| Written by consumer advocate for the globalization of healthcare Josef Woodman, the book is the latest in a series aimed to cater to a growing number of world citizens who are electing to travel abroad for medical treatment in order to save money. The first of what would become a series of books, “Patients Beyond Borders,” was published in 2007. Turkey was not included at the time, but it now has its own special edition, coming after places such as Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia.
In an interview with Sunday’s Zaman, author Woodman explained the changes that have occurred in Turkish healthcare since then to make it so enticing as a medical tourism destination.
First and foremost, according to Woodman, Turkey has seen a boom in the number of hospitals accredited by the US-based Joint Commission International (JCI). “With 33 JCI-accredited hospitals, 12 percent of all JCI-accredited hospitals are located in Turkey -- which is more than anywhere else in the world,” he noted. Along with this, he noted an increase in the availability of hospital and procedural information in English, such as on hospital Web sites. “What we can now see in Turkey is a robust healthcare infrastructure, including domestic accreditation procedures,” he said.
Turkey’s medical tourism potential strong
While the book is written as a guide for potential medical tourists, it is also invaluable as a map of the up-and-coming health tourism sector in Turkey -- and gives a powerful idea of the potential in this field that the nation has yet to tap into.
Woodman notes a recent change in the demographics of medical tourism, saying that while in the past it was the rich who traveled abroad to save on procedures like nose jobs and tummy tucks, today’s health tourist is of another variety. “You now see members of the middle and upper working class traveling abroad for medical procedures -- because they’ve realized that you don’t have to drift into financial ruin for an operation. Not everybody can afford $45,000 to $60,000 for a new hip or knee, or a quadruple bypass operation -- but they can probably scrape together $15,000,” he said.
But with an issue such as health, it boils down to more than cost, Woodman noted, explaining Turkey’s strong points in terms of quality and service provided. “Turkey’s superior healthcare infrastructure and relatively short flying times are attracting an increasing number of European, North American and Middle Eastern patients. Well-known for its rich heritage, breathtaking beauty and Mediterranean flair, it is easy to see why an estimated 200,000 medical tourists each year are choosing to have their procedures in Turkey,” Woodman said, noting Turkey’s proximity to many patients when compared to places like Thailand and Malaysia. “In Turkey, patients can receive American-style care at JCI-accredited hospitals for prices ranging from 30-80 percent less than out-of-pocket expenses they’d have to pay in the US.”
In addition, the factors that draw traditional tourists to the country -- the history, sights and tourist stops -- are also important to medical tourism. More and more facilities are looking into the connection between wellness and post-operative care, Woodman noted. “Turkey has a lot going for it both on the clinical/procedural side and in terms of healthcare maintenance,” he said, noting the trend toward focus on medically supervised spas and recovery centers.
A final important quality that Turkey can boast in terms of medical tourism, Woodman says, is simple: experience. “Two millennia ago, wealthy Greeks were traveling here for baths and spas,” he said, noting also, viewed from one perspective, medical tourism is at the end of the day still a form of tourism. Turkey has experience in tourism and in making tourists feel welcome and that their trip was worthwhile, providing high-level service, he notes. “Medical tourism is the same thing, essentially -- making patients leave this place feeling that they’ve had a good time and come away with a bargain.”
“Turkey has a good shot at positioning itself in the medical tourism world -- it is in a central location, not to mention the sheer number of JCI hospitals there, a history of tourism, the service provided, and references,” Woodman said.
Facts on medical tourism in Turkey
Medical tourists traveling to Turkey come from Europe and the Middle East in addition to Russia and countries in the former Soviet bloc for a variety of reasons, including both cost and the quality of care in their home countries. The hot spots for medical tourism in Turkey are the urban centers of İstanbul, İzmir and Ankara, in addition to alternative medical and spa centers scattered throughout Anatolia. The main specialties in Turkey drawing medical tourists are bone marrow transplantation, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, dentistry, genetics, neurosurgery, obstetrics/gynecology and assisted reproduction, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, plastic surgery and transplantation. Medical tourism in Turkey grew by 40 percent between 2007 and 2008 and according to Woodman, projections estimate that private and public Turkish medical establishments will make around $8 billion in 2015 by serving 1 million foreign patients. |
