Dr. Samir Arafeh – www.ieSEAM.com - Tel: 310.909-8698 (USA) - E-Mail: SamA@ieSEAM.com
Medical Tourism – An Emerging International Business “In 2005, an estimated 500,000 Americans journeyed overseas for medical care. Medical tourism is now a world-wide, multibillion dollar phenomenon that is expected to surge in the coming years.”
Source: American Medical Association – June 2007.
In 2006, the medical tourism industry grossed about $60 billion worldwide. It is estimated this total will rise to $100 billion by 2012.
Source: McKinsey & Com¬pany.
With globalization, medical tourism is becoming a new and emerging international business. Along with this development come many entrepreneurial opportunities to capitalize on the growth of this industry. Much of the travel and services in the tourism infrastructure supports this industry and so promotes the growth. As hospital queues increase and the cost of medical procedures increase in western society, the demand for medical tourism increases alongside. This development created the need for a more affordable, high quality and accredited treatment in pleasant environments found abroad. The saving achieved, as shown below, is between 50% and 90%.
Procedure (Proc) US Proc Cost India Thailand Singapore Avg Proc Travel Lodging Total Avg Savings
Heart Valve Replacement $160,000 $9,000 $10,000 $12,500 $10,500 $2,000 $3,000 $15,500 90%
Heart Bypass $130,000 $10,000 $11,000 $18,500 $13,167 $2,000 $3,000 $18,167 86%
Spinal Fusion $62,000 $5,500 $7,000 $9,000 $7,167 $2,000 $3,000 $12,167 80%
Angioplasty $57,000 $11,000 $13,000 $13,000 $12,333 $2,000 $3,000 $17,333 70%
Hip Replacement $43,000 $9,000 $12,000 $12,000 $11,000 $2,000 $3,000 $16,000 63%
Knee Replacement $40,000 $8,500 $10,000 $13,000 $10,500 $2,000 $3,000 $15,500 61%
Hysterectomy $20,000 $3,000 $4,500 $6,000 $4,500 $2,000 $3,000 $9,500