Medical tourism: Shopping for treatments

• Author:
• Author name

  Quantumrun Foresight
• December 14, 2023

Insight summary

Medical tourism, now a $92 billion industry, involves people traveling internationally for affordable, quality medical care, including experimental treatments. Popular in countries like Thailand, India, and Mexico, it boosts local economies but raises concerns about medical malpractice and brain drain. The sector, prone to scams especially in stem cell and gene therapy, may lead to stricter malpractice laws and increased healthcare investments in developing countries, enhancing global healthcare infrastructure and services.

Medical tourism context

According to the medical tourism resource website Patients Beyond Borders, the worldwide medical tourism industry was worth as much as USD $92 billion in 2019. Every year, millions of people go abroad to receive medical treatments that are either unavailable or too expensive at home. For many, this is the last resort to mitigate suffering from a debilitating illness or defy a terminal diagnosis; for others, the objectives are simply aesthetic. However, a new sort of “medical tourist” is emerging in recent years – the elderly who want to buy more time. People over the age of 65 made up 19 percent of the population in the UK in 2019, an increase of 23 percent from 2009. In addition, breakthroughs in aging research have given this group optimism that they can have some semblance of their health back. 

Other people are undergoing medical tourism because they are looking for a more relaxed and less bureaucratic environment where they can recover from surgery. And still others are seeking experimental treatments that may not be available or approved in their home country. Popular destinations for medical tourism include Thailand, Mexico, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa. Hospitals in these countries often offer high-quality care at a fraction of the cost of hospitals in developed countries. In addition, many of these territories have lax regulations regarding medical procedures. However, this complacency has led to many malpractice incidents.

Disruptive impact

The growth of the medical tourism industry has had both positive and negative effects on local economies and the medical industry. On the one hand, medical tourism provides jobs and income for residents and helps to develop the healthcare infrastructure in developing countries. On the other hand, there is a risk that medical tourism will exacerbate the already-existing brain drain problem, as skilled medical professionals leave developing countries to work in hospitals catering to foreign patients. The medical tourism industry is still relatively new, and its long-term effects are unknown. However, there are also some common challenges in this sector. The most prevalent issue is an increasing number of frauds and scammers pretending to be certified physicians. In the cosmetic surgery space, there are a lot of horror stories of botched jobs that ruined (and even ended) lives.

Stem cell therapy is another area where people often fall prey to scams. This therapy aims to regenerate the body’s building-block cells damaged by age and disease. While this space is promising and research has made incredible progress, few established and approved treatments are available commercially. However, some people are so desperate to get their health and energy back that they are willing to pay for questionable treatments. The popular tourist destinations for stem cell therapy are the US, China, India, Thailand, and Mexico. In the US, while medical practitioners proven to have committed malpractice are penalized and even have their licenses revoked, these doctors can simply go to another state or country and resume their operations. Gene therapy is another area where scammers thrive in medical tourism. Treatments are still largely untested at this point, and geneticists are concerned that breakthroughs are being used to advertise these potentially dangerous therapies.

Possible implications of medical tourism may include: 

• More apps being developed to facilitate cross-country medical tourism, including providing a network of certified clinics, physicians, and treatments.


• An increase of clinics and practitioners offering new treatments that are largely unapproved by the medical industry.


• Governments creating stricter laws to penalize medical malpractice and fraud.


• Developing economies investing in their healthcare to attract medical tourists, leading to increased employment for both the tourism and healthcare industries.


• More countries establishing partner clinics and hospitals in other nations to refer patients and ensure safer medical procedures. 

Questions to comment on

• Would you be interested in participating in medical tourism?


• How can governments ensure high-quality services for medical tourists?