Medical tourism: Traveling for remedies and affordable healthcare

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• November 18, 2022

Insight summary

Medical tourism is a term that describes the growing market for people traveling to receive medical care in foreign countries. The industry has grown in popularity due to the increasing cost of healthcare in developed countries and the availability of high-quality, affordable care in developing nations. The long-term implications of this trend include cross-country healthcare apps and stricter global regulations for medical malpractice and fraud.

Medical tourism context

The industry is valued at approximately USD $31.91 billion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 percent from 2023 to 2027, according to GlobalData. Europe has a leading position in the global market, driven by medical infrastructure and facilities available for medical tourists in countries like Spain, the UK, France, and Belgium. For many, medical tourism is the last resort to mitigate suffering from a debilitating illness or defy a terminal diagnosis; for others, the objectives may be aesthetic.

Another segment of medical tourists includes seniors who seek quality, long-term nursing care, while others attempt to access breakthrough treatments to stunt or reverse the effects of aging. Other people are experiencing medical tourism because they are looking for a more relaxed and less bureaucratic environment where they can recover from surgery. In contrast, others seek experimental treatments that may not be available or approved in their home country. Popular destinations for medical tourism include Thailand, Mexico, India, Turkey, 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 numerous malpractice incidents.

Disruptive impact

The medical tourism industry’s growth has had both positive and negative effects on local economies and the medical industry. On the one hand, medical tourism provides residents in developing nations with higher-paying jobs and helps develop the local healthcare infrastructure. On the other hand, there is a risk that medical tourism will over-incentivize skilled medical professionals to leave public hospitals catering to domestic populations to work in private hospitals catering to foreign patients. 

There are also some common challenges in the medical tourism sector. The most prevalent issue is an increasing number of frauds and scammers pretending to be certified physicians. In cosmetic surgery, horror stories are common and describe 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 regain their health and energy that they are willing to pay large sums for questionable therapies. 

Implications of medical tourism

Wider 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.
• Domestic healthcare that can be managed remotely becoming increasingly administered by physicians in foreign countries.
• Governments in developing nations creating stricter legislation to penalize medical malpractice and fraud.
• Developing economies investing greater sums in their healthcare sectors to attract medical tourists, increasing employment in tourism and healthcare industries.
• More instances of insurance providers revoking coverage for medical tourists. 
• More countries establishing partner clinics and hospitals in other nations to refer patients and ensure safer medical procedures. 
• The emergence of specialized travel agencies focusing solely on medical tourism, providing comprehensive services from travel arrangements to post-treatment care.
• Heightened demand for multilingual medical staff in tourist-destination hospitals.
• Increased collaboration between insurance companies and overseas hospitals to offer bundled packages, combining treatment costs with travel and accommodation expenses.

Questions to consider

• How might medical tourists protect themselves from botched surgeries?
• How might governments ensure high-quality services for medical tourists?