When
a friend returned from holiday recently looking remarkably refreshed, I
couldn't help but wonder whether her newfound radiance was simply the result of
relaxation, or if she hadn't had a sly fix of Botox. I would never ask, of
course. Just as she would never freely admit it.
Travelling abroad for a cosmetic or medical
treatment is attractive precisely because of the privacy it offers and -
depending on the destination and procedure - the chance to holiday at the same
time. Whether it be rhinoplasty, a new set of teeth or remedy for a serious
illness, waking up at a five-star hotel on a beach somewhere beats scurrying to
the local grocery store, fearful of bumping into the office gossip.
"Sometimes patients' faces can be fairly
badly bandaged up and they don't really want to go out in public," says
John Sutherland, CEO of Dreamscape Journeys, a specialist company that offers
tours in the emerging medical tourism destination of Hua Hin, Thailand.
Sutherland's firm works with Bangkok Hospital,
which attracts 38 per cent of its patients from abroad. Of these, about 55 per
cent are from the Middle East. In April last year, the Thai hospital opened an
outpost in the coastal resort of Hua Hin, a two-hour drive from the capital.
Once frequented by royals and wealthy Thais, it is home to some of Asia's top
resorts and golf courses, offering visitors sun and leisure activities and,
even more importantly, a sense of privacy that would be impossible in tourism
hot spots such as Phuket. Many of Sutherland's clients are groups of friends
who mix "bits and bobs" of cosmetic surgery with the opportunity to
travel, he says.
"The reason I started [working] in Hua
Hin was because I spoke to a lot of women, 40s plus, who felt they would be
more comfortable going somewhere in a group but they didn't want to sit around
a hotel room somewhere in a city, recovering.
"They really don't have to go and do
anything [post surgery]. They can just sit by the pool [in Hua Hin] or walk on
the beach, and they're never bothered."
Dreamscape Journeys offers tailor-made
"lifetime experiences" that might include travel by private jet to
Hua Hin, a luxury villa, a personal chef and concierge service, post-surgery
health and wellness programmes at the nearby Chiva Som and Six Senses resorts,
and shopping trips to Bangkok.
"Many Middle East clients also treat it
as a shopping trip but my programme is appealing to people who want to spend
time at a relaxing beachfront destination while recuperating," Sutherland
says.
Personal introductions to senior hospital
staff and consultations with surgeons can also be arranged. "The surgeons
used for cosmetic surgery are well known; some have spent most of their careers
practicing in countries such as the USA. They have performed thousands of
breast implant operations and facial reconstructions."
Medical tourism has emerged as the cost of
private healthcare in first-world countries, including the US, UK, Canada and
Australia, has skyrocketed, making both cosmetic and more vital medical
procedures in India, Thailand, South Africa and South America more attractive.
In Thailand, for example, facelifts and breast
enhancements normally cost around US$4,000 (Dh14,700), half the price of what
they would cost in the US.
"While we target cosmetic surgery
patients, coronary artery bypass operations can cost as much as $88,000
(Dh323,300) in the US but in Thailand they are quoted at around $23,000
(Dh84,500)," Sutherland says. "Hip replacements in the US are around
$33,000 (Dh121,000) but in Thailand they cost $13,000 (Dh47,800), so there's a
great incentive for people to travel."
Medical tourism was once considered a risky
business but the scrutiny of international organisations such as Joint
Commission International, a US-based organisation offering accreditation in
healthcare quality and patient safety, and with hospitals and clinics being
marketed centrally by national tourism boards, standards of care have become
more transparent. Agencies such as Dreamscape Journeys are only too aware of
the importance of patient perception and also encourage their clients to act
responsibly.
"During my research and discussions with
doctors, I discovered that most infections or problems, if they ever arise,
happen within two to three days of surgery but almost all showed up within 10
days," Sutherland explains. "I'm interested in clients who want to
come for a minimum of 10 days and not rush, in because it's cheaper to receive
treatment in Thailand and then rush off again."
If medical tourism has traditionally been
associated with elective procedures, namely cheap cosmetic surgery, times are
changing. Medical tourists from GCC countries have kick-started a trend of
their own. Rather than seeking cheaper healthcare in developing nations, it is
common practice for monied Gulf nationals to travel to wealthy health centres
to seek expertise and specialist hospitals. Countries such as the US, UK and
Germany benefit most thanks to their established reputation for high standards
of care and leading treatments for medical conditions prevalent in the region
such as type two diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular problems.
