Plastic surgery and medical procedures in Thailand: Why more of us are doing it IF you knew a medical procedure you needed could be done at the same quality but half the price internationally, would you jump on a plane to have it done? It is estimated that around 15,000 Australians are heading overseas for nip tuck holidays every year, spending a total of $300 million on medical procedures — some of them life saving. It’s called medical tourism, and it’s having a significant impact on global healthcare, including in Australia, where our health system is straining under the weight of an ageing population and long waiting lists for elective surgery. Thailand is leading the world as a medical tourism destination, earning a staggering $4.31 billion in revenue from the industry in 2013. Of the 26.5 million people who visited Thailand in 2013, 2.5 million came purely for medical reasons. That number has been growing at an average of 15 per cent a year over the past decade. “It’s changing the landscape in terms of price; in any facet of our life people want value for money,” says Sydney based plastic surgeon, Dr Joseph Rizk. “Medical tourism has been around forever when people would travel for procedures not available in their country. Now people are going to underdeveloped countries for things that are offered in Australia because it’s cheaper,” he says. Read more: news.au/travel/travel-advice/plastic-surgery-and-medical-procedures-in-thailand-why-more-of-us-are-doing-it/story-e6frfqg0-1227051273255
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 13:37:26 +0000
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