According to the Medical Tourism Association, every year almost 14 million people in the world choose medical travel, reports "24KZ".
Many countries are actively developing their own healthcare system. These hospitals employ highly qualified specialists fluent in English.
The most common procedures are cosmetic surgery, infertility treatment, oncological and cardiac diseases.
Tourists also choose new routes for hair transplants, organ transplants and dental implants.
Let's start with the fact that medical tourism covers 3 main areas. The first is for the purpose of receiving specific types of specialised treatment. The second one is for clarification of diagnosis and examination. It is also called diagnostic tourism. And the third destination is for recovery and improvement of appearance. In the global ranking of the most attractive countries for medical tourism, the top positions are occupied by Canada, Singapore, Japan, Spain and the United Kingdom.
René-Marie Stephan, President of the Medical Tourism Association:
- Singapore, Thailand and South Korea are three examples of countries with excellent medical services. They also meet government regulation and reporting requirements for medical travel programmes.
Canada tops the list. It attracts 14 million patients from the US alone. The country's healthcare system is a symbiosis of paid and free healthcare. It is available not only to Canadian citizens but also to foreigners. On average, medical procedures can cost up to 60 per cent less than in the US, depending on the treatment. However, the costs are usually higher than in Asian countries.
In turn, our compatriots also use some medical services abroad. Turkey, South Korea and Israel are among the top three countries Kazakhstanis choose, the Astana Development Centre said. Turkey is leading due to cost, service and hospitality. The country annually receives more than 15 thousand of our citizens. And almost 12.5 thousand people go to South Korea every year.
Darina Demyan, Managing Director of Medical Tourism Development, Astana Development Centre:
- South Korea is in second place, thanks to the country's policy of promoting medical tourism. Israel is in third place as one of the first markets for medical tourism, but it is not accessible to everyone in terms of pricing. Germany is one of the most expensive destinations, so fewer people are travelling here.
Medtourism is becoming more and more popular in Central Asian countries. For 6 months of 2023, 3 thousand foreign patients came to our republic for treatment. Compared to the same period last year, this figure has almost doubled and continues to grow. Mostly people from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Germany, Turkey and Iran come to us. Christina Krivets,
President of the Kazakhstan Medical Tourism Association:
- 10% are non-CIS countries. Now people come to us from Australia, Germany, UAE, Netherlands, America. The geography is very wide, but first of all they are either citizens who left Kazakhstan in childhood, or citizens of far abroad who learnt about the level of our medicine on the recommendation of these people.
To have surgery in Kazakhstan, foreigners buy special medical vouchers. They include the choice of clinic and doctor, online consultation on analyses, transfer and hotel registration. If the operation is not complicated, the patient will be given city tours and introduced to local traditions.
Christina Krivets, President of the Kazakhstan Medical Tourism Association:
- "Or they apply to international departments of medical organisations, for example, we have many scientific centres of different profiles in Astana. They can apply there directly. But then they will not receive such services as, for example, organising flights, transfers, and they can do everything themselves at their own discretion. Or they apply to an agency, to our organisation, and we organise everything on a turnkey basis.
Neuro, cardio and plastic surgery, orthopaedics, reproductive medicine and dentistry are in high demand among medical tourists arriving in our country. There are 7 clinics in Astana that have received international accreditation by JCI, which is the "gold standard" in medicine. Among them are the National Centre of Cardiac Surgery, the Republican Diagnostic Centre and other medical institutions.
Meanwhile, the leader in Central Asia is Uzbekistan, which has adopted a National Programme for the Development of Medical Tourism. The country is chosen for dental treatment, plastic surgery and folk medicine courses.
