Medical Tourism

Businesses and insurance companies are starting to eye the potential savings of outsourcing health care from the USA to the developing world.

Last year, about 500,000 U.S. residents traveled to countries like India, Singapore and Thailand for medical treatment.

The overseas hospitals, typically known for offering low-cost plastic surgery, are now gaining reputations for heart, knee and back operations.

Medical tourism facilitators like California-based PlanetHospital are already working to make the journey less stressful for patients traveling abroad by arranging everything from visas and airport pickup to sightseeing.

Many doctors working in facilities catering to medical tourists are trained abroad, often in the United States or Europe.

About 100 foreign hospitals have been approved by the international arm of the Chicago-based Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which also accredits American hospitals.

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