EclectEcon More on Medical Tourism

Over a year ago, I posted this about medical tourism, in which I said,

Medical tourism is a response to two important forces:
1. Comparative advantage. It is possible that some medical procedures can, even in the absence of myriad regulations and restrictions in North America, be more efficiently performed in other places.
2. Restrictions and regulations. Especially in Canada, we have too few physicians emerging from medical schools, and patients are not allowed to pay more to attract additional resources into the medical profession. So they do so elsewhere. It is not at all surprising.

At about the same time I also wrote this about medical tourism. Last week I received some e-mail spam that said, in part,

respected sir,
namaste,
we are a medical tourism company based in mumbai india.
our doctors are world renowned associated with the state of the art
hospitals in mumbai.
we provide excellent medical and hospitality services.
please view our site: *****
we are keen to associate with you for long term services.
hope to hear from you at the earliest.
thanking you,

My favourite drug dealer, JB, says, "Have hypochondria; will travel."

Jack, my favourite retired socionomologist-physician, sent me e-mail saying,

Actually this is a legit and growing enterprise with several Canadian based contact businesses. South Africa boasts superb plastic surgery for a fraction of American costs.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/healthcare/medicaltourism.html

... Other sites of interest include:

http://www.medicaltourism.ca/medical-tourism-canada.html

http://www.burnabynow.com/issues05/124105/news/124105nn3.html

http://www.travellady.com/ARTICLES/article-surgery.html

http://www.surgeon-and-safari.co.za/

http://www.plasticsurgery.co.za/

Surgeon and Safari?

(link)

Acad Ronin:

I clicked on the medical tourism Canada link and found that the Ontario Health system will pay for medical procedures done outside Canada, providing certain conditions are met and the patient gets prior approval. One qualifying conditions that I did not see, surprisingly, was that the procedure be cheaper abroad than in Canada. I would have thought that the health insurer would encourage people to go where it was cheaper, wouldn't you?

9.12.2006 7:59am

EclectEcon

Economics and the mid-life crisis have much in common: Both dwell on foregone opportunities

C'est la vie; c'est la guerre; c'est la pomme de terre A View from/of the Econochasm by John Palmer

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