Thailand, Most Popular Destination For Medical Tourism

The past few years has witnessed an explosion in medical tourism due to high health care costs, long waiting lists and aging population in the developed countries. Asia leads in terms of the world’s market share when it comes to medical tourism. Studies show that in 2010 more than 89% of the medical tourists traveled to Thailand, India or Singapore for treatment.

For decades, Thailand has been a popular destination for tourism as it has been consistently offering attractive tourist activities, including eco tourism in Northern Thailand to alluring Phuket beaches. Tourists traveling to other countries to combine treatment with travel are growing in numbers every year for better and affordable medical services, ranging from hip replacement to a tummy tuck.

Thailand scores high as compared to its neighbors and competitors, when it comes to medical tourism. Thailand is home to some of the largest private hospitals in Southeast Asia and the first hospital in Asia to get an international accreditation and ISO 9001 certification. 

Reason #1 International Accredited Medical Facilities: 

Thailand is home to a large number of private hospitals with JCI accreditation and the numbers are growing every year. More than 350 hospitals in the country have a hospital accreditation from the Ministry of Public Health. These hospitals are equipped with the latest technology, language translators and special international teams to serve foreign patients. 

Reason #2 Highly Experienced And Trained Doctors, Nurses And Other Supportive Staff In Hospitals : 

Thailand boasts a large number of medical practitioners who have medical certifications from the UK and the US. These doctors with international exposure offer the latest and safest medical treatments. They are capable enough to perform several types of surgeries, ranging from cosmetic or plastic surgery and dentistry to organ transplants and gender reassignment surgeries. Almost all doctors and most of the other supportive staff at the medical facilities speak English. Translators are also available in case language becomes an issue.

Reason 3# Service And Hospitality:

Thailand’s growing reputation as a reliable medical tourism destination is due to the hospitality of the Thai people. They have earned a label of ‘The Land of Smiles’ as they treat their guests in the best possible way they can and with utmost respect. 

Reason #4 Affordability: 

Medical treatment is the cheapest in Thailand, as compared to other countries. This is the reason why medical tourists travel all the way to Thailand as it leads to huge savings, without any compromise in the quality of medical care. All the latest equipment, techniques, tests and facilities for treatment of serious illness can be availed at an affordable cost. 

Reason #5 Alternative Treatment: 

Thailand has a number of medical spas and wellness centers, which offer other alternative form of treatments such as Thai, aromatherapy and Thai therapeutic massages. These forms of treatment are exclusively available in Thailand only. In addition, Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine are also popular among medical tourists and is easily available in Thailand. 

Reason #6 Better Services At One Place: 

Most hospitals in Thailand provide full fledged services under one roof. The patients visiting for medical service and care say that the hospitals in Thailand, as compared to other Asian countries, are better equipped to offer multiple medical services in combination with affordable prices due to economies of scale. 

Reason #7 Simple Entry Procedures: 

The entry procedures in Thailand are easier and less cumbersome than other Asian countries. Medical tourists from other countries must have a passport that is valid for the next 6 months. Thai government offers Visa Exemption for people from more than 41 countries, who can stay in Thailand without a visa for up to 30 days. People traveling overland to Thailand can stay for 15 days without a visa. Travelers from 21 countries can opt for visa on arrival. 

Reason #8 Destination For Patient Relaxation: 

Thailand has great tourism infrastructure, friendly people, diverse attractions and offers delicious Thai food. Most people prefer Thailand as a health care destination since they can club it with a short exotic Thailand holiday with many contrasting tourist places. Medical tourists can choose from hill resorts and sun kissed beaches to beautiful Islands, which are ideal for patients who seek rest and relaxation. 

Top 7 reasons why people are travelling abroad for medical treatment

Of all the necessities in life, medical care remains to be one of the most important ones. A person may have everything in life – a luxurious house to live, food to eat and a family to support – however, it may mean nothing if he or she is not healthy or do not have a proper and an easy access to proper medical care and facilities.

Some countries are advanced enough to provide complete medical care and facilities to their citizens. However, people from some countries required to travel abroad for treatment and holistic medical care. The decision to travel abroad for medical treatment may depend on several reasons, and not having proper facilities in one's own country is one of them.

This article examines some of the reasons that give rise to medical refugees, a practice termed as medical tourism.

Reason #1: Delay in obtaining access to medical facilities

Explanation: There are a number of patients in different countries who face trouble getting quick access to medical treatment and services. This is the primary reason that prompts such patients to travel abroad to countries where quick and immediate treatment is guaranteed. It is estimated that thousands of people from the UK and Canada travel to countries like India, where quick access to several complicated procedures is available, including knee and hip replacement surgeries.

Reason #2: High health care costs, lack of insurance

Explanation: There are millions of people around the world who cannot afford the expenses of  getting state-of-the-art health care facilities within their own countries because of huge costs. In fact, some people are not even able to get “affordable” care at state-run hospitals and clinics because they are either under-insured or not insured at all. This is yet another major reason that prompts people to go to countries such as India, Thailand and Mexico, where affordable medical care is easily accessible.

Reason #3: Because of “unethical” procedures and practices

Explanation: Each country has a set of rules and regulations, according to which healthcare facilities are offered to its nationals and people who come from abroad to receive treatment. While one procedure may be considered as an ethical medical treatment in one country, it may be deemed as unethical in the other. For example, buying and selling organs for transplant is considered illegal in some countries. However, a patient suffering from kidney failure may decide to travel abroad to pay for a kidney and get an organ transplant done.

