An estimated 900,000 patients from the US sought healthcare services outside of the US in 2013, according to recent findings by Patients Beyond Borders and information published by Reuters. These numbers have risen from 2012, where between 600,000 and 800,000 medical tourists left the US for healthcare in other countries.
According to the Reuters information, Costa Rica has risen to the third most popular destination for medical travellers from the US, just behind Thailand and in first place Mexico. So when you consider the close geographical proximity of Costa Rica to the US as well as its security as a top worldwide travel destination, Costa Rica is in a really strong position to welcome many more medical travellers in 2014 and beyond.
Costa Rica ranked above both India and Singapore in the Reuters information.
Two other factors will ensure that Costa Rica will continue to grow as a much sought-after medical tourism destination:
-the quality of care can be the same or even better than in the US (Costa Rica has many US accredited clinics and hospitals)
-the price of procedures can be up to 70% better priced than in the US.
According to Patient Beyond Borders, PBB, medical tourism is on the rise for these reasons:
- Rising cost of elective medical care in developed nations (e.g. U.S., United Kingdom, Hong Kong) is forcing patients to pursue cross-border alternatives.
- Rising quality of healthcare throughout the world (e.g. Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Mexico, Columbia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, et al).
- World populations ageing into expensive medical conditions.
- Availability (via Internet) of transparent clinical, quality and pricing information, allowing healthcare consumers to search, compare and purchase care.
Source: Medical Tourism Continues to Flourish as U.S. Patients Seek Lower Cost Healthcare in Overseas Countries Patients Beyond Borders; Reuters – Medical Tourism by Country, February 2014
At Medical Tourism Directory Costa Rica www.medicaltourismcostarica.com , we connect you directly with quality providers of medical tourism in Costa Rica. With quality information on Treatment, Travel, Trips and Total Care, www.medicaltourismcostarica.com, is your one-stop portal for planning your medical travel in Costa Rica. Your trip, your way.
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Claire Charnock, MediTourDirect – March 4, 2014
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