More people are looking for healthcare alternatives. Even in the so-called “down economy” relief can still be found by traveling for medical care. International healthcare over the last 15 years has come a long way. The idea that medical care outside the United States is not as good is ridiculous. Why limit your choices based on an outdated premise when the new paradigm in healthcare has a lot to offer? There are a host of other countries with American trained doctors performing state-of-the-art procedures in hospitals that are cleaner and, in many cases more technologically advanced. Surely you could overcome your fear of flying if it meant you were going to get excellent care and save thousands of dollars.

I can tell you this and you might believe it’s true. But let me share with you some statistics from the a few of the hospitals around the world that are doing fantastic work.

In South Korea, Wooridul Hospitals performs many different types of surgery. With 40 peer reviewed articles in various health related journals Wooridul is making a name for itself. According to their 2008 annual report, they treated 1017 patients from 56 different foreign countries with a majority coming from the United States (318). The total number of spinal surgeries for the year is an astounding 22,964. They also performed another 57,531 non surgical treatments which include the use of the 4th generation of Cyberknife.

The first JCI accredited hospital in Turkey, Acibadem International caters to patients in many areas of health care including oncology,  neurosurgery, in-vitro fertilization, thoracic surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, general surgery and many others. Acıbadem operates with over 8.000 employees of which 1,580 are physicians, in 9 General Hospitals, 8 medical centers, 1 laboratory and genetic diagnostic center.

Hospital Clinica Biblica, located in San Jose, Costa Rica, is a short flight (3-6 hours from the US) away. With a knee replacement package of under $12,000.00 it may make sense to look to this tropical paradise. Costa Rica offers so much more on the tourism side as well. It is one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet; 1500 species of butterfly alone. But the hospital has 200 skilled physicians offering a wide variety of services, including lap band surgery that costs approximately $7,100 as apposed to the $25,000 you might pay in the US.

Your medical options might seem limited when faced with putting your financial health at risk in the US. Health care abroad is providing another option. If you’d like more information, contact our sponsor. Patients Without Borders can answer any questions and help you make an informed decision.

All that jogging you did in the 70’s, and the aerobics you did in the 80’s may have put you on the path to joint replacement. You aren’t the only one who put your miniscus through hell, or ground out that hip joint like a mortar and pestle. According to an article posted on Articlebase and Hooted by anna_brachold (hat tip) the market is gearing up for the aging US population.

The expected outlay for hip replacement and knee replacement is expected to grow by nearly 12% per year. In 2008, hips and knees were generating a market size of 6.7 billion dollars. That’s going to more than double by 2015 to $14.7 billion. That’s a lot of joints!

Unfortunately the entire report is too pricey for this blogger ($3,500US), however if you are in the knee and hip biz, and have the means, I highly recommend it. It will give you insight into trends in the market as well as many other useful tidbits. Stuff like treatment flow analysis, and where the restraints of the market are likely to slow its growth.

One aspect of the market I didn’t see in the table of contents was the impact medical tourism will have on market growth here in the US. Judging by the investments being made in Asia in healthcare and their plans to grab a share of the American patient market at significantly lower costs it won’t be long before Americans are flocking to India, South Korea, China, Malaysia and Turkey to trade for newer models.

Another aspect to consider in this is the early adoption of treatment by a younger set of patients. It seems to reason that the younger you are the less money you have, so traveling to get a hip resurface at one tenth to one third the cost of the US makes economic sense. Plus a trip to the Great Wall, or Istanbul is a great way to break in the new hardware (if your doctor says that’s okay, of course).