Health Traveler
Definite Guide to Medical Tourism

Medical tourism in the Philippines has been on the rise in the past five years. Since the Philippine Congress formed the Medical Tourism Bureau in 2006, tourists have been coming to the Philippines to get aesthetic medical procedures performed at much lower costs than you will find in developed nations. Filipino ex-patriots may also take advantage of the services when they return home to visit family.

Philippine dentists and doctors do go through medical education and training, and many of them receive their educations overseas in more developed nations. Some common procedures medical tourists receive when visiting the Philippines can include dental work, cosmetic surgery, weight loss surgery, fertility treatments, eye surgery, dermatology, stem cell therapy or other aesthetic procedures. Some of these medical procedures may not be available where they currently live due to the laws and regulations restricting medical practices in other countries.

The savings of receiving medical procedures in the Philippines can be immense. According to ExperiencePhilippines.org, a coronary artery bypass surgery costing $133,000 in the United States may be performed for $17,500 in the Philippines. This extreme savings is a viable option for individuals with poor health insurance, or uninsured people paying entirely out of pocket. Individuals receiving cosmetic surgeries, such as face lifts, may be able to save 71 percent off the standard cost in the United States by receiving a similar surgery in the Philippines.

But, medical procedures often aren't the only thing medical tourists enjoy when visiting the Philippines. It is not uncommon for foreigners to turn the trip into a sort of vacation, enjoying Filipino culture and seeing the sights. The Philippines is home to nearly 100 million people, and it is the world's largest producer of coconuts, according to Lonely Planet. It is also the third-largest producer of bananas. The Philippines is a tropical location with thousands of miles of coastline. It is a chain of islands set in the waters of southeast Asia and is comprised of more than 7,100 different islands. Although its economy is rooted heavily in agriculture, it also beat the rest of the Asian continent by constructing the first university in the early 17th century.