Medical Tourism in a Viral World
Medical Tourism refers to where people from one country travel to another country to receive medical, treatment. People travel for medical care because of affordability, better access to care or a higher level of quality of care. "Domestic Medical Tourism" is where people who live in one country travel to another city, region or state to receive better medical treatment or greater care than they would have in their own home city. Medical tourism most often is for surgeries, like cardiovascular, cosmetic and others. However patients also travel for dental tourism or fertility tourism purposes. People with rare conditions may travel to countries where the treatment is better understood. However, almost all types of health care are available, including psychiatry, alternative medicine, convalescent care and even burial services.
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In the years before the pandemic, medical tourism was an exploding industry. In 20 short years, globalization and technology grew health travel from a virtually non-existent quirk of the ultra wealthy to an international medical staple that dozens of governments believed pivotal to their economic future. We have watched as ground-breaking infrastructure and world-class doctors have steadily cropped up in every corner of the world, from Brazil to Singapore.
Now, the spectre of COVID-19 changes everything. None of us know how long this virus will remain active or how many waves will threaten the world with new outbreaks. Dozens of countries have instituted temporary restrictions on international travel that completely impede the existence of medical tourism.
The business of health will see the ripple effects from this pandemic for quite some time. Elective surgeries have been cancelled, supplies have been decimated, and disaster planning & emergency preparedness have taken center stage, with an unprecedented burden on health services. Convention centers, stadiums, cruise ships, and hotels have had to reconfigure space to accommodate dire healthcare demand. No expert or computer model can accurately predict how long such our status quo modern healthcare operation will be interrupted.
If there is a bright side to all this, operating in uncharted territory provides a chance for innovation and restructuring the systems that dictate how health services are delivered. The COVID-19 era has seen a radical shift toward remote and more affordable healthcare methodologies, with fewer resources expended. Telehealth is at the epicentre of more efficient healthcare delivery, keeping non-coronavirus patients home and freeing up much needed bed space at the hospital. This will almost certainly pave the way toward a more robust telehealth future. Read More..
Reference
- theinsightpartners.com
- medicaltourism.com