Hungary, Turkey, Oklahoma See Gains in Medical Travel

Hungary Leader Sees Dental Tourism as Recovery Tool
Dental tourism generates up to 227 million Euros annually for Hungary, giving it a 40% share of Europe’s dental tourism market, according to its government. Now the country is aiming for a two-fold increase in dental tourism in three years. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban told a recent dental tourism conference near Budapest that dental tourism will help Hungary’s economy recover, while demonstrating the country’s high standards of care. The Hungarian government plans major investments in dental services, including incentives designed to keep Hungarian dentists from emigrating to other countries.

Turkey Emerging as Medical Travel Destination
Turkey is emerging as a regional player in medical travel, because of its proximity to Eastern Europe and the Middle East. It is also a growing destination for U.S. medical tourists, according to the report Emerging Medical Tourism in Turkey, by market research firm RNCOS. The number of medical tourists to Turkey is forecast to increase by about 26% between 2010 and 2014, due to lower costs and government spending on promotional activities. Strong growth also will result from increased investments by the private sector. Turkey has one of the highest numbers of internationally-accredited hospitals in the world, the report notes. Affiliations of Turkish hospitals’ with U.S. institutions, such as Johns Hopkins and Harvard, are attracting U.S. medical travelers.

Oklahoma City Attracting Oncology Patients
Oklahoma City is becoming a leading destination for oncology care in the U.S., according to HealthLeaders-InterStudy, which provides managed care market intelligence to the pharmaceutical  industry. Health systems in Oklahoma City are offering proton therapy treatments that are only available in a handful of locations nationwide, HealthLeaders’ recent Oklahoma City Market Overview reported.
 
OU Medicine will open a cancer center offering proton therapy later this year, positioning itself to compete with the Integris Health/ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City, according to the report. Patients from 23 states, as well as international patients, have already sought treatment at Integris. Other Oklahoma City health systems are likely to beef up their cancer services to compete for market share, according to HealthLeaders. Mercy Health System of Oklahoma has already hired 11 additional oncologists.

Costa Rica: From ‘Sleepy’ to ‘Robust’
Costa Rica is moving from a relatively sleepy destination for cosmetic surgery to a robust healthcare center, according to Josef Woodman, editor and publisher of Patients Beyond Borders. After a recent visit to the Central American country, Woodman reported that “facilities such as CIMA, Clinica Biblica and Hospital La Catolica are increasingly addressing specialties of interest to the cross-border medical traveler” – including orthopedics, cardiology, spine surgery and oncology.

Elsewhere in Latin America . . .
“Healthcare is flourishing throughout Latin America,” Woodman said.  He noted that three years ago there were no internationally accredited facilities in Mexico or Central America. Now there are 14 Latin American facilities that have received a seal of approval from the Joint Commission International, the international arm of the Chicago-based Joint Commission, which accredits U.S. hospitals. The accredited facilitates are in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua – with Panama and El Salvador soon to follow. “This is good news for the short-haul U.S. and Canadian traveler, as well as expats and citizens in the region,” he said.

Regional Medical Tourism Will Drive Growth
Regional medical tourism will drive the industry’s growth in the future, according to Ian Youngman, a writer and researcher specializing in insurance and health care issues. In a recent blogpost on the International Medical Travel Journal site, Youngman makes the case that rising travel costs due to increased gas prices, and the political/cultural influences shaping national health delivery systems, and other factors are changing the direction of medical travel. Europeans will stay in or near Europe, North Americans will travel for medical care to Central and South America, and Asian, African and Middle Eastern medical travelers will seek local treatment, he said. The U.K. based Youngman was a co-founder of The General Insurance Market Research Association in Britain.

Youngman sees an emerging opportunity for medical tourism in a shift of the costs of preventative medicine to individuals. “Doctors are now openly arguing something they would not have discussed a few years ago – whether people should be forced to pay for self-imposed health problems from obesity, smoking, failure to exercise etc. –  and the state withdraw help,” he wrote. “This is where medical tourism can take over from state healthcare, as individuals are forced/encouraged to look after their bodies. People service their cars regularly and pay for repairs and improvements, leaving insurance only to pay for accident damage. So the logic is that state healthcare should pay for the unexpected, but not for the annual service, running repairs, cosmetic improvements or damage brought on by areas that people can control (smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, children).”