DOMESTIC MEDICAL TOURISM

What is domestic medical tourism?

Domestic medical tourism is the practice of traveling from one city to another or one state to another within one`s country for medical care that is either not available in one`s own neighborhood or is less expensively available in another neighborhood.

Domestic medical tourism which is a recent concept in the medical tourism industry is rapidly picking pace especially within the United States of America. As it pertains to the United States, domestic medical tourism is giving and receiving medical tourism services within the United States. That is, the patient travels from from one city to another city in the US or one state to another state within America.

Domestic medical tourism goes by several other names, such as, medical tourism within US, discounted surgery in the US, local medical tourism, inbound medical tourism, out of state medical tourism, out of state medical travel, out of state health care, in-country medical tourism and in-country medical travel, among others.

Benefits of domestic medical tourism

i. Low cost for elective high-cost surgical procedures, such as orthopedic procedures (like hip replacement, knee replacement), cardiac care (like heart bypass, valve replacement/repair), spinal surgeries (like spine fusion, disk replacement), bariatric procedures (like gastric bypass, lap band), etc.. Prices for these procedures are highly discounted and may be as low as 15%* - all this without any compromise on the quality of care. This is available to patients who pay cash upfront. Hospitals are able to offer such competitive prices because their administrative costs are greatly reduced when they don`t have to pursue the payor for reimbursement. Although the cost of procedures at these domestic providers are not the lowest compared to foreign medical tourism for similar level of quality of care, but when travel and other related costs are factored in, local medical travel proves to be extremely cost-effective.

ii. High quality of care as hospitals are accredited by the Joint Commission (formerly known as the Joint Commission Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). When you work through Healthbase, the leading domestic medical tourism facilitator, we thoroughly screen the domestic providers in our network using such criteria as accreditation by the Joint Commission to ensure that the medical care delivered to you is top-notch while at the same time is cost-effective. We also make sure that the facilities in our network have performed a sizable number of the procedures sought by our customers.

iii. Shorter distance to be traveled. The distance traveled by domestic medical tourists is generally less compared to those traveled by international medical tourists. Thus the inconveniences of long flights are avoided. Also, there are no passport and visa required when traveling within your country. The travel costs for you and your companion are generally reduced.

iv. No language or cultural barriers. Domestic medical tourism has the benefit of at-home feeling especially in the context of US domestic medical tourism as English is spoken nationwide by everyone and the country enjoys a homogeneous culture.

v. Access to legal recourse. Providers in the United States are required to carry malpractice insurance so patients have access to legal recourse in the case of an unexpected outcome.

Availability of domestic medical tourism

Healthbase works with several domestic providers of quality healthcare that are spread across the United States. We are in the process of expanding our domestic network of providers to several more states and hospitals.

Register for more information about these affordable accredited domestic healthcare facilities near you. Registration is FREE of cost and entitles you to FREE and personalized cost estimate for any surgery offered by our network of domestic healthcare providers.

*Note: Procedures, locations and prices are subject to availability.