Medical tourism in simple terms implies reasonably priced, private medical care that works in collaboration with the travel industry. Medical tourism is a therapeutic and healthy exercise for people from abroad traveling to India for healthcare and surgery. They even end up paying less in India compared to what they’d pay in their own country for the treatment.

The healthcare industry in India is growing by an astounding 30 percent annually. The Indian finance minister Jaswant Singh has stated that the country has the potential to become a ‘global health destination’. Medical tourism in India is poised to become a huge foreign exchange revenue earner and has found a lot of support among the professionals in the industries (medicine and transport) and the government.

The medical facilities in some of the private hospitals of India are comparable to the ones in the US and UK. Also, there are a large number of expatriate doctors and medical staff working in the US, UK and other developed countries. Patients in these countries have been traditionally exposed to the expertise, professionalism and adeptness of Indian physicians. As a result, patients in these countries are confident and mentally prepared to get fantastic service and treatment in India. But the best thing about medical tourism in India is its quality low-cost treatment. The treatment costs are about 1/10th of the comparable treatment in countries like the US and UK and embraces every aspect of medical spectrum like prognosis, diagnosis, cosmetic surgery, major surgeries and other methods of health care.

The cost effective treatment is just one good part of the deal. Apart from the vastly reduced price for healthcare in India, medical tourists can also enjoy their stay in the country. India is a tourist’s delight and the time a medical tourist spends here, also promises an exciting and therapeutic touch. There are a lot of holiday options that a medical tourist can take back in India like the backwaters of Kerala, the pristine beaches of Goa or the tranquility of the magnificent Himalayas and much more.

What are the best medical tourism destinations? Are they really safe? What should I know about each country before going abroad?

Medical tourism—people going overseas for all sort of operations—has typically been for America’s uninsured. Unable to pay the high cost of procedures in the U.S., they have been going to less expensive hospitals in Asia and Latin America for years. Now, with health-care costs continuing to rise at home, more U.S. insurers are starting to look into providing coverage for their members at overseas hospitals.

That means offshoring might be the next big thing in health care. “As the health-care crisis in the U.S. continues, people and corporations are going to start taking a look at other options,” says Ruben Toral, CEO of Mednet Asia, a consulting firm that advises hospitals in Thailand, the Philippines, and other countries. “Health care won’t be too much different than manufacturing; it’s going to start to move to lower-cost areas.”

Countries such as India, Singapore, and Thailand are some of the most popular destinations for medical tourists. Just how much cheaper are Asia’s hospitals? Here’s a look at some of the top hospitals, such as Bangkok Phuket Hospital, along with a comparison of the costs of checking in. With a growing number of U.S. insurance companies considering adding Asia’s hospitals to their coverage, in the next few years more patients from the U.S. might find themselves going to these centers for their next operation.

Best Medical Tourism Destinations are:

1) Panama

Panama offers significantly lower costs for medical procedures just south of the U.S. border. Costs, on average, are 40 to 70 percent lower than costs of similar surgeries in the U.S., according to a report on medical tourism published by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) last November. Although costs for medical procedures are generally higher compared to those of Southeast Asian countries, travel costs from the U.S. to Panama are considerably lower.

Panama is a relatively “Americanized” country and an attractive place for both regular tourists and medical tourists to visit. Panama City is a relatively safe and modern destination; the U.S. dollar is the country’s official currency, and many of the physicians are U.S.-trained. Consequently, U.S. patients are less likely to experience a high degree of culture shock when seeking care in Panama.

Medical tourism should have a positive impact on Panama’s economy, which relies heavily on the services industry. The medical tourism industry can also help to utilize Panama’s labor force of approximately 1.5 million people, which has a surplus of unskilled labor, according to the CIA World Factbook.

In general, Panama has shown commitment to improving its economy in fostering trade relations with the U.S. Rather than participate in Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), Panama independently negotiated a free trade agreement with the US in December 2006.

2) Brazil

Brazil has become an international mecca for cosmetic and plastic surgeries. Its road to fame in medical tourism began with Ivo Pitanguy, the world-renowned plastic surgeon who opened a clinic outside of Rio de Janeiro more than 40 years ago. It is the second largest market for plastic surgery in the world, behind the U.S., which is most likely attributed to the high quality of service and low cost compared to other countries.

