Asia The new centre of Medical Tourism

Medical tourism not just for Westerners

But the growth in medical tourism in Asia isn't just coming from Australians and other Westerners travelling to Asia. A recent report by Deloitte Southeast Asia reveals that many of the new medical tourists are themselves residents of Asian countries travelling across borders within their own continent. The report discusses some of the reasons behind this development:

The rising affluence of the Asian middle class is playing a significant role. More patients are seeking and are able to afford higher quality medical care. These patients, who are part of an overall ageing population in Asia, are willing to travel to access specialised treatment or better technology not available in their own country. In Singapore, while the tradtitional source of patients in the past came from Indonesia and Malaysia, the pool has expanded to include such Asian countries as Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

So if you're planning to travel for a medical procedure at one of the luxurious facilities built for medical tourists, don't assume that all of your fellow patients will be Australians, Americans and Europeans! Instead, you can expect a genuinely international assortment of people, all taking advantage of the superb quality treatment and cost savings that medical tourism offers.