Medical tourism--health care in the global economy.

Although physician executives are certainly aware that some patients bypass their hospital, clinic or ambulatory surgery center on the way to the airport to have care in other cities, they may be somewhat surprised to learn that an increasing number of patients are traveling to a wide variety of destinations around the world for medical, surgical and dental care. Driven by a number of forces outside typical medical referral systems, these “medical tourists” seek modern health care at affordable prices in countries at variable levels of development. Medical tourism is different from the traditional form of international medical care where patients typically journey from less developed nations to major medical centers in highly developed countries for advanced medical treatment.