A brand new sort of tourism is sweeping into Panama, however these guests should not simply coming for solar and enjoyable. Providing first-rate well being care at cut-rate costs, Panama is attracting the newest sort of traveler: the medical vacationer.<\/p>\n
Medical tourism is a quickly rising, multi-billion greenback worldwide trade. International locations like India and Thailand have lengthy been attracting sufferers from developed nations seeking to escape the excessive costs and lengthy waits at house, offering high-quality well being care at a fraction of the worth.<\/p>\n
Panama is among the newest nations to emerge on the well being tourism scene, providing US-trained medical doctors, state-of-the-art infrastructure and gear, plus a definite benefit — proximity to North America. With as many as 45 million People uninsured, and Canadians ready as much as two years for crucial procedures, many are trying south for options.<\/p>\n
“The demand could be very sturdy, and we’ve not even begun to scratch the floor,” says Rudy Rupak, president of Planet Hospital, a medical tourism company researching certified medical doctors and hospitals in nations around the globe to carry out procedures for purchasers who can not afford, or wait, of their house nations.<\/p>\n
His firm not too long ago added Panama to its checklist of locations, because of the newly-opened Punta Pacifica hospital, an affiliate of the distinguished US hospital, John Hopkins Medication Worldwide.<\/p>\n
“We search for medical doctors who’re educated within the USA, or different wonderful establishments overseas reminiscent of in Canada, the UK or Europe,” explains Mr Rupak, “in addition to peer evaluation, publications through the years of their space of specialization, and affected person interviews.”<\/p>\n
“I see Panama as a strategic place, with a superb location, only a 5 or 6 hour flight from the US. However the primary elements are high quality of medical doctors and the presence of a US hospital,” he says.<\/p>\n
Add to that a good looking setting for restoration, personalised care, brief wait instances and value tags 40% to 70% lower than these within the US — and the attract is evident.<\/p>\n
Dr Richard Ford, medical coordinator of Pana-Health, a bunch of medical doctors specializing in medical tourism to Panama, estimates vacationers spent in roughly $5 million final 12 months on procedures reminiscent of beauty surgical procedure, in-vitro fertilization, orthopedic prostheses, dentistry and laser eye surgical procedure.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the rising commerce, the Panamanian authorities shouldn’t be but monitoring well being tourism numbers, however Dr Ford says they’re on the rise, pegging 2006 figures at multiple thousand, a pointy improve over earlier years.<\/p>\n
“[That] is about 35 per cent greater than the earlier 12 months and 80 per cent greater than the 12 months earlier than,” he estimates.<\/p>\n
Whereas these numbers might sound small, Rudy Rupak believes they’re about to blow up, with many well being officers and coverage makers within the US calling for Medicare to pay for procedures overseas, to alleviate a soon-to-be overburdened well being care system.<\/p>\n
Debra Lipson, a senior well being researcher talking at an AARP (American Affiliation of Retired Individuals) discussion board, mentioned outsourcing medical care may quantity to large financial savings within the US.<\/p>\n
In accordance with one examine, she mentioned, “the US may save $1.4 billion yearly if just one in ten US sufferers receives remedy for 15 low-risk medical procedures overseas.”<\/p>\n
Lots of those that migrated from Latin America are returning to their house nations to retire, she identified, additionally profiting from ‘extra reasonably priced aged care assist and providers’.<\/p>\n
“My husband’s mother and father not too long ago moved again to Panama, after spending 15 years within the US,” she recounted. “They’re nonetheless among the many “young-old” — not but out of their sixties. However my mother-in-law has a neurological situation that requires fixed vigilance and I sleep higher at night time realizing that she has dependable, reasonably priced care.”<\/p>\n