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Medical tourism is a growing segment of Thailand's tourism and health-care sectors. Lower labor costs translate into significant cost savings on procedures, compared to hospitals in the United States, and a higher, more personalized level of nursing care than Westerners are accustomed to receiving in hospitals back home. In 2005, one Bangkok hospital took in 150,000 treatment seekers from abroad. In 2006, medical tourism was projected to earn the country 36.4 billion baht.

Bangkok Market But why Thailand? The Thai medical profession is probably one of the most advanced in the region. Successive governments have invested in ensuring the education and training Thai doctors receive is parallel to that offered elsewhere in the region. Many doctors undertake specialist training abroad, particularly the United States and Europe and are at least equally as well qualified as physicians in the west - often more so.

A qualified, experienced medical profession is though useless without proper facilities and equipment. Fortunately, Thailand’s hospitals and clinics are world class. All this expertise and proficiency means that Thailand’s hospitals are a secure option for those seeking medical treatment.

Chiang Mai Today many Thai physicians hold US professional certification. A number of Thai hospitals have relationships with facilities in the US. The US Consular information sheet gives the Thai healthcare system high marks for quality, particularly facilities in Bangkok. In Thailand, there is modern infrastructure, with clean, safe streets. According to the US Consular information sheets, the crime rate in Bangkok is lower than that of many US cities. Thailand offers everything from cardiac surgery to organ transplants at a price much lower than the US or Europe, in a safe, clean environment.

Thailand has long been a destination for medical tourists, and has a growing number of hospitals with JCAHO accreditation. Over one million people per year travel there for everything from cosmetic surgery to cutting edge cardiac treatment. Don Ho, the famous Hawaiian entertainer, recently received cutting-edge adult stem cell cardiac treatment at a Bangkok hospital. Six weeks later he had recovered sufficiently from his nonischemic cardiomyopathy and was able to return to the stage.