Many private medical patients from the UK are saving over 50% of their healthcare costs by travelling overseas, a new survey has revealed.
The 2009 PriceWatch survey from health information company Treatment Abroad, which covers 180 clinics and medical tourism operators in 39 countries, reports that over 80,000 people left the UK for surgical and other treatments last year.
Some common medical treatments are available overseas at less than 20% of their price in UK private hospitals. For example, varicose vein treatment in Poland is on average 84% cheaper than in the UK. The average cost saving for all procedures surveyed (elective, cosmetic and dental) is 55%.
The data were collected from hospitals, clinics, doctors and dentists, and from medical tourism agencies and websites that target the UK market. The prices listed do not include travel or accommodation costs.
The number of UK medical tourists is expected to grow as the global recession eases off. According to Treatment Abroad, price is one of the main drivers when patients are considering treatment options overseas. Other influential factors are concerns about HCAIs, the length of NHS waiting lists and the high cost of private healthcare in the UK.
Keith Pollard, Managing Director of Treatment Abroad, said: “Considerable savings, compared to the average UK private treatment cost, can be made by choosing to have many of the common procedures overseas.”