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Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain health care.

Americans head south to Mexico for cheaper health care

Americans are flocking to Mexico for discount health care, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

23 Sep 2010

Aethlon Medical receives approval for Chronic HCV Infection treatment

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, announced today that the Medanta Independent Ethics Committee (MIEC) at Medanta, The Medicity Institute (Medicity) has approved a treatment program entitled "Use of the Aethlon Hemopurifier in Treating Chronic HCV Infection in Combination with Standard of Care (SOC) Drug Therapy."

26 Aug 2010

Majority of women support single woman using IVF treatment to conceive, survey finds

A recent survey of American women aged 25-45 that gauged attitudes toward In Vitro Fertilization found that 83% of these women support a single woman using IVF to conceive if she is emotionally and financially able to care for the child.

16 Aug 2010

Newly identified gene enabling bacterial resistance to most antibiotics found in South Asia, U.K., study finds

A study published online Wednesday in Lancet Infectious Diseases identifies a gene that enables bacteria to resist most antibiotics and calls for better global surveillance of multi-drug resistant bacteria, the Associated Press reports (8/11).

12 Aug 2010

Americans stop seeking medical care for recent illness, survey reveals

With unemployment rates remaining at an all-time high, one in five Americans chose not to seek medical care for a recent illness or injury, with four out of 10 citing cost as the primary factor, according to a Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey of more than 4,000 adults in the United States.

5 Aug 2010

Patients willing to travel for cheaper, better care; Especially when the boss pays

Employers, in search of better deals on surgeries, are in some cases sending employees they insure hundreds of miles for medical care, Kaiser Health News/USA Today reports. "Forget about traveling to Thailand or India for low-cost surgery. … By steering workers to facilities with high-quality care and lower prices, employers say they can reduce their costs 20% to 40% — more than enough to cover the travel expenses."

8 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 7, 2010

Today's biggest health policy news surrounds an announcement by the White House that President Obama will install a new Medicare and Medicaid chief with a recess appointment the bypasses the confirmation process.

7 Jul 2010

AMI study finds India's healthcare sector set to spend over $250M on IT in 2010

Seemingly untouched by the worldwide economic downturn, India's healthcare sector is set to spend over US$250 million on IT in 2010. Healthcare in India comprises more than 5% of the nation's GDP and displays a healthy growth rate over the next four to five years. This comes from a study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc., a leading consulting firm specializing in IT and telecom sectors.

30 Jun 2010

NHO introduces first healthcare assistance program for Americans, employers, groups and associations

National Health Options announces the first healthcare assistance program of its kind designed to offer an affordable, accessible, and comprehensive solution for Americans, employers, groups and associations -- including an estimated 47 million people who are underinsured or unemployed. NHO provides access to high quality healthcare products and services that can improve individual health and welfare.

2 Jun 2010

Deloitte Survey: Consumers still profess to know very little about health care system in the U.S.

Following widespread media coverage of health care reform, political debates and legislative initiatives over the past year, consumers still profess to know very little about the health care system in the United States, according to the 3rd Annual Deloitte Center for Health Solutions Survey of Health Care Consumers.

5 May 2010

MediBid.com announces strategic partnership with Bumrungrad International

MediBid.com – The Marketplace for Medicine – today announced a strategic partnership with Bumrungrad International that will give patients using the MediBid.com portal access to the facility's world-class physicians on the growing list of US and international doctors and facilities joining MediBid including Perfection Makeover and Laser Center in Cancun, Mexico and Madras Joint Replacement in Chennai, India.

4 Mar 2010

Guardian offers six questions to help employees and their families avoid critical illness

If you want to protect your finances from the costs of heart disease, and keep your heart healthy, the experts at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a leading provider of employee benefits, have compiled important questions that you should ask yourself before American Heart Month ends.

24 Feb 2010

Transplant tourism: Ethical issues

A recent case study by doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York examined the ethical issues posed by transplant tourism, an offshoot of medical tourism, which focuses solely on transplantation surgery. Many American transplant professionals frown on the practice of transplant tourism where patients travel to countries such as China, India, and the Philippines for their transplantation.

28 Jan 2010

Environmental factors, obesity and diabetes: Long-term study launched

Three Singapore biomedical institutions have launched a major, long-term study of pregnant mothers and their fetuses as well as infant children to determine just how profoundly environmental factors early in life influence the onset of diseases such as obesity and diabetes in later years.

10 Nov 2009

Medical tourism in Latin America requires regulation: University of Montreal researchers

Medical tourism in Latin America needs to be regulated to protect consumers, according to Universit- de Montr-al researchers. A new study published in the journal Developing World Bioethics argues that Argentinean fertility clinics are increasingly marketing themselves to international health care consumers: these clinics offer all-inclusive packages with fixed prices that feature airfare, accommodations, transfers, language interpreters and, of course, fertility treatments.

8 Oct 2009

International health delegates to congregate at Medical Tourism Association's flagship event

Almost 2000 international delegates including officials from 50 countries are coming together in LA to observe the current US healthcare trends and expected ramifications of proposed reforms in global health sector, while American healthcare struggles to seek interim solutions.

6 Oct 2009

Asian Healthcare industry to network with international delegates to understand latest trends in medical tourism

Asian Healthcare industry sets to network with almost 2000 international delegates from around the globe to understand latest trends of rapidly growing medical tourism industry as they participate at large in world's largest medical tourism and global health congress in Los Angeles on Oct 26th-28th.

6 Oct 2009

Chief of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery shares views on medical tourism

In light of the economy and rising unemployment, people are looking to cut costs wherever they can. As the costs of many surgeries and procedures continue to rise in the US, many are looking for cheaper alternatives abroad. This big business is known as "medical tourism," and often promises healthcare options at a fraction of the cost as in the United States. However, this is one area where bargain shopping is not recommended, counsels Dr. David B. Samadi, Chief of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

15 Sep 2009

New website launched by Vita Advisors for the health care industry

Vita Advisors LLC is pleased to announce the introduction of its website: http://vitaadvisors.com. The VITA website home page features three areas of content designed to provide its business constituents in the health care industry with a quick and valuable daily resource for current issues relevant to their business.

9 Sep 2009

Mexico steps up efforts to attract medical tourists

Efforts to standardize quality measures for medical tourism are underway as Mexico tries to attract medical tourists. Such efforts come after the swine flu outbreak significantly hurt Mexico's tourism industry, which ranks third as the country's source of foreign income.

4 Aug 2009