Medical Tourism and Iran

Medical Tourism and Iran

Medical tourism (also known as medical travel or global healthcare) is the process in which a patient travels to another destination for medical or health and wellness services. Oftentimes these services can take the form of a dental treatment, knee surgery, health check-up or even a trip to a wellness spa. The term medical tourism may sound strange and exotic to some people; but in fact it is a rapidly growing phenomenon spurred on by an increasingly empowered patient base searching for quality, affordability, availability, and accessibility in healthcare.

Some people have the erroneous impression that patients are flying for open heart surgery to a dilapidated jungle clinic in some third world country – followed by bungee jumping. The opposite is true. Most patients are receiving care in high-end hospitals or clinics located in major urban centers, and will plan their trip to allow enough time for a prudent recuperation period before heading home.

The term medical tourism is often used in the context of patients traveling abroad for medical care to countries such as Iran,Turkey, Mexico, Costa Rica, India, Thailand and Singapore – and this is certainly true. However, not all medical tourism is offshore based.

At present, the main reasons for patients to travel to Iran is the high quality of health services, low costs of medication and treatment compared to other countries in the region, access to health services and modern and advanced equipment, the presence of professionals and skilled experts in the field of health in Iran, shared culture and language and the shortage or lack of equipment and experts in the most countries of the origin.