Surgical tourism and the globalisation of healthcare

Excerpt

In an era of globalisation, a growing number of patients are seeking surgical treatment abroad. The term surgical tourism was coined to describe the practice of travelling outside one’s principal country of residence for a surgical procedure and the associated burgeoning industry. The estimated worth of this industry was $60 billion in 2006, and is projected to be worth 100 billion in 2012 [1]. The primary driving forces in surgical tourism are the cost of surgical treatment and the length of waiting lists in the principal country of residence, and increasingly the ease with which prospective patients can access information regarding surgical tourism destinations coupled with affordable international travel. However, issues such as lack of regulation and continuity of care continue to raise concerns in the surgical tourism industry. …