Medical Tourism

[mikew]

From the asian edition of Reader's Digest 4/2006

                               Singapore      Thailand   India      USA
Coronary angiogram     2,450          1,141       550      24893
Coronary bypass        11,000        16,483     9,000     83,919
Knee replacement       8,133          8,113     7,600     36,270
Hip replacement          7,216        12,169     6,200     40,828
Face lift                     4,280          3,096      2,900      1,200
Lasik (per eye)             978              760     1,200       1,957
In vitro fertilization     4,280           3,423     3,500     12,000
All numbers in US dollars

India has 150,000 medical tourists per year
Thailand has 1,000,000 with 120,000 going to Bamrungrad International Hospital
Singapore is aiming for 1,000,000 by 2012

 

[Robert the Red]

On a much smaller scale:

On my recent trip to Thailand, I was bitten by a dog and had to get the 5 rabies vaccination shots.  Cost of about $10/shot (medicine plus nurse).  The last scheduled one, 28 days after the exposure, was back in the US..  Cost was $238/shot.  The same medicine.  I found out the wholesale cost -- it's the same vaccine, made by the same company -- in the US is about $180/dose.  It's almost cheaper to go to Thailand if you need a rabies series!

BTW, the old Pasteur vaccine series (shots into the abdomen) is obsolete -- the modern vaccine is a simple intramuscular shot in the arm.  And I thought that the Thai doctors I talked to were fluent, competent, and friendly.

 

[Brat]

A face lift is cheaper in the USA?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

A face lift is cheaper in the USA?

It's not covered by insurance and it is cosmetic/optional = competition. Wouldn't work that way if either factor applied, I'd guess.

 

[Maximillion]

Hospitals in the US make a profit on the items that are used on you, use single use products rather than recyclable, factor in an amount for bad Debts, pay exorbitant malpractice insurance and Surgeons are amongst the wealthier part of the population.

This fact has resulted in attracting many surgeons from overseas who do not make nearly as much.

In the UK a Surgeon is referred to as Mr, the term doctor is reserved for Ph.D's.