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Review
. 2008 Nov;92(6):1433-46, xi.
doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2008.08.001.

Medical tourism

Christie M Reed  1
Affiliations
Review

Medical tourism

Christie M Reed. Med Clin North Am. 2008 Nov.

Abstract

Searches of the literature or Internet using the term "medical tourism" produce two sets of articles: travel for the purpose of delivering health care or travel for the purpose of seeking health care. The first usage primarily appears in the medical literature and is beyond the scope of this article, which focuses on travel to seek health care. Still, there are some aspects these two topics have in common: both are affected by ease and speed of international travel and communication associated with globalization, and both raise questions about continuity of care as well as issues related to cultural, language, and legal differences; both also raise questions about ethics. This article describes some of the motivating factors, contributing elements, and challenges in elucidating trends, as well as implications for clinicians who provide pretravel advice and those who care for ill returning travelers.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
United States airline travelers to overseas and Mexico who report health treatment as one purpose of the trip, 2003–2006.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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