Thailand as a Historical Country Located in Southeast Asia - Essay Example

Topic: Medical tourism in Thailand Thailand is a historical country located in Southeast Asia generally giving the look of an elephant’s head when seen on a map. Thailand has a wonderful national park, islands and beautiful beaches as main tourist attraction places. Thailand is internationally known for its medical tourism attractions. Spas are also very famous in tourist because apart from providing post treatment Facilities they also provide great entertainment. Medical tourism is also known as “medical travel” or “health tourism”. The term dictates the travelling across the borders for quality healthcare. A number of countries of the world are working in this field for economic benefits. Thailand has developed medical tourism as her national industry. This industry has now turned up as a major revenue generation industry for Thailand. Thailand has quality tourist medical hospitals in and around fascinating tourist resorts. These hospitals and care centres offer treatment for number of health problems both for male and female (Corness 63). Tourist hospitals mainly offer cheap but quality treatment in the fields of breast cancer, dentistry, cardiac problems, orthopaedic, infertility, cosmetic surgery and abortion related issues (Andrews and Siengthai 128). Massage centres are also famous for attracting medical tourists in Thailand. Bangkok, Pattaya, Hoa Hin, Chiang Mai, Samui and Phuket are the destinations attracting millions of tourists annually (Woodman 72). The question arises, why Thailand is chosen by medical tourists as healthcare destination. Well, there are a number of factors and those would be highlighted in the paper. Apart from quality treatment, luxuries and accommodation offered by medical tourist destinations there are number of risks and challenges, which a tourist may face while travelling abroad for medical treatment. These challenges include language problems, legal issues and certain ethical issues. Infectious diseases and travel problems also pose challenge of recovery for a medical tourist (Berger 54). Medical tourists also face the problem in knowing the right hospital for their specific health issues. Access to classified specialists for special treatment is also a problem due to lack of knowledge about a new place and care centres (Woodman 74). Few treatment centres prefer making money than providing satisfactory treatment to patients. Different sorts of spas are available in Thailand for massage. Medical tourists also visit spas for massage of the body and different organs. Traditional massage, massage for beauty and massage for health are the main categories of massage centres. Chiva-som is the most visited destination spa in Thailand. Medical tourists from different countries of the world visit this spa for relaxing their body muscles. Spas available in hotels and restaurants are known as hotel spas (Cohen 228). People in and around Bangkok visit Numbers of hotel spas. Day’s spas are located in the centre of major towns and cities. These really help busy people to feel relieved. The businesspersons mostly visit these after sparing time from their busy business schedules. Hideaway spa in Phuket is very famous in local businesspersons (Evans 142). Businesspersons from other parts of the world also frequently visit this spa for quality of massage and then it provides ideal environment for relaxation. Cruise ship spas are mostly used by the old aged medical tourists during the period of recovery (Corness 66). Tourist travel in the boats and ships for fresh air and sea food is also served during the journey. Dentistry is one of the areas where Thailand got is recognized globally for curing all sorts of dental issues. Dental department in Thailand is committed to provide treatment for the issues like teeth bleaching, dental bridges, dental implants and dental surgery. Medical tourism for dental problems is known as dental tourism in the world. Silom dental clinic Bangkok of Thailand provides all dental treatments to tourists on the lines of a dental hospital (Cohen 232). The dental clinic has set high standards in dental treatment by using latest medical technologies. Highly qualified dentists treat patients up to their optimum level of satisfaction. Teams of cosmetic dentist are highly qualified in using latest technology for treatment. Cosmetic dentists of Bangkok help other dentists of different countries to learn the profession and treat the patients. Sterilization of equipment and medical tools is the hallmark of dental centres of Thailand (Andrews and Siengthai 136). Hospital management is committed to provide very pleasant clean and conducive environments to patients for undergoing dental treatment. Dentistry has seen more rapid progress than any other medical field in Thailand. It also leads in number of visitors visiting Thailand for medical tourism. Cardiac surgery in Thailand meets all the international standards of surgery and post surgery cure. Bumrungrad hospital Bangkok, Bangkok hospital Pattaya, Chaophya hospital and Chiangmai ram hospital are the important cardiac treatment hospitals in Thailand (Berger 60). Thailand offers complicated heart surgery in very short time for medical tourists. It may take few days to a week or more to get the surgery done after the first detailed check up by a classified cardiologist. Thailand cardiac centres offer excellent treatment to their patients with added advantages of hotel like facilities, comfortable rooms and round the clock nursing services (Onq 126). Patients sometimes want to be treated by the western cardiologists. Thailand has also acquired western doctors on the request of their patients. Patents are provided with the list of heart specialists for choosing a specialist as per their own wish. Bumrungrad hospital is located in the