Brazil is also becoming a medical tourism destination for other types of procedures in its own right. In terms of general medical treatment, Brazil has the most hospitals of any country outside the U.S. that are fully accredited by the Joint Commission (JCAHO), the largest U.S. hospital accreditation organization, according to the website for medical tourism service company MedRetreat.

São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, is considered to have some of the world’s best equipped hospitals, advanced evaluation procedures and highly skilled physicians, according to BrazilMedicalTourism.com, a website hosted by Sphera Internacional.

Brazil can be reached from most U.S. cities within eight to 12 hours by plane.

3) Malaysia

Malaysia’s medical tourism industry has seen staggering growth over recent years. The number of foreigners seeking healthcare services in Malaysia has grown from 75,210 patients in 2001 to 296,687 patients in 2006, according to the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia. The large volume of patients in 2006 brought approximately $59 million in revenue. The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia projected that the number of foreigners seeking medical treatment in Malaysia will continue to grow at a rate of 30 percent a year until 2010.

Malaysia offers a wide array of medical procedures—including dental, cosmetic and cardiac surgeries—at significantly lower costs than in the U.S. In Malaysia, cardiac bypass surgery, for example, costs around $6,000 to $7,000, according to a publication released by Tourism Malaysia last November.

Malaysia attracts medical tourists and investors alike for its favorable exchange rate, political and economic stability and high rate of literacy. The country also offers a comprehensive network of hospitals and clinics, with 88.5 percent of the population living within three miles of a public health clinic or private practitioner, according to statistics quoted on Hospitals-Malaysia.org.

4) Costa Rica

Costa Rica, like Panama, has become a popular destination among North American patients for inexpensive, high-quality medical care “without a trans-Pacific flight,” according to experts quoted in the University of Delaware’s UDaily news in 2005. The convenience of travel has made the country a particularly attractive destination for American patients, as Costa Rica can be reached from most U.S. cities within seven to 10 hours of flight time.

Around 150,000 foreigners sought care in Costa Rica in 2006, according to the NCPA report published last November. Often, foreign patients travel to Costa Rica for the low costs of dental work and plastic surgery. Costs of procedures in Costa Rica are generally less than half the cost of the same procedures in the U.S.; the price of a dental veneer, for instance, is approximately $350 in Panama, whereas the same procedure is $1,250 in the U.S., according to the website for Medical Tourism of Costa Rica, a medical travel service company.

5) India

India, arguably, has the lowest cost and highest quality of all medical tourism destinations , according to a report on medical tourism published by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) last November. Several hospitals are accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) and utilize highly trained physicians and cutting-edge medical technology. But India comes in fifth on our list rather than first because of the amount of restrictions placed on foreign investors and the distance Americans must travel to get there.

The medical tourism sector is experiencing rapid growth, with approximately 500,000 foreign patients travelling to India for medical care in 2005, compared to an estimated 150,000 patients in 2002, according to experts quoted in the University of Delaware’s UDaily news. In monetary terms, experts estimate that medical tourism could bring India as much as $2.2 billion per year by 2012.

India has become a well-known medical tourist destination for cardiac and orthopedic procedures. In the past, American patients have travelled to India for procedures such as Birmingham hip resurfacing, which was previously unavailable in the U.S., and has only recently been FDA approved. Medical tourists also journey to India for procedures that carry high costs in the U.S.; for example, Apollo Hospital in New Delhi charges $4,000 for cardiac surgery, while the same procedure would cost about $30,000 in the U.S.

Although India has taken significant steps to becoming the “global health destination” envisioned by Finance Minister Jaswant Sing in the country’s 2003 budget, the country still faces problems such as overpopulation, environmental degradation, poverty and ethnic and religious strife. Such problems may dissuade some patients from traveling to India to receive healthcare.

What the Indian government has in store for foreign investors also remains uncertain. Although the government has reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India’s vast and growing market, according to the CIA World Factbook.

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