Medical Tourism has emerged as a fantastic alternative to high healthcare costs and wait times. Many countries around the world have decided that it makes economic sense to invest in the growth of the medical travel industry. Recent reports from South Korea, India, Costa Rica and Malaysia signal that, not only is this a growth industry, but that the West has priced itself out of the market in some respects. Not everyone is going to jump on a plane for dental or eye exams, but as costs rise this may be the next major out-flux from countries with high prices. People from the US have been traveling for dental care to places like Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and even as far as the Philippines for these relatively lower cost procedures for quite some time. But it isn’t necessarily lower costs that is going to get people to choose Panama over the dentist next door.
Paradise Island (Borocay), Philipines. Clean teeth, clean heart and mind.
Recently a friend of mine returned from the Philippines where he and his wife had dental work, including a cleaning, and eye exams. After the dentist, optometrist and re-wedding, he spent another couple of weeks on Baracay Island. He said the trip was just what the doctor ordered. He is a firm believer in the three week vacation. He said it allows him to forget about everything for a while, but the main benefit is clearing out all the stuff that tends to get built up in his head. He said he returned with a much more focused and clearer vision of work and where he wanted to take his many business ideas and concerns.
I look back on the vacations I’ve taken, short though they may have been, and I really value what those times away from it all did for my mind and soul. There were times at the end of the trip where I just wanted to get back so I could take care of business I had lined up before I left. And of course there were times when I didn’t want to go back. The idea that I could have that ever-annoying teeth cleaning and eye exam with a vacation tacked on the end seems like a good way to go, especially since those medical type procedures would cost less than an extra night’s stay.
More invasive procedures can weigh heavily on one’s mind. Spending time on a beach in some of the most beautiful places our little blue marble has to offer might be a good way to clear the cob webs and relax afterwards. It’s been proven that a positive mental attitude is one of the keys to recovery. Who could argue that two weeks in paradise being waited on hand and foot wouldn’t do anyone a world of good. You’re sure to return with a little more spring in your step, or at least a brighter smile.