centre of Bangkok city established in 1980 and major roads lead to the hospital. Hospital comprises of 550 beds. It offers state of the art therapy and diagnostic facilities. Over 1.2 million local and foreign patients are treated for heart diseases. Bypass and transplantation of heart is the common feature of hospital. Thai hospitals have always produced worthwhile result in heart surgery and bypass operations (Cohen 255). Western-trained orthopaedic surgeons treat most of the foreign patients in orthopaedic centres in Thailand. BNH hospital, Yanhee hospital and Thailand plastic surgery centre are the most visited by medical tourists (Oxford Business Group 98). Thai government is continuously being investing on the training of surgeons to ensure quality services. Medical tourists are helped in getting the services of well-trained orthopaedics physicians. Physician who has treated more than 200 knee patients with a good record is preferred over other doctors. 1.4 million Tourists for knee and hip treatment are expected to visit Thailand this year. This figure is higher than 1.2 million treatments in 2010 (Onq 118). Major cause of huge patient visits in Thailand is the currency baht. The difference of currency rate makes medical tourism a profit earning industry in Thailand because orthopaedic and other treatments are 20% cheaper than Singapore. Cheap treatment encourages the patient to take along blood relatives for personal care as attendant. That is why 6 million US tourists visited Thailand in 2010. (Evans 148) Medical tourists visit Thailand for cosmetic surgery and enjoying holidays with other monetary incentives. Cosmetic surgery is free of insurance policy that helps visitors to live and enjoy the life in ideal way. Private hotels located mainly in the capita Bangkok are leading in surgery with state of the art technology and highly qualified staff. After and before the treatment patients choose spas and beaches for rest (Cohen 243). Bumrungrad hospital Thailand adopts highly advanced procedures for cosmetic surgery in the country. Hospitals in Bangkok offer surgery at very less rates as compared to west. These hospitals provide the facility to register and book the appointment online with choosing of a qualified surgeon. Cosmetic surgery in taken as special area of surgery in Thailand. Cosmetic surgery in Thailand ranges from simple face-lifts and tummy tucks to breast growth and sex reassignment surgery (Oxford Business Group 101). Bumrungrad hospital is leading the world in sex reassignment surgery. Breast augmentation in Thailand costs about 3000 US$ against 10000 US$ in US. Almost same cost differences exist for face-lifts and tummy tucks. It is the cheapest even from Canada, Australia and Germany. (Berger 73) Doctor Sommai did a great research work on controlling the breast cancer in women. Herbal products of doctor Sommai produced amazing results in Thailand. Breast augmentation surgery is possible in just 3000 US dollars in Thailand. Affordability and quality of breast augmentation surgery is the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures in Thailand (Andrews and Siengthai 142). Patient is properly briefed about the breast implants prior to surgery in hospitals of Thailand. Breast augmentation is not advised in certain cases. Moreover, for breast augmentation in Thailand it is important that minimum age should be 18 years and patient should not be pregnant. (Onq 122) People choose medical treatment abroad for different attractive reasons. Cheap treatment in sterilized environments is the leading incentive that gets attention of medical tourists. Thai government has also been successful in focusing on making the medical tourism attractive for the visitors. The reasons that make Thailand suitable for medical tourism include developed infrastructure, nice environment, people and culture and finally the key government policies towards promoting medical tourism in the country (Cohen 252). Thailand has the potential to produce about 1000 doctors per year from 12 different medical schools of the country. Thailand now has the figure of 1345 hospitals across the country. It includes public and private hospitals, dermatologists and plastic surgery clinics. In Phuket public hospitals are not allowed to take part in medical tourism. Main purpose of public hospitals in Thailand is to look after the local patients. Different private surgery and dental clinics are serving the foreign visitors in medical treatment. Use of high tech medical equipment is limited to big cities in Thailand. Public hospitals lack availability of high-tech equipment that is why they do not take part in the medical tourism. (Evans 149) Thailand has ideal climate round the year. Islands and beaches attract tourists because of their serene beauty. Thai government provides excellent tourism facilities to people specially the neat and clean sandy beaches (Corness 67). Government has established number of resorts to facilitate tourists in Thailand. Spas catch the attention of patients for rest during and after the treatment. Different categories of spa provide number of massage opportunities for medical tourists and businesspersons as well. People of Thailand are very hospitable and medical tourists are given due respect in the country (Berger 64). People are also very friendly and caring in looking after the foreign visitors. Government is committed to lead Asia in health care facilities to further promote its tourism industry. Government is now trying to overcome the problem of language in hospitals. Multi lingual staff is being trained in the country to address the language issue (Cohen 248). Most of the hospitals have appointed multi lingual staff to facilitate the patients visiting Thailand from different regions of the world. Government has made efforts to simply the procedures of insurance policy for the