UK medical tourists in Thailand: they are not who you think they are

Abstract

BackgroundTravel for medical treatment is an aspect of globalization and health that is comparatively less understood. Little is known about volume, characteristic and motivation of medical tourists, limiting understanding of effects on health systems and patients. Thailand is amongst a handful of countries that have positioned themselves as medical tourism destination. This paper examines in unprecedented detail volume and characteristics of medical tourists who travel from the UK to Thailand for treatment.MethodsAs part of a wider medical tourism study, authors gained access to over 4000 patient records from the five largest private hospitals in Thailand. These included information on country of origin, gender, age, arrival month, hospitalization, diagnosis, procedures, length of stay, medical expenditure and type of payment. Patient records were analysed to understand who travels and findings were triangulated with data from the UK International Passenger Survey (IPS).Results104,830 medical tourists visited these hospitals in Thailand in 2010. While patients originate all over the world, UK medical tourists represent the largest group amongst Europeans. The majority UK medical tourists (60%) have comparatively small, elective procedures, costing less than USD 500. A significant minority of patients travel for more serious orthopedic and cardiothoracic procedures. Data of individual patient records from Thailand shows a higher number of UK patients traveled to Thailand than indicated by the IPS.ConclusionsThailand is attracting a large number of medical tourists including larger numbers of UK patients than previously estimated. However, as many patients travel for comparatively minor procedures treatment may not be their primary motivation for travel. The small but significant proportion of older UK residents traveling for complex procedures may point to challenges within the NHS.

Medical tourism in Thailand: a cross-sectional study

“…However, this study and others have found that most such tourists travel to Thailand for minor elective procedures, such as cosmetic surgery 31 . In contrast, we found that medical tourists visiting Thailand from the United Arab Emirates were generally purchasing services such as cardiac catheterization, angiocardiograms, other cardiovascular procedures and gastric bypasses.…”

Perceptions of an ‘international hospital’ in Thailand by medical travel patients: Cross-cultural tensions in a transnational space

“…Data on the total numbers of people travelling to seek health services in Thailand is uncertain given different classification systems and definitions and a lack of systematic research. A recent study of patient records from five largest private hospitals in Thailand found that a total of 104, 830 'medical tourists' visited in 2010, accounting for 324, 926 separate visits and generating 180 million USD (Noree et al, 2014). The top three countries of origin of patients to Thailand in 2010 were UAE (accounting for twenty percent of total foreign patients), Bangladesh and USA, followed by Myanmar, Oman and Qatar, then the United Kingdom (Noree et al, 2014).…”

“…A recent study of patient records from five largest private hospitals in Thailand found that a total of 104, 830 'medical tourists' visited in 2010, accounting for 324, 926 separate visits and generating 180 million USD (Noree et al, 2014). The top three countries of origin of patients to Thailand in 2010 were UAE (accounting for twenty percent of total foreign patients), Bangladesh and USA, followed by Myanmar, Oman and Qatar, then the United Kingdom (Noree et al, 2014). There has been a major increase in patients particularly from the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries many through tie-in contracts to supply care.…”

Healthcare Quality of Bangladesh and Outbound Medical Travel to Thailand

“…Government efforts to provide better healthcare services are yet to be realised [5]. With the globalisation of healthcare, many patients from developed countries in Asia are travelling to Thailand, India and Malaysia for obtaining 'first world treatment at third world prices' [1,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Patients from developed and developing countries compare worldwide healthcare service quality, waiting times, cost, post-surgery care, and search for value in healthcare, relative to their own countries.…”