How do patients combine a hip replacement with a free vacation? Through medical tourism. Journeying to a foreign destination for healthcare purposes has its obvious advantages (depending on the location, of course): top-notch medical treatment and recovery in a luxury resort for the patient, and sightseeing opportunities for the patient’s partner.

A combination of market dynamics and increased globalization has helped create a medical tourism industry that combines required or elective surgery with vacation-like amenities. The numbers will be of interest to anyone in the medical device industry, but particularly compelling to those serving the orthopedics medical specialty.

In 2007, about 750,000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care.^1,2 Barring constraints such as supply issues, health insurance coverage or government policies, more than 1.6 million patients are projected³ to take advantage of medical tourism by 2012, with sustainable annual growth of 35 percent. On a macro level, a significant economic shift will occur if 500,000 procedures are transferred out of the U.S. medical system. The United States could lose annual domestic spending estimated at $228 billion to $599 billion by 2017 if current trends continue.⁵ This has global strategic implications for orthopedic companies, as the four procedures patients most frequently seek abroad are dental, cosmetic, orthopedic, and cardiovascular.

The results of a survey conducted by Medical Tourism Association Inc. showed that 3 percent of patients would go overseas for orthopedic procedures, according to Renee Stephano, chief operating officer and founder of the West Palm Beach, Fla.-based group.

In addition, 40 percent of inquiries to the Medical Tourism Association are regarding orthopedic procedures, the survey found. If the estimate of 750,000 patients in 2007 is correct, that number represents 22,500 American patients potentially lost to the U.S. healthcare system and leading orthopedic device manufacturers.

As medical tourism grows, the claims made by this new industry are noteworthy. They include internationally accredited hospitals, board certified surgeons, state-of-the-art equipment and technology, extended hospitals stays to ensure procedural success and comfort, recuperation in four- and five-star hotels, continued physical therapy, and total savings between 60 percent and 80 percent, including flights and hotel stay. Participating hospitals are accredited by the international arm of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) or have received the quality certification of the International Standards Organization.⁷ Many doctors providing the services have been trained in the United States. There are more than 290 foreign hospitals and healthcare providers certified by JCAHO International.⁸

Employers and insurers are beginning to recognize the advantages of medical tourism. In a pilot program, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina was the first U.S.-based insurance plan to develop a formal relationship with an international hospital.

It also was the first insurer in the nation to establish an official affiliation with a Thailand hospital. In 2007, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina established a subsidiary, Companion Global Healthcare Inc., a network of hospitals and internationally accredited medical facilities in Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Costa Rica and Ireland.⁹

Medical tourism is an opportunity. The questions orthopedic companies need to ask themselves are:

• Which countries are providing the highest volumes of orthopedic surgeries?

• Who is supplying them with orthopedic products?

• Is a shift in location of procedures built into our five year strategic plans?

• How can we be sure we are maximizing this opportunity?

References

1. Baliga H. “Medical Tourism is the New Wave of Outsourcing from India,” India Daily, Dec. 23, 2006.

2. Horowitz MD and Rosensweig JA. “Medical Tourism—Health Care in the Global Economy,” The Physician Executive, November/December 2007.

3. Medical Tourism: Consumers in Search of Value, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, 2008.

4. Survey of Health Care Consumers, Deloitte Center for Health Solution, 2008.

5. Medical Tourism: Consumers in Search of Value, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, 2008.

6. www.medretreat.com

7. Few U.S. employers book passage on the ship of medical tourism. Roseanne White Geisel. Business Insurance. Chicago: March 10, 2008. Vol. 42, issue 10; page 15, two pages.

8. www.jointcommissioninternational. org

9. The doctor is in…9,000 miles away: Insurance for medical tourism, Michelle Matlock, Insure.com Nov. 19, 2008.

Maria Shepherd has 20 years of leadership experience in medical device marketing including as vice president of marketing for Oridion Medical, director of marketing for Philips Medical, and Boston Scientific. Shepherd can be reached at (617) 548-9892 or [email protected].