medical tourists. There is big void between local demand of medical services and availability of practitioners for local population. Patients are made to stay in five star hotels after getting the treatment for progressive recovery (Corness 68). They are extended medical advice throughout during their recovery period. They are allowed to shop and visit tourist spots but coordination is the lacking area between hospitals and tourism industry. This sometimes causes problem for the medical tourists in identifying the places of their own interest. Thailand is pioneer in having accredited in Southeast Asia (Oxford Business Group 103). The hospital was inaugurated in 2002. When there are advantages of visiting abroad for medical treatment than there are also certain risks involved. No doubts that one can get quality of treatment, good environment and ideals place for recovery period but sometimes these risks can pose a real problem in country that is not well known. These risks are mainly the legal and ethical risks. These are described in the following paragraphs. One can face different legal issues when undergoing medical treatment in a foreign country. Insurance is the main issue that can create trouble for a patient in a foreign country. Law of the state may not permit him to be insured before fulfilling the legal requirements (Onq 133). If these requirements are of intense nature then patient may not be allowed by the authorities to seek treatment in a foreign country. Medical malpractice is another danger that a visitor can face because of not knowing the country and people (Andrews and Siengthai 131). However, tourist advocates rightly lay emphasis on weighing the advantages and post-medical care that a country offers to a patient in coordination with tourism industry. Same incentives may not be available in a country having less legal implications. Ethical issues can also hurt the medical tourist is a foreign country. Transplantation of illegal organs purchase from different agents is prohibited in many countries. Difference in treatment of high class and low class people may lead to inequalities. When high-class people are given priority over the common public then a sense of deprivation travels in the masses that may cause uncertainty and depression in the country (Cohen 237). For example, people expressed their general opinion by saying that, Thai doctors are only busy in looking after the medical tourists and no attention is being paid to local patients. Use of different technologies has been criticized due to their harmful effects on human health. Treatment for stem cell is under criticism due to lack of patient safety. Unproven medical therapies are also a risk to human life, as these have not been fully tested for safety. (Onq 137) Spread of viral and other diseases in visited country can be very harmful for a patient. If the patient has undergone a surgery and he ultimately faces an infectious disease than the chances of recovery are very less due to lack of immunity in the body. (Andrews and Siengthai 137) Another common challenge is the quality of medical institutions. Medical tourist cannot check the qualification of the doctors and other classified staff. Even the legality of institution can be doubtful if visitor sees certain indications. Privately owned medical institutes have higher degree of risk in this regard as compare to public hospitals. Long travels after the complicated surgery can aggravate the situation. Long and hectic flight in tough mental physical environment may lead to health problems. Operated area in these circumstances may cause further complications (Berger 71). Women can also face the same problem as gents face while travelling abroad. If a woman is visiting another country during pregnancy for foreign nationality for his kid than she should understand that, she is intentionally bypassing the organized health care network of her own country. If a patient has returned home after a successful treatment than it would be very difficult for him to maintain contact with the doctor for further guidance. Moreover if the patient faces any problems after recovering from the problem than it is very difficult to again consult the same doctor for seeking medical opinion. Medical tourism industry has seen great development in Thailand. Successive governments have taken keen interest in promoting this industry and health education as well. Government policies play vital role in attracting the medical tourists even from the faraway regions of the world. Now Thailand provides high quality treatment for heart, fertility, orthopaedic, breast augmentation and other diseases. Post surgery treatment in spas and other tourist resorts is unique in its nature. Government is committed to address the problem areas in order to lead this industry in Asia. Government just needs to concentrate on the technological advancement taking place in the world and then on provision of cheap treatment to the visitors for attainment of the goal. Works Cited Andrews, Tim and Siengthai, Sununta. The Changing Face of Management in Thailand. London: Taylor & Francis, 2009. Berger, Arthur Asa. Thailand Tourism. New York: Routledge, 2007. Cohen, Erik. Explorations in Thai tourism: Collected Case Studies. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing, 2008. Corness, Iain. Thailand through the eyes of an ex-pat. Ireland: Maverick House Publishers, 2007. Evans, Christopher. Phuket Thailand & Beyond. Oxford: Hunter Publishing, Inc., 2010. Onq, Aihwa and Chen, Nancy N. Asian Biotech: Ethics and Communities of Fate. Duke University Press, 2010. Oxford Business Group. The Report: Thailand 2009. Oxford: Oxford Business Group, 2009. Woodman, Josef. Patients Beyond Borders Thailand Edition: Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Medical Tourism. USA: Patients Beyond Borders, 2009. Read More