International medical tourism report released this week!
by Adam Nethersole
YourSurgeryAbroad.com, in association with The International Medical Travel Association, has conducted the largest international medical tourism study of general consumers. The survey, the first of its kind, encompasses both current and potential medical tourists. The overall aim of this research being to not only provide insight into the current medical tourism market, but also to evaluate the potential for market growth, and to acknowledge any impact, either negative or positive, that the Global Financial Crisis may have on this market.
The survey itself was conducted online in June 2009 and resulted in 8003 participants from the UK and USA. The results, which were released this week, provide meaningful data for the exploration of the medical tourism sector, with a number of issues that hold significance for international healthcare providers and medical tourism enthusiasts. Such findings are:
- Only approximately 10% of most recent surgery abroad was cosmetic, contradicting a commonly held viewpoint that healthcare abroad is primarily for cosmetic and plastic surgery.
- The most common treatment area in both countries is dental surgery.
- The US market predominately considers cost of treatment to be the most important motivations when deciding to go abroad for treatment. The UK market on the other hand generally goes abroad for procedures to beat NHS waiting times.
- The most common fear with surgery abroad is the medical standards in destination countries, highlighting a need to publish more information about international accreditation and healthcare standards abroad.
- The Global Financial Crisis has increased the likelihood one will participate in medical tourism.
For further information on full survey reports contact mlynch@yoursurgeryabroad.com.