Health tourism can be defined as people traveling from their own country to another country in order to receive treatment, rehabilitation, and all other services in the field of health. The term "health tourist" is also used for people who do this.
The services provided for people to have a healthy life are generally described as health tourism. Health tourism mainly involves three parts.
Types of Health Tourism
Medical Tourism: It is a type of health tourism that is applied to the person who finds the health services in his/her country insufficient for various reasons. There may be more qualified and specialized doctors and well-equipped hospitals in the preferred country. The purpose of getting treatment in another country may also be the reason.
Thermal Tourism: It is mostly performed by going to the facilities where the underground waters are known for many years with the intention of rehabilitation.
Elderly and Disabled Tourism: This type of health tourism includes long stays, excursions, tours that include more social activities, care and rehabilitation services for the elderly, special care services, and special tours for the disabled.
Why is Health Tourism Preferred?
Travels made with the desire for treatment have different reasons such as aesthetic surgery, hair transplant, dental, cardiovascular diseases, and infertility treatment, etc. At the same time, health tourism can be preferred for just simple controls and examinations too. In general, the reasons can be listed as follows:
- Incompetence of institutions and personnel in the patient's own country in terms of technology and professionalism,
- Long waiting times required for treatments,
- Expensive health services,
- The elderly want to have treatment in another country,
- The chance to have a vacation in addition to the treatment,
- Desire to go to countries with thermal facilities.
In short, it is desired to get more affordable health care services in more developed facilities in a different country.
