Medical tourism describes the act of people making
health choices and accessing health treatments across
borders. Depending on who is asking the question, it can be
trade in goods and services, a health choice, or a health service.
The term medical tourism has come to embrace all facets
of consumers seeking treatment, improvement or change
through medical or wellness practices – provided they
cross an international border to do so.
On one hand, medical tourism is a popular, consumerdriven
internet search term. To find information about
medical treatment abroad, consumers and media alike
google medical tourism.
For government planners, economists and academics,
medical tourism is data: population movements and the
value they bring or leave in their wake. This definition of
medical tourism serves a need to count and put an
economic value on movement of people.
The economic definition is not sufficient or useful for
those “on the ground” who provide the goods and services
for this population. Medical professionals, health care
providers, and medical travel service companies need a
useful and practical definition that guides them in caring
for traveling international patients. It is a matter of giving
value to life, death and quality of life.