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Medical Travel Today Celebrates First Anniversary, Cites Key Industry Trends and Impact of Worldwide Financial Crisis on Medical Tourism

Posted on: Monday, 13 October 2008, 15:00 CDT

Marking its first year of publication serving 35,000 worldwide business-to-business leaders in medical tourism, Medical Travel Today (MTT; www.medicaltraveltoday.com), cites key industry trends that are impacting this fast-paced industry which, according to Deloitte, expects the number of Americans traveling abroad for treatment to soar from 750,000 last year to 6 million by 2010 and reach 10 million by 2012.

MTT forecasts include:

-- Global economic downturn will actually fuel medical travel as individuals, employers and health plans seek out the highest quality, cost-efficient venues for medical care;

-- U.S. employers, third party administrators and insurance companies are at a tipping point and will begin rolling out meaningful benefits programs for medical travel in 2009;

-- A fall-out in the number of medical travel companies is bound to occur, although mergers and acquisitions will be fueled by venture capital organizations that recognize opportunities;

-- Multiple insurance products will materialize to offer employers and individuals coverage options; captive insurance policies are on the horizon for addressing malpractice.

-- Aesthetic surgeries and dental care will continue, but more patients will travel for serious surgeries and procedures including orthopedics and joint replacement, cardiac, in vitro fertilization, bariatrics as well as procedures not available in the United States such as stem cell transplants;

A survey conducted by MTT showed that 13 percent of respondents were interested in cosmetic procedures abroad, especially dental (12.5 percent), cosmetic (12.5 percent), orthopedics (11.6 percent), neurosurgery (10.7 percent), and bariatrics (10.7 percent). Cosmetic procedures performed overseas by world-class doctors can save Americans thousands of dollars, with breast augmentation surgery costing $5,000 less in India and Thailand, and an average savings of more than $2,000 for rhinoplasty in India, Singapore, and Thailand.

"In a remarkably short time period, medical tourism has catapulted into a multibillion-dollar worldwide industry, accelerating the globalization of healthcare," says MTT publisher, Laura Carabello of CPR Communications. "For U.S. residents, the current economic crisis and potential loss of jobs or insurance coverage are likely to prompt more patients to seek less expensive healthcare options outside domestic borders."

She advises patients to do their research, work with reputable medical travel coordinators, and speak with other patients who have traveled for medical care. Destinations should offer hospitals that are accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI) or equivalent, demonstrate the highest quality care standards and safety records, offer a comfortable environment with English-speaking professionals, and assist with follow-up care.

Following the widespread global receptivity to MTT, the publishers launched Your Medical Travel (www.yourmedicaltravel.com), a sister newsletter directed at consumers which now reaches 1.7M individuals, primarily in the United States. Subscriptions and sponsorship opportunities for both newsletters are available at www.medicaltraveltoday.com or pr@cpronline.com.

About Medical Travel Today and Your Medical Travel

Published by CPR Strategic Marketing Communications (CPR) www.cpronline.com, Medical Travel Today and Your Medical Travel are the leading online newsletters serving stakeholders in the medical tourism industry.

Source: Business Wire

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