Frankfurt is home to 15 world-class hospitals
including one at a leading research university in Germany - Frankfurt's
University Hospital. It boasts a cluster of top-tier outpatient clinics where
services are offered to tourists at the same price as they are to German
nationals, thanks to the country's universal healthcare system. According to Dr
Weipert of the German healthcare travel agency, Med2Heal, a heart bypass in
Germany costs approximately €25,000 (Dh132,300) and a hip replacement is
€18,000 (Dh95,300). A direct flight to Frankfurt is around six hours from the
UAE, roughly half the time it takes to fly to New York.
Dr Ulrich Mondorf - who worked at the
Frankfurt University hospital before setting up his own private medical centre
- has teamed up with Villa Kennedy, a five-star Rocco Forte hotel complete with
spacious suites and its own spa offering organic and Ayurvedic treatments,
that's a two-minute walk from his clinic, as well as a team of personal
trainers and dieticians. The doctor aims to offer his foreign patients a range
of services geared towards relaxation and a healthy lifestyle, all sold with
the luxury tag.
Dr Mondorf's clinic works with Med2Heal, which
can coordinate some or all of the bookings that a patient and their family (and
entourage) might require, including flights, car services, accommodation,
clinic appointments, interpreters and recreational activities. Dr Mondorf's
clients include those prepared to travel just for a check up, albeit a rather
rigorous one.
"The client or patient we are looking for
is actually somebody who is healthy, who wants to stay healthy, who wants to
know what can I do to maintain my health," Dr Mondorf says. "We have
a lot of laboratories here. We have all the facilities and all the
possibilities here, even to find out extreme rare diseases ... and we get this
information in a very short time."
You might call it the Mercedes-Benz of
checkups and it doesn't come cheap. The one-day "Premium Check-up"
booked through Med2Heal starts from €2,405 (Dh11,620) and consists of the
following: a clinical examination (physical, orthopaedic and basic neurological
examinations); laboratory tests; examination of the stomach and pelvic organs
as well as the thyroid (colour ultrasound of the liver, gall bladder, spleen,
kidneys, stomach, intestines, pancreas, bladder, abdominal artery, vena cava,
thyroid, prostate for men, uterus and ovaries for women); cardio-respiratory
diagnostics for stroke prevention; screening for skin cancer; lung diagnostics;
and, a final consultation with the doctor, who gives the patient a detailed
written report. Depending on the test results, additional modules in urology,
gynaecology, gastroenterology, neurology may be recommended. Eyes, ears, nose
and throat checks also cost extra.
Then there are Med2Heal's "Complete
Check-Up Packages" for longer stays that include luxury accommodation,
limousine transfers, language services for non-English speakers, a medical spa
component, personal training, nutritional advice, first-class sightseeing trips
and follow-up care after the patient has returned to their home country. With
treatment at Dr Mondorf's clinic, these start from €6,148 (Dh29,659) for three
days, €10,520 (Dh50,749) for five days and €15,065 (Dh72,674) for 10 days but
can be tailored to the individual.
Patients often describe the process as an
"eye opener", Dr Mondorf says. He claims that check-ups have
identified serious conditions that might otherwise have been discovered too
late. "Many of my patients are very glad they did the health check-up and
learned that they have to change their lifestyle to prevent any serious
diseases."
Public relations and marketing manager for the
Villa Kennedy, Siria Nielsen, says the hotel's medical tourists are often
frequent business travellers who appreciate having a package tailored around
their schedule. "The aim is to make them feel very much taken care of in a
discreet way," Nielsen says.
The concept follows a strong trend for
elective screening in the United States, the idea being to prevent illness and
disease before they start. "We have a lot of companies here in Germany
[that] send their top managers yearly or every second year for a
check-up," said Dr Mondorf. He also has regular clients from Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait, who sometimes bring their entire families along. "We do not
only see the Sheikhs. We also see ordinary people," he says.
Hilary Claire O'Hagan
The National (UAE)
Business & Investment Opportunities
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