Many Americans somehow think that their medical services,
hospitals and doctors are far superior to that of other countries, especially
third world countries. That statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. In
fact, many foreign countries are known for being tops in their particular
specialty. The World Health Organization recently ranked the quality of health
care in over 191 countries and the United States ranked 37th. Shocked? Don’t be. Many
Asian and South American countries began to specialize in certain fields to
draw tourists and boost the local economy.
Here’s a list of some of the top unexpected countries and what they specialize
in.
1. South
Korea: Specializing in spinal surgeries and cancer research, South Korea has
long been a leader in medical tourism to Asia.
2. Singapore:
This little Asian country is a power house in medical tourism. Ranking #1 in
Asia and #6 overall on the WHO list, Singapore is the go to place for stem cell
therapy. They have liberal laws on stem cell research and a new multi-billion
dollar research facility, the likes of which is not even available in the
United States.
3. Mexico:
While not popular with actual surgeries, many people in the southwestern part
of the United States travel across the border to Mexico for medical care. The
uninsured and the under-insured in the United States find it much easier to pay
the lower prices in Mexico for doctor’s visits and prescriptions than the
inflated U.S. prices. It is all about
value when traveling to Mexico and you definitely can get more for your
American dollar.
4. India:
Movies like Slum Dog Millionaire do not paint India in the best light but the
country has seen a 30% increase in patients in recent years. Specializing in
expensive cardiac and orthopedic surgeries, the savings in India can be
tremendous. In fact, a bypass in the States could run upwards of $80,000 but,
in India, that same operation could cost just $8,000 – a savings of 90%.
5. Turkey:
The JCI (Joint Commission International) is the hospital accrediting body in
the United States. Basically, they know which hospitals are the good ones.
Turkey actually has the most JCI accredited facilities outside of the United
States and specializes in eye surgeries.
6. Hungary: Ironically, Hungary is known for dental work.
Surely, there is a bad joke in there somewhere but the country has more
dentists per capita than anywhere in the world. Dental procedures like
implants, veneers and oral surgeries are popular and are offered at just 25% of
the cost that an American dentist would charge.
7. Brazil:
It only goes to reason that the country that gave us the Brazilian bikini and
the corresponding Brazilian bikini wax, would be tops in cosmetic surgeries. In
fact, Brazil has more plastic surgeons per capita than any country in the
world.
When you need medical care it may pay to shop around (the
world). Obviously you must proceed with great caution, do your research and
always double-check before traveling for any serious procedure.
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