| Author | Josef Woodman |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Medical Tourism |
| Publisher | Healthy Travel Media |
| Published | 2006–2011 |
| Media type |
Patients Beyond Borders is a 2015 medical tourism guidebook by Josef Woodman.
| Author | Josef Woodman |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Medical Tourism |
| Publisher | Healthy Travel Media |
| Published | 2006–2011 |
| Media type |
Patients Beyond Borders is a 2015 medical tourism guidebook by Josef Woodman.
The book surveys the economic and social trends associated with medical travel and provides information on medical travel destinations, [1] internationally accredited hospitals and corresponding medical specialties, subspecialties and procedures.
Patients Beyond Borders has been cited by mainstream press organizations as a leading guidebook for medical tourism. [2] [3] Data on international patient flow and comparative costs of medical procedures have been cited by research, news and reference media. [4] [5]
This chapter summary provides a rough indication of the book's contents:
A respiratory therapist is a specialized healthcare practitioner trained in critical care and cardio-pulmonary medicine in order to work therapeutically with people who have acute critical conditions, cardiac and pulmonary disease. Respiratory therapists graduate from a college or university with a degree in respiratory therapy and have passed a national board certifying examination. The NBRC is responsible for credentialing as a CRT, or RRT,
Medical tourism refers to people traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavailable at home. However, in recent years it may equally refer to those from developed countries who travel to developing countries for lower-priced medical treatments. The motivation may be also for medical services unavailable or non-licensed in the home country: There are differences between the medical agencies world-wide which decide whether a drug is approved in their country or not. Even within Europe, although therapy protocols might be approved by the European Medical Agency (EMA), several countries have their own review organizations in order to evaluate whether the same therapy protocol would be "cost-effective", so that patients face differences in the therapy protocols, particularly in the access of these drugs, which might be partially explained by the financial strength of the particular Health System.
The National University Hospital (NUH) is a tertiary referral hospital and academic medical centre in Singapore, located in Kent Ridge. It is a 1,160-bed tertiary hospital serving more than 670,000 outpatients and 49,000 inpatients, and serves as a clinical training centre and research centre for the medical and dental faculties of the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) is Singapore's largest group of healthcare institutions. The group was formed in 2000 and consists of four public hospitals, three community hospitals, five national specialty centres and a network of eight polyclinics. The Singapore General Hospital is the largest hospital in the group and serves as the flagship hospital for the cluster.
Bumrungrad International Hospital is a private hospital founded in 1980 in Bangkok, Thailand. More frequently referred to as Bumrungrad Hospital or simply Bumrungrad, its name, Bumrungrad means 'to care for the populace' or 'to nurture the people'.
The National Healthcare Group (NHG) is a group of healthcare institutions in Singapore. The group was formed in 2000 and operates several hospitals, national specialty centres, and polyclinics. Tan Tock Seng Hospital is the largest hospital in the group and serves as the flagship hospital for the cluster.
Healthcare in Malaysia is mainly under the Ministry of Health. Malaysia generally has an efficient and widespread system of health care, operating a two-tier health care system consisting of both a government base universal healthcare system and a co-existing private healthcare system. While there is a universal healthcare system, specialist services require queuing despite being free. Hence the private health care plays a major role in providing specialist services which complements the universal health care.
Due to the near-universal desire for safe and good quality healthcare, there is a growing interest in international healthcare accreditation. Providing healthcare, especially of an adequate standard, is a complex and challenging process. Healthcare is a vital and emotive issue—its importance pervades all aspects of societies, and it has medical, social, political, ethical, business, and financial ramifications. In any part of the world healthcare services can be provided either by the public sector or by the private sector, or by a combination of both, and the site of delivery of healthcare can be located in hospitals or be accessed through practitioners working in the community, such as general medical practitioners and dental surgeons.
A medical tourism agent is an organisation or a company which seeks to bring together a prospective patient with a service provider, usually a hospital or a clinic. These organisations are generally facilitators and developers of medical tourism, which brings into play a number of issues that do not apply when a patient stays within their own country of origin.
