Medical Tourism, as One of the Fastest Growing Businesses of the 21st Century

Lincoln, United Kingdom, May 04, 2007 --(PR.com)-- It has been reported, there are at least 28 countries in four continents servicing international medical travellers from Europe, The United Sates of America and Canada. Last year more than 150 000 patients decided to travel for more affordable treatment (Josef Woodman: Patients Beyond Borders). Investors see it as a lucrative business opportunity and for bigger market share and profit the quality often suffers.

A simple internet search brings up millions of Web sites in seconds that promote the cost-savings of having medical procedures performed overseas. Online providers publicize medical vacations, consisting of airfare, hotel accommodations, excursions, and medical care at fractions of the cost of the same care in the United Kingdom or the United States and new companies and websites born every day to attract the attention of the medical tourist, using first class web design and image technology. Unfortunately, most of those companies are not even registered and not quality but quantity orientated.

Los Angeles Times published the case of California (USA) resident Edson Martinez, who visited Tijuana, Mexico, for wisdom-tooth extractions. The procedure was performed with pliers for $50. Three weeks after his return to the United States, Martinez found that the Tijuana dentist had extracted only part of each tooth, and he had to spend $1,000 to complete the work (www.panama-guide.com/article.php/20050928171437155).

Mr Christopher Hall- the Managing Director of Hungarian Dental Travel- comments: "When choosing a medical provider abroad, I would recommend to consider an agency, who works with several well-vetted medical providers in abroad. Also, make sure the agency is a properly registered company and possibly have offices or agents in your home country. It is not a guarantee, but reassurance that they know your culture and expectations on a professional level and they are ready to serve it. Most of the new agencies are not properly registered and working from home, therefore if there is a problem they can easily escape from the responsibilities. Medical travel definitely can be a very positive choice and some of the treatments can be also tax deductible.”

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