Health tourism may be defined as the increasing custom of obtaining health care by traveling across international borders.  It may be for a relatively minor procedure, such as plastic surgery, or more serious cases, where the cost of surgery in the patient’s home country is prohibitive.  Fifty countries in the world include health care as part of their national industries.  In Thailand, health tourism is a growing field, both for the country’s tourism and health care practitioners.  In one recent year, a hospital in Bangkok saw over one hundred and fifty thousand people seeking treatment from overseas.   It’s possible to find in Thailand treatments that include everything from cosmetic and dental surgery, orthopaedic treatments, even cardiac surgeries.

In the case of one patient, an operation that would have cost a hundred thousand dollars in the United States cost about twelve thousand dollars in Thailand.  Indeed, some hospitals in Thailand recognize this growing area, and provide interpreters for as many as twenty-two languages, in addition to a medical staff that speaks English.  Thailand has been continuing to work on developing its health tourism care, combining the medical side of the care with the tourism aspects of Thailand (for those patients who aren’t too ill to also engage in tourism after the necessary procedures are completed).  While health tourism is only a small part of the overall tourism industry in Thailand, it still generates about 33 billion baht of income a year, roughly eight hundred and fifty US dollars.

If a person wants to consider medical treatment via health tourism, then some research is required.  Thoroughly explore all options.  Usually, a journey of this fashion begins by talking to a health tourism provider.  The provider will then check with the potential medical tourist’s doctors and medical history as well as make arrangements for hospital choices and destination countries, including Thailand.