Healthcare in Singapore or the Singapore healthcare system is under the purview of the Ministry of Health of the Government of Singapore. It mainly consists of a government-run publicly funded universal healthcare system as well as a significant private healthcare sector. Financing of healthcare costs is done through a mixture of direct government subsidies, compulsory comprehensive savings, a national healthcare insurance, and cost sharing.
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency department to treat urgent health problems ranging from fire and accident victims to a sudden illness. A district hospital typically is the major health care facility in its region, with many beds for intensive care and additional beds for patients who need long-term care. Specialized hospitals include trauma centers, rehabilitation hospitals, children's hospitals, seniors' (geriatric) hospitals, and hospitals for dealing with specific medical needs such as psychiatric treatment and certain disease categories. Specialized hospitals can help reduce health care costs compared to general hospitals. Hospitals are classified as general, specialty, or government depending on the sources of income received.
Medical tourism is a growing sector in India. In mid–2020, India's medical tourism sector was estimated to be worth US$5–6 billion. In 2017, 495,056 patients visited India to seek medical care. According to a report from 2019 by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Ernst & Young, most of the medical tourist arrivals in India were from Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, and SAARC region. India also receives significant number of medical tourists from Australia, Canada, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Gurgaon is the medical tourism hub followed by Chennai which is known as the healthcare capital of India.
Medtral is a New Zealand based medical travel company that provides private medical care to overseas patients. All surgical procedures undertaken by Medtral are performed by English speaking surgeons and physicians all of whom have received their training both in New Zealand and either North America or Europe and are performed in internationally accredited hospitals. Each Medtral patient is assigned a ‘lead medical carer’- who co-ordinates all aspects of the patient’s medical care.
The Min-Sheng General Hospital is a tertiary hospital in Taoyuan District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
Yanhee International Hospital is a multi-service general hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, that specializes in a range of medical and cosmetic services. Yanhee comprises a 15-story hospital building with a 400-bed capacity, 150 full-time doctors, 120 part-time health professionals, and 800 nurses. Additionally, Yanhee operates 95 outpatient examination rooms, 12 major and 30 minor operating rooms, an 18-bed Intensive Care Unit, emergency rooms, delivery rooms, a diagnostic laboratory and a nursery.
Durdans Hospital is a multi-speciality private hospital that treats patients visiting from around the world, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, founded in 1945, and currently owned and operated by Ceylon Hospitals PLC.
Medical tourism in Pakistan is viewed as an untapped market that could be turned into a huge opportunity if the government "focuses on key issues". According to Pakistani medical experts, Pakistan has a "huge potential" in becoming a regional medical tourism hub, comparable to many other countries in its neighbourhood. Medical tourism in Pakistan has been arranging potential trips for many medical health and care procedures. A number of modern hospital facilities exist in major cities such as Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore that are fully equipped and facilitated with the latest medical technologies. Many doctors and surgeons in Pakistani hospitals tend to be foreign qualified. However, security issues and an overall below-par health infrastructure have challenged the growth of the industry.
Healthcare in Chennai is provided by both government-run and private hospitals. Chennai attracts about 45 percent of health tourists from abroad arriving in the country and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. The city has been termed India's health capital. Multi- and super-specialty hospitals across the city bring in an estimated 150 international patients every day. Factors behind the tourists' inflow in the city include low costs, little to no waiting period, and facilities offered at the speciality hospitals in the city.
According to the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), Malaysia reportedly received 641,000 foreign patients in 2011, 728,800 in 2012, 881,000 in 2013, 882,000 in 2014, 859,000 in 2015, and 921,000 in 2016. Malaysia's medical tourism statistics derive from the reported numbers of all foreign patients treated by Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC)–endorsed medical facilities. These figures encompass all registered patients with a foreign passport, which by default also encompass expatriates, migrants, business travellers, and holiday-makers for whom health care may not be the main motive for their stay. The number of Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council–endorsed medical facilities in Malaysia has increased over the years, playing a role in increasing the official figures on foreign patients. Malaysia is listed in the top 10 tourism destinations in the world by Patients Beyond Borders.
City International Hospital is a tertiary care provider in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Inaugurated in 2014, and located in Bình Tân District, the gateway to Mekong Delta, the hospital has 21 medical specialties and ancillary services, 60 full-time physicians, 500 non-medical staff, serving half a million patient visit a year.