Medical Tourism

Abstract

Medical tourism, perhaps a late 20th century phenomenon, is said to be making a huge impact across the world in many countries, especially in developing world. According to the Medical Tourism Association in the United States, the term “medical tourism” is where people who live in one country travel to another country to receive medical, dental, and surgical care while at the same time receiving equal to or greater care that they could have received at their own country. Many people across the globe are taking to the wheels to various destinations for their medical needs owing to critical reasons like affordability, better access to care at a higher level of quality, etc. Medical tourism is a fast-growing Indo-Pacific region too. The chapter starts with a literature review of the industry followed by identifying the global hubs of medical tourism especially in the Indo-pacific region. It concludes with looking at potentials and challenges of medical tourism industry between India and Australia.