Historically, medical tourists were affluent, those who could afford to travel abroad to receive the best medical care in Europe and the United States. Many wealthy people still do so. However, Medical Tourism traffic now runs both ways as advancements in medical care have spread. The standards of medical care and quality of facilities in the major metropolitan areas of the world are now comparable to those in the United States, while costs are much lower. Medical Tourism as it pertains to U.S., UK, Canadian, Middle Eastern and Western European residents, is largely a price and convenience driven phenomenon.

Medical tourists today come from all walks of life. In common, they have a desire for affordable, high quality care or surgery that is beyond their financial means or unavailable to them at home.

Medical Tourism is an option worth exploring for anyone who is facing significant out-of-pocket expenses for health care. In the United States, by most estimates, there are more than 40 million uninsured persons, and many millions more who are underinsured. Medical Tourism is also a viable option for all individuals considering any elective surgery, not covered by insurance. Specifically, the demand for high quality, lower cost cosmetic surgery and dentistry has been on the edge of the wave of Medical Tourism originating in the United States and Western Europe.

Going abroad for care is also a reasonable choice for patients who want care not available to them locally. Some hip resurfacing procedures, for example, have been performed in India for years but have only recently been approved in the United States. The use of silicone gel breast implants, sought by many cosmetic surgery patients, has been restricted for years in the United States but they are widely available in the rest of the world. Procedures related to fertility, stem cell research and organ transplantation also draw a number of patients from around the world.

Finally, Medical Tourism can be an option worth considering for those in countries with what many call "rationed" health care, particularly Canada and the United Kingdon. Though both countries have national health care, there can be a lengthy wait for procedures and surgeries that are classified as non emergency. In the UK and Canada, this inconvenient forced wait is applicable to a large number of orthopedic surgeries that cause great pain and require extensive wait times before local health care is made available to patients.

In general, hospitals and other medical facilities that cater to international patients pride themselves on meeting the highest international standards, and even compete with each other to offer amenities. Many are new, or relatively so. Information on them is widely available on the Internet. However, in the case of smaller practices - for example, some of those for cosmetic surgery or dentistry - it is particularly important to get independent reviews or first-hand accounts from patients who have been there before.

This does not mean that there are no cultural differences, no surprises in store (pleasant or otherwise.) But major international hospitals and well-known medical facilities around the world adhere to comparable medical standards and often exceed the aftercare and experiential standards offered in the US and other developed countries.

The schooling, training and board certification processes for physicians and surgeons are comparable from country to country.

Many surgeons overseas have trained in the United States or Europe, just as many doctors in the United States and Europe have had some part of their training abroad.

Ultimately, each hospital that caters to Horizon Health Travel has its own credentialing and standards and should be evaluated on an individual basis. Many hospitals and doctors have received international accreditation and can be evaluated quickly and easily if this is the case.

Any -- from the simplest to the most serious life-saving procedures.

This is not to say that all services are available everywhere at uniformly high quality everywhere. India, for example, has perhaps the best reputation for heart surgery in the world, alongside the United States. The quality of plastic surgery is renowned in Central and South America, and sought after internationally. However, there is not much in the way of malady or ailment that the world's major international hospitals do not see on a daily basis. A patient has choices around the globe for whatever care or treatment might be necessary.