The field of medical tourism has never been stronger. Across the globe, people are traveling to other countries to have medical procedures done. Many of these are elective surgeries, such as hair or breast implants, and others are necessary procedures that can be done more inexpensively, with no reduction in the quality of care. There are also those who like to combine surgeries with a recovery period in the vacation spot of their choice. This is really the origin of the tourism part of health tourism. In the EU, there are different issues in health tourism, because of the specifics to their system, and those specifics will be discussed here.

The primary distinguishing feature in European health care is, of course, its coverage. In the ideal, citizens of the EU are covered for any medical procedures as long as they are somewhere in the EU. This began as a safety measure, to insure that, if someone were in another country on holiday, and something went wrong, they would still be covered for medical expenses. However, with the recent changes to health coverage in general, this is become much more extensive.

As it stands right now, if someone in the UK were on a long waiting list for a medical procedure, and the same procedure could be done in another country, they can have it done and still be covered under their existing care. The stipulation here is that the procedure has to be the same cost, or a lesser cost. Before, the patient would have to prove they were experiencing an undue delay, but this requirement is no longer necessary, although one does need to have a referral from the physician in their home country. This opens things up tremendously for those who have been waiting for a long time for certain kinds of care.

At the same time, there are issues with the new system, where certain countries, such as Spain, with a host of enviable beach spots that have been ideal for recoveries for centuries, are having an influx of foreign patients. This is not a problem in theory, but in practice they are not getting the full reimbursement they deserve. Time will hopefully tell as these bumps get sorted out.