Not all tourists know that traveling abroad is a great way to combine relaxation with treatment or examination. This life hack is used by thousands of people around the world. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 50 million patients go abroad for treatment every year.
Here you can read reviews of procedures in different countries of the world and find out how to organize treatment abroad.
Lifehack 1
Treatment and entertainment
Testimonial of a patient who was treated at the Manipal clinic (Goa, India):
“Along with the illness I have that caused me to come to India, doctors began to treat my periodically aggravated duodenal ulcer. For a whole week I swam, sunbathed, went on 2 excursions. It was wonderful. In the process of rest, I waited for all the test results, a doctor's consultation, the appointment of treatment and the receipt of the drugs themselves. I do the treatment myself at home.”
Treatment in India
More than half a million foreigners come to India for treatment every year. These are the data of the Ministry of Health of the country.
India is a leader in organ transplantation. The country's medical centers perform 20,000 kidney transplants every year. Liver and heart transplants are performed here for foreign patients. The queue for organs is common for citizens of the country and those who have come from abroad. There is no need to wait for a donor organ for years, it will be found within 2-8 months.
But the patients of Indian clinics are not only those who need a transplant. Medical tourists from abroad are attracted by the qualifications of doctors and the high level of equipment of clinics. The quality of medical care and service in India is confirmed by the authoritative international certificates JCI, ISO.
At the same time, the cost of treatment in Indian hospitals is one of the lowest in the world. Medicines play an essential role in this.
India is the world's premier pharmaceutical manufacturer. A large number of generics are produced here - analogues of patented drugs. Their composition and action are the same as those of the original medicines, but the cost is much lower.
Medicines and procedures are prescribed by Indian doctors in accordance with international treatment protocols. Most Indian doctors have studied and worked in the United States and Western Europe.
For the qualification of a doctor, not only education is important, but also constant practice. The doctors of Indian medical centers fully comply with this requirement. The country is densely populated, moreover, 500 thousand foreigners visit clinics every year.
The influx of patients contributes to the exceptional expertise of the doctors. It is especially important during complex operations.
The country's cardiac surgeons have achieved impressive results in heart surgeries: 9 out of 10 interventions are carried out without complications.
Many patients from the CIS countries come to India for kidney and liver treatment.
Indian doctors specialize in the treatment of hepatitis B and C. Doctors are fighting the disease with generic drugs deklatasvir and sofosbuvir. The success rate of treatment with these drugs is 72-100%. In India, the cost of one generic drug for a course of treatment is $ 2500. For comparison: the course of treatment with the original drug, which is produced in the United States, is $ 80,000.
Patients from the United States and Western Europe are most in demand for tumor removal operations, IVF and dental services.
Lifehack 2
I've seen the Czech Republic, got up on my feet
Testimonial of a patient who was treated at the Malvazinky clinic (Prague, Czech Republic): “I am very pleased with the results of the operation (replacement of the hip joint), the course of professional rehabilitation at the clinic. I continue my rehabilitation at home, doing exercises for an hour and a half."
Treatment in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is known for its health resorts. Rarely has anyone not heard of Karlovy Vary and the healing properties of the local water. But tourists are attracted to the country not only by resorts.
One of the strongest areas of medicine in the Czech Republic is orthopedics. Malvazinky's leading orthopedic clinic uses the world's most advanced joint prostheses. Doctors select them individually for each patient.
The cost of hip or knee replacement in a Czech clinic is half the price of the same procedure in Austria or Germany.
Joint replacement surgery is followed by rehabilitation. It helps the patient get back on his feet as soon as possible. Czech clinics also specialize in rehabilitation after sports injuries, strokes, neurological pathologies. Doctors prescribe individual sets of procedures and exercises.
Another priority area in the country's medicine is surgery. At the hospital of St. Zdislava, the robot surgeon Da Vinci is used for operations. With its help, doctors carry out interventions that are least traumatic for the patient. This is primarily important for patients with prostate cancer.
If the gland is removed using a robotic device, the patient retains erectile function. The patient recovers faster than after abdominal surgery.
Lifehack 3
See the world. Show yourself. Take tests
Many patients from the CIS countries go abroad not for treatment, but for diagnostics. It is important for them to confirm or deny the diagnosis, to learn about new methods of treatment.
In many clinics around the world, you can go through a check-up in 1 day - a complete examination of the body.
Went around Hamburg, did not confirm the diagnoses
Testimonial of a patient who underwent diagnostics at the Asklepios Clinic (Hamburg, Germany): “Passed an examination at the highest level, i.e. were received by professors and heads of departments. The technique is great. The professor does an ultrasound scan and immediately draws blood. Several diagnoses made at home have not been confirmed. Of course it's expensive. But it is better to be examined there once than to wander from doctor to doctor for whole weeks here, and as a result get vague diagnoses and incomprehensible treatment."
How to combine travel and treatment?
Combining a trip abroad and medical procedures is real.
Preparation should start several months in advance. It is necessary to study the information about the clinics, pay attention to the success of the treatment of the disease, the availability of international certificates.
In most cases, it is necessary to coordinate your arrival with the medical center in advance, to clarify the cost of the procedures.
You can save your own time by contacting a specialized agency. Its staff will help both with choosing the best clinic for a specific procedure, and with organizing a trip.
