This impression however is beginning to change as improvements in healthcare infrastructure, technology and trained professional staff are coming to fore in many of these so-called Second and Third World countries. A cursory look at the website of the Joint Commission International (www.jointcommissioninternational.org) reveals that there are now 32 hospitals in Asia which have received international accreditation confirming that standards in patient care are at par with the standards set for American hospitals.
With these improvements, and the soaring cost of health care, Americans and, to some extent, the British, Canadians, Germans and Australians are beginning to look for ways to reduce health care costs by looking outside their own countries, and towards Asia. The lure of combining affordable, high-quality medical care with attentive room service and a vacation get-away has now become an attractive proposition for packing a suitcase and boarding a plane to the East.
The cost of surgery in India, Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore can be anywhere from one-half to one-twentieth of what it is in the United States or Western Europe. A heart-valve replacement that would cost $200,000 or more in the U.S., for example, goes for $10,000 in India --- and that includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation package! A facelift with upper and lower lid blepharoplasty, which would cost about $20,000 in the U.S., would run to about $4,400 in Thailand.
While countries like India, Thailand and Singapore have had a head start in this “medical tourism” business with over a billion US dollars in revenues in 2005, the Philippines is positioning itself to catch up. In January 2006, Philippine officials formally launched a Medical Tourism campaign to promote the country as "islands of wellness." Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the program, participated in by government agencies, private clinics and hospitals, aims to make the Philippines the "new hub of wellness and medical care in Asia". The components of the program include medical, surgical and dental care, traditional and alternative health care, health and wellness, long-term tourism and the establishment of international retirement and medical zones. The program aims to target medical tourists from the United States, Europe, Australia, South Korea, Japan and the Pacific island states, especially the large Filipino expatriate and immigrant community.
For the Philippines, as has been the experience in other countries, the field in medicine which holds the brightest prospect for medical tourism success would be “aesthetics” --- including aesthetic plastic (cosmetic) surgery, aesthetic dermatology and cosmetic dentistry. At the forefront of this thrust in the Philippines is a medical group and facility called BH 6750 Multi-Specialty Aesthetic Institute (a registered brand of Beverly Hills 6750 CSSI Corporation).
Dr. Eduardo Santos, Managing Director of BH 6750 states, “this is a premiere center dedicated to excellence in aesthetic plastic surgery, aesthetic dermatology and cosmetic dentistry. It showcases the fusion of world-class technology and facilities with high-caliber medical professionals and staff who deliver quality service and results.” He adds, “We are striving to benchmark the standard and level of advanced aesthetic services in the Philippines.”