Medical Tourism in Thailand - Essay Example

The moderate Thai climate enhances the beauty of tourist resorts and provides an ideal pre and post-treatment environment.

Spas are the main post-treatment care places in Thailand. Body massage and message of any body organ relieve the patients from different worries. Traditional massage, massage for beauty, and massage for health are the main categories of massages in spas. Day’s spas help business people to lessen their stress during a pause in business activities.

Thailand tourist hospitals are the solution providers for all dental issues like teeth bleaching, dental bridges, dental implants, and dental surgery.

Thailand also provides treatment for cardiac problems in its tourist hospitals. Bumrungrad Hospital Bangkok, Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, Chaophya Hospital, and Chiangmai ram hospital are the important cardiac treatment hospitals available across the country. Over 1.2 million local and foreign patients are treated for bypass and heart transplantation.

A physician who has treated more than 200 knee patients with a good record is preferred over other doctors in the country. 1.4 million Tourists for knee and hip treatment are expected to visit Thailand this year. This figure is higher than 1.2 million Orthopaedic treatments in 2010. Orthopaedic and other treatments are 20% cheaper than in Singapore, India, and the UK. Cheap treatment encourages the patients to take along blood relatives for personal care as attendants. That is why 6 million US tourists visited Thailand in 2010.

Cosmetic surgery is a free insurance policy that helps visitors to explore Thailand in detail. Private hospitals located mainly in the capital Bangkok are leading in surgery with state-of-the-art technology and highly qualified staff. Spas offer post-surgery massage for better looks after the surgery. Cosmetic surgery in Thailand ranges from simple facelifts and tummy tucks to breast growth and sex reassignment surgery. Breast augmentation in Thailand costs about 3000 US$ against 9000 US$ in the US. Almost the same cost differences exist for facelifts and tummy tucks. It is the cheapest from Canada, Australia, and Germany.

Doctor Sommai did great research work on controlling breast cancer in women by using Herbal products. Breast augmentation surgery is possible in just 3000 US$ which is cheapest than many other countries. The affordability and quality of breast augmentation surgery earn it the status of most popular cosmetic surgery in Thailand.

Thailand has an ideal climate around the year. Islands and beaches attract tourists because of their serene beauty. Thai government provides excellent tourism facilities to people especially the neat and clean sandy beaches are the hub of all entertainment. The government has established several resorts to facilitate tourists in Thailand around the medical facilities.

The Thai government is committed to leading Asia in healthcare facilities to further promote its tourism industry. The government is now trying to overcome the problem of conversations between the patient and staff in hospitals. The multi-lingual staff is being trained in the country to address the language issue. Most of the hospitals have appointed multi-lingual staff to facilitate the patients visiting Thailand from different regions of the world. Greater emphasis is being laid on the UK, Japanese and Chinese languages. The government has made concrete efforts to simplify the procedures of insurance policies for medical tourists.

There is a big gap between the local demand for medical services and the availability of practitioners for them. Moreover, tourists are made to stay in five-star hotels after getting treatment for progressive recovery. The physicians extend them medical advice during their recovery period. They are allowed to shop and visit tourist spots but coordination is lacking area between hospitals and the tourism industry. This sometimes causes problems for medical tourists in identifying the places of their interest. The Thai tourism industry is busy laying down procedures to enhance coordination among the departments.

Tourists face different legal issues when undergoing medical treatment in a foreign country. Insurance complications and laws of the state can create trouble for a patient in a foreign country.

Transplantation of illegal organs purchased from different agents is a sensitive issue in Thailand. The difference in the treatment of high and low-class people leads to inequalities.