The global health tourism industry has grown significantly despite a lack of substantial publicity or marketing.
To this effect, Costa Rica is the leading destination in the Americas for medical tourists and visitors seeking quality and affordable treatment options; there are several reasons why this country enjoys this status, and the most important is because several professionals associated with this industry strive to keep it that way.
Medical tourism will certainly continue to flourish in Costa Rica
thanks to word-of-mouth marketing growth. It’s natural for a patient who receives quality health care at an affordable price to talk about his or her experience with their friends and loved ones. In fact, this is the way medical tourism began in Costa Rica.
These days, health care tourists who have Costa Rica in mind can plan their evaluations, treatments and recovery periods way in advance.
This was not the case prior to the 21st century. Back then, tourists who came here for recreational purposes would find out about quality and affordable care if they needed acute care during their vacation, or by speaking with one of the numerous expats who have made Costa Rica their new home.
Before long, North American and Europeans who came here on vacation woulds set aside a day or two for dental procedures, eye exams, hearing tests, general health checkups, or to purchase medications and medical supplies.
Many physicians who attend medical school in Costa Rica go abroad for a period of their education; as a result, many of them speak English and sometimes other languages as well.
This is something that early medical tourists quickly found out; in fact, foreigners who are rushed to public health care facilities for emergencies are often surprised to find English-speaking medical personnel caring for them.
By the early 21st century, word about Costa Rica’s potential as a prime medical tourism destination had spread enough for health care providers to take notice and augment their offerings in this regard.
While in the past tourists in Costa Rica arranged health treatments as a secondary purpose to their visits, they are increasingly making them their main objective.
To this end, firms that specialize in the coordination of medical tour packages have emerged as the most sensible option for health travelers.
One can get an idea of the privileged status Costa Rica enjoys in the medical tourism spectrum by knowing that Costa Rica ranks 36th in the World Health Organization’s quality of care index; this ranking is even higher than in the United States, which is where most health tourists in Costa Rica come from.
Three major hospitals in Costa Rica are accredited by the strict Joint Commission International standards of quality, and these are the hospitals most often visited by medical travelers.
Under the provisions of the new Affordable Care Act system in the United States, health care providers in Costa Rica are ready to welcome patients who are encouraged by their insurance companies to seek treatment here.
Medical tourists from Canada often come to Costa Rica
To get affordable and immediate procedures that would take months or years of waiting in their country’s public health care system.
For these reasons, medical tourism providers in Costa Rica have expanded their offerings, and they are managing to stay busy without marketing or advertising.
Easy access from North America, a spectacular location for recovery and convalescence, affordable care, professional physicians, and quality of life make Costa Rica the clear choice for medical tourism in the Americas.
Original Source: News.co.cr
