Posh Asian Healthcare Offerings Attracting Mainly the Wealthy, Says CMDA Official
by Mary Rettig
April 24, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The chairman of the ethics commission for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations says the growing popularity of "medical tourism" has its pros and cons. He believes the phenomenon, while growing, will not have a great impact on American medicine. Some Asian countries are reporting major growth in this industry to the tune of 20 or 30 percent each year. Those countries offer first-rate medical care at Third World prices. Dr. Bob Scheidt of the CMDA says the low-cost healthcare -- combined with luxury rooms, spas, and other high-quality amenities -- are a major draw for well-to-do patients.
"Asian medical care is quite good if you're careful how you select it," Scheidt explains. "[M]ost of those doctors have either been trained in the United States or have been trained by doctors who have been to the United States -- so their care is very up-to-date."
According to the CMDA spokesman, many missionaries travel to mission hospitals where they know the surgeon to save on medical care -- but that is a very small minority, he says. The growth in medical tourism, he says, comes from well-to-do people who travel to those hospitals because they offer what many U.S. hospitals do not.
He describes the Asian facilities as "posh hospitals with vacations, spas, [and] places for spouses or relatives to enjoy themselves." Such places, which he says are "almost like a luxurious hotel for you to recover in," are going to very competitive with American hospitals.
"So we must be very much aware of it -- it is a very competitive thing in regard to the American market," he says. Still, Scheidt believes the competition will be mainly for wealthy patients. Consequently, he says, it is unlikely to have much, if any, effect on healthcare costs for the middle- and lower-class in the U.S.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
