Medical tourism can be considered a kind of import: instead of the product coming to the consumer, as it does with cars or sneakers, the consumer is going to the product.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The tourist transports his own values and demands to his destinations and implants them like an infectious disease, decimating whatever values existed before.
The smuggling and distribution of misbranded drugs and medical devices of uncertain foreign origin has the potential for serious harm to patients.
The medical system in the United States is among the best in the world, if not the best. What if we were to make the United States a medical destination? That would bring a lot of people here because there are a lot of sick people around the world. If they can get U.S. treatment, they will take it, but now think about what that will do.
The thing about tourism is that the reality of a place is quite different from the mythology of it.
The travel and tourism industry, it's just a huge part of our economy.
Tourism is the biggest industry in the world.
I travel the world visiting global health programs as an ambassador for the global health organization, PSI, and sometimes the disconnect I see is truly striking: people can get cold Coca Cola, but far too infrequently malaria drugs; most own mobile phones, but don't have equal access to pre-natal care.
One of the few luxuries left is travel. And the aspect of travel that is luxurious is not the movement, but the being there.
From a tourist's point of view, you finally have time to travel, but you need to spend your time looking after your child. Club Med takes care of the entire family.
A transfer of money should never be involved in this profound situation. Although illness is profound, too, but medicine's a business today. It's a business.