health insurance policies do not cover everything. Most medical insurance plans do not cover dental work, cosmetic surgeries, and many prescription medications. Even giving birth in a hospital can be prohibitively expensive. As a result, many would need to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars out of pocket to receive these medical services.

In regards to the quality of healthcare, most of the patients who have traveled abroad for medical reasons, said the quality of healthcare in other countries was excellent — though some reported having a less favorable experience. They are often pleasantly surprised by the modern facilities and the extensive training of the doctors at the hospital. Despite costing a fraction of what it would have back in their home countries, patients receive exceptional customer service, efficiency, and lower costs beyond anything they had experienced back home. Almost 70% of patients rated their medical care as excellent. Almost 86% of the patients said they would travel again overseas for medical care and nearly 27% of patients had previously travelled to a foreign country to receive medical care, most were female, all were between ages 45 and 64.

Also, the government has removed visa restrictions on tourist visas that required a two-month gap between consecutive visits for people from Gulf countries. A visa-on-arrival scheme for tourists from select countries has been instituted which allows foreign nationals to stay in India for 30 days for medical reasons, making medical travel even more convenient for patients.

And lastly, despite India's diversity of languages, English is an official language and is widely spoken by most people and almost universally by medical professionals. In some states, a number of hospitals have hired language translators to make patients from other countries feel more comfortable while at the same time helping in the facilitation of their treatment.

All these factors have catapulted the growth of medical tourism in India and if you would like to learn more about your treatment option here, visit our website healingtrails.co.in or drop us a mail at mail@healingtrails.co.in.