Question

One and a half pages and a well-developed Paragraphs

Question: Would you opt to become a medical tourist yourself or have a family member become one? Provide the rationale for your decision.

Answer 1

Introduction- Medical tourism is travelling to different countries in order to obtain medical treatment. In the past, medical tourism referred to people from developing countries travelling to developed countries to major medical centers or health care providers. However, with the growth of technology and advancements in research and technology, people from developed countries too travel to developing countries to obtain medical treatment at a lower cost.

Purpose of medical tourism- In addition to the above, the purpose of medical tourism includes medical services that are not available and/or not licensed in the home country. At times, the drugs might not be approved in the home country. The medical agencies differ in their protocols worldwide. For example, within Europe, therapy protocols are approved by the European Medical Agency (EMA). However, this changes in several countries as they have different organizations to review the therapy protocols to evaluate its cost effectiveness in the country.

Types of treatment- Medical Tourism is mainly undertaken for surgeries such as cosmetic surgeries and other treatments like fertility or dental tourism. Additionally, people with rare conditions or medical ailment might seek other countries who would be able to understand their issues better. Medical Tourism is undertaken for almost all kinds of health issues such as psychiatry, alternative medicine, rehabilitation, curative form of treatments etc.

Argument for Medical Tourism- Personally speaking, I would opt to become a medical tourist myself or any of my family members because it is making the best use of research and technology wherever it is available. Good quality treatment is received in medical tourism. Additionally, cheaper medical treatment can be obtained for the medical procedures of the same quality as offered in high tech medical centers. Additionally, in some countries few medical procedures such as fertility procedures is considered illegal. Since there is a wide range of benefits from medical tourism, I would prefer to opt for medical tourism because I wanted the best treatment for them.

Conclusion- It is pertinent to say that medical tourism is a growing sector and countries gain their competitive edge with the new research and technology in the medical field. Thus, it is best to opt for medical tourism if the good quality treatment is available at a lower price in other countries.