Reason #4: More confidence in native country's health care system

Explanation: Some immigrants prefer to go back to their country of origin to receive medical treatment. They may be more familiar with the healthcare system of their own country or they may find it more affordable than the country that they currently reside in. In addition, people may decide to go back to the countries that they have once lived in because of economic, quality-related or any other reasons.

Reason #5: Unapproved medical practices

Explanation: There are certain medical procedures and practices that are not approved by all the countries. For example, use of stem cell therapy and hip resurfacing is not as popular with all countries as it may seem. This is the reason why some patients risk to go to other countries to avail such interventions of uncertain therapeutic value, especially in clinics across China and Ukraine.

Reason #6: Not so advanced quality of medical care

Explanation: Reduced quality of care offered by a healthcare facility, in addition to presence of unqualified and inexperienced physicians is yet another reason why people travel abroad for medical treatment. Countries famous for medical tourism offer well-designed packages for the patients from abroad, which not only provides great quality care and treatment facilities, but also makes sure that only very experiences and dedicated physicians handle the patient.

Reason # 7: For the love of excluded treatments

Explanation: Not all treatments and procedures – especially those related to vision, dental care and cosmetic surgeries – are covered by the insurance provider. As a result, the patients have to pay the expenses out of his own pocket. In countries where a hugs cost is associated with such procedures, patients decide to go abroad to receive the treatment as they find this option more affordable. Orthopaedic surgeries, prosthetics and weight loss programs are some of the most popular choices excluded from a majority of insurance plan for which patients plan to go abroad.

Top 7 Warning Signs Your Body Gives About Your Health: Do You Have Any?

While some conditions may strike without any prior warning, a majority of illnesses doesn't appear immediately. The human body is devised to send warning signals through different parts of the body that act as a warning signal and gives clues to your deteriorating health.

You need not go to a doctor to identify these warning signals. In fact, these clues can be easily identified at home and then you can decide whether it's necessary for you to visit a doctor for a follow up.

This article examines the top 7 warning signs that your body gives about your health and the underlying conditions associated with each one of them.

Tongue is not just about taste

The tongue is often associated with different types of taste that the human body can identify – sour, sweet, tangy and bitter. However, the way how tongue looks in the mirror can indicate a number of things about your current state of health.

Any appearance of red and white spots, bumps, indentations, ridges, stripes and white patches on the tongue could be an indication of something serious going on in your body. It could be because of poor oral hygiene, vitamin deficiency, autoimmune disease, hypothyroidism, physical trauma or more dangerous conditions such as cancer.

Nails could be an indicator of ruining beauty

Gone are those days when nails were considered to be just the symbol of beauty. Nowadays, nails are also used to identify underlying health conditions as that texture, colour and appearance could be a key to the health status of your body.

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The following are some of the health indicators related to the nails and associated conditions:

Eyes can depict more than vision

A deep look into the eyes can tell a lot about your health. For example, the formation of a yellowish-white boundary around the lens of your eye could be an indicator of high cholesterol in your body. Moreover, a regular eye exam conducted by an experienced ophthalmologist can reveal whether you are at an increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, cancer and inflammatory conditions such as ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease.

Skin covers up health issues too

The extent of health status that skin can indicate is evident from the fact that it is the largest organ in the human body. While irritated and itchy skin prone to psoriasis and acne breakout may signify a multitude of underlying health conditions, most often these conditions are all linked to the nervous system exposed to stress.

An itchy skin could be an indication of common conditions such as allergy or more serious diseases, especially those related to the liver. Cracked skin on the corners of the lips could be an indication of vitamin B12 deficiency.

Excretion could signify a lot through bowel, urination and sweat

Be warned in case you get bowels only once a day or every alternate day. Healthy bowels happen whenever you ingest new food, so that there is space for it. In case of infrequent bowels, the toxins in the body get absorbed by the intestinal lining and reach the blood. This may, in turn, lead to inflammation.

In addition, dark coloured urine and foul-smelling sweat may signal other health problems. While dark yellow urine is a sign of dehydration induced by drinking less amount of water or consuming more caffeine-containing drinks, foul-smelling sweat could be a result of bacterial invasion.

Body shape and length variation is not good

The two most common variations of the human body include pear-shaped and apple-shaped body. While the pear-shaped body is characterized by deposition of fat around the abdomen and waist, apple-shaped body is identified by the pot or beer bellies. Out of the two, people with apple-shaped bellies are at an increased risk of heart disease.

You should also make regular assessment of your height, especially after the 50s. A decrease in height could signify bone loss and osteoporosis, thus putting you at an increased risk of hip or bone fracture.

Hands and feet are windows to actual health status

Your fingers of the hand and feet in general can also reveal a lot of things about your health. For example, the length of the fingers of a man's hand can depict his risk of developing prostate cancer later in life. Medical research into the subject has linked an exceeding number of HOX genes in prostate cancer patients, and the same genes also play a key role in development of fingers.

Similarly, pulses in the feet can be used to assess the presence of peripheral artery disease, which may result because of a build up of plaques and cholesterol in the arteries. Doctors usually check two pulses in the feet two confirm whether the blood flow is normal or not.

Snoring could prove fatal in life

Snoring loudly could be considered as an indication of deep sleep. However, people must know that it could be an indication of something serious happening in the body – sleep apnea.

It is a sleep disorder that occurs because of an obstruction in the respiratory pathway. As a result, a person who often snores could be at an increased risk of stroke due to insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain, heart attack and even death.