Can Canada be destination for Medical Tourism?

Health Tourism development has potential of being a powerful agent of change and can revolutionize health sector of any country.

Unfortunately, presently, Medical tourism is usually associated with unsavory practices of health professionals who intend to make good money in shortest possible time and in turn have given a bad name to the industry.

Medical tourism has its own share of detractors, especially in developing countries or countries where medical facilities are at premium and at such places health tourism is seen as export of quality healthcare to rich foreigners, while local people are deprived of essential health care facilities. Of course such tourism industry attracts corresponding talent to the country as immigrants.

In popular perception, USA or Canada, are popularly seen as net exporters of health consumers and this export is seen as threat to the continued financial well-being of their local healthcare industry. Though the fact is that local population often has to struggle a lot to get basic health care.

In Canada, often one has to struggle a lot to get registered with local doctor in the area. In fact, here in inbound tourism is an irritant when there is long waiting times for local population for admission to hospitals. ON the other hand, in medical tourism, high quality of health care services are offered to “foreigners”; often in a lavish setting; and it is a definite catalyst in promoting “have not” feeling in local lesser affluent population. These wealthy foreign patients do siphon the attention, resources, and healthcare professionals of the host country. The result is a two-tiered system of high quality care for foreigners and sub-par leftovers for citizens.

Since Health Care system in Canada is pretty strong and any grudges against it are basically coming form the higher expectations from the system, Canada can be a strong case for health tourism. However, one factor that can go strongly go against Canada in this segment is that Canada would not allow any Unsavory practices such as selling and buying of organs (usually kidneys) that are usually associated with this trade. Canada also would have to take liberal stand on certain types of treatment as IVF, Stem Cell Therapy, Gender Change etc. Canada would also have to allow easy access to Doctors immigrants in the country who have to study a lot to get accredition. most of such immigrant professionals are seen driving cabs or working as security guards during their initial years after immigration.

If Canada can open up on these issues and set up the regulated system for organ transplant, the development of a medical tourism industry can benefit the Canadians besides contributing to the national economy. Surely, Health tourism can have a broad stakeholder and beneficiary base as it can act as a driver for improvements in health care for local population also. Additionally, it would also create jobs, which is need of the hour when the unemployment rate is at all time high.