Check out MedVoy’s Chief Medical Officer Dr.Arlen Meyers recent presentation at CHSM on “How global healthcare and bioscience innovation will change how you work and save your life” by clicking here
While more and more patients are accepting the idea of leaving home to get care, the main questions in their minds have to do with quality, continuity of care, global information exchange, and liability. Enterprising entrepreneurs are rushing in to fill the gaps by providing value added services that address these market needs.
For example, take continuity of care. By providing global information and communcation technology networks, patients can now get a preoperative consultation and postoperative tele-care wherever and whenever they need it. While in some cases this does not meet the standard of care, in several instances, like cosmetic surgery or procedures that involve mostly postoperative wound care, telemedicine image and data devices are perfectly acceptable to monitor wounds and healing.
BOTTOM LINE: Entrepreneurs will rapidly fill markets in global healthcare referrals and care where there is an unmet need.
3 Million people spent $76B on care away from home in 2010.
A recent Frost and Sullivan research report on the medical travel business predicts that medical tourism will come a $100 B business by the end of 2012 and that hot spots to watch will be: the Middle East, Asia and Germany.
While most believe that cost is the main driver this is not true across the board. A McKinsey and Company 2008 report emphasizes that 40 per cent of medical travelers seek advanced technology, 32 per cent seek better healthcare, 15 per cent seek faster medical services and only 9 percent of travelers seek lower costs as their primary consideration. Click to view the full report.
As reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare continue to decrease and increasing numbers of US doctors indicate they will cut back seeing patients insured by these government insurance plans, or stop seeing them altogether. This will fuel access, rather than cost, to the forefront of medical travel.
Inbound tourism is the flip side of the same coin – as US healthcare continues to get more expensive and more difficult to access, hospitals are looking for ways to fill the beds. Foreign patients are attractive market and also pay in cash.
As I””ve pointed out before, these market eruptions present entrepreneurs with big opportunities. Healthcare reform might change the rules, but I don””t think significantly, given the big picture patient demographic and manpower supply and demand challenges.
Global referral communications, coordination and care is a growth industry begging for talent and $100B is likely to get a lot of attention. It certainly got mine.
Medical Tourism cost savings vary from one country to another due to a wide variety of reasons. Here is a brief idea on how each country stands in terms of medical tourism cost savings
Actual numbers may vary depending on complexity of the case and from one patient to another.
Below are some Medical Tourism statistics which has been collected in the past
With regards to the health care reform, the study expects that the reform bill will likely propel growth in
the elective outpatient market, particularly if flex account expenditures are limited to $2,000 or less, and elective
cosmetic and dental procedures are not considered “basic benefits.” Therefore, continued growth is likely in
the non-elderly medical tourism market that is relatively unaffected by health care reform.
Also problems such as high cost and accessiblity will create a new wave of medical tourism and fuel the growth even further.
According to the recent RNCOS report, Asian Medical Tourism Analysis (2008-2012), the Asian medical tourism sector has increased the number of visitors and revenues on an annual basis for the past few years. Fueling the demand is the cost effectiveness, well-skilled medical professional and tourism. India is a key destination and received 650,000 medical tourist and generated US $1160 Million in revenues in 2009. Other countries in the region , including Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Singapore are also experiencing growth. This report projects that medial tourism numbers in Asia will increase by CAGR of around 16% during 2010-2012.
MedVoy already has partners in these countries and is also traveling to South Korea next month to visit hospitals. As always, we will keep you informed of what we learn in order to help you get the best access to global healthcare.
The world looks brighter behind a smile, yet for many people smiling can be a challenge. Medical tourism has made restorative and cosmetic dentistry more accessible and affordable for everyone. Housed in clean and modern facilities, next to partner CIMA Hospital, Dental Cosmetics Costa Rica specializes in cosmetic dentistry to help patients attain the bright, radiant teeth that transform their smiles and helps them regain their self-confidence.
Founders Dr. Alejandro Lasso and Dr. Andres Fernandez Rodriguez are highly experienced and board certified – including certification by the American Association of Cosmetic Dentistry. Additionally, Dr. Rodriguez is recognized as one of the preeminent maxillofacial surgeons in the country and is a member of several international boards, including the International Asociación of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Academy of Implant Dentistry, American Association of Cosmetic Surgery and American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
To learn more click here.
Dental Cosmetics Costa Rica Doctors
In a growing world of globalization, many and many medical tourism companies are emerging in Medical tourism industry outside U.S.A. It’s very important that one works with a medical tourism company based in U.S.A primarily due to some concerns listed below:
MedVoy announced today that they have added Lew Emanuelson to its advisory board to support and develop strategies for the employer benefit marketplace. MedVoy will now have an additional 32 years of specialized insurance experience in underwriting, sales and consulting for group health insurance plans and insurance brokerages in order to provide invaluable insight into the increasingly complex insurance vertical. It will enable MedVoy’s partners to draw from a new pipeline of patients to increase revenue streams, while also fulfilling MedVoy’s mission of connecting patients to domestic and international healthcare providers that administer the highest quality of care and accessibility at an affordable cost.
Read the full press release
Large number of patients prefer India as the first choice for orthopedic procedures primarily due to the qualifications of the surgeons and the high quality facilities. Some of the orthopedic surgeons in India who consult international patients have
To see some of the top orthopedic surgeons in India, visit MedVoy Providers in India or Orthopedic hospitals in India.