Utopian Characteristics of the Ideal Medical Tourism Destination

There are beautiful places in every country all over the world. Who has not turned the pages of National Geographic and longed to travel to the featured locations? Because of the way the world is laid out and owing to how civilization has populated the continents, the beautiful places...beaches, mountains, forests...are typically not easy to get to. So various levels of lodging adjacent to the beautiful places has sprouted up over time.

Now enter the rapidly growing trends of plastic surgery. Certainly not limited to the popular vanities of America, men and women all over the world seek to not only turn back the sands of time, but reverse the lifelong effects of gravity.

Revealing one's new exterior overhaul to the world the day after surgery truly diminishes the desired effect...so wouldn't it be better to go on a vacation and then return to display the improvements with optimal visual impact?

So where should a bruised and bandaged face or tummy go for a week...Dayton Ohio? Or somewhere with beaches, temples or waterfalls? And when enterprising physicians began to practice near these beautiful places, the Medical Tourism industry was born.

Going to a beautiful place, having a nip here and tuck there in the company of drinks with little umbrellas in the shade of the palms, buoyed by the growing anticipation of reveling in the envy of friends back home does have its attractions.

But what if you or a family member is confronted with the need for a more serious and complicated surgery or procedure? What if you are a corporation seeking a cost effective option for your existing health benefits? Where is the Medical Tourism Shangri-La?

My ideal checklist would include:

1. The medical outcomes of the physician and hospital would be equal to or better than available to me in the US for my procedure.
   
2. There would be a dramatic cost savings
3. The hospital and physician would meet the same level of quality and service accreditation as hospitals and physicians in the US
4. Recognition of medical excellence by affiliation with internationally recognized US hospitals
5. Support by the country's government for developing a medical tourism industry
6. Proof that the physicians graduated by that country's medical schools are well represented in the American Medical Association
7. English is spoken by all my caregivers at the hospital
8. The availability of immediate communications with the US
9. A wide array of beautiful places to visit
10. A stable government
11. A modern travel infrastructure that is easy to navigate

Of course, Shangri-La does not really exist. So of the eleven characteristics, which ones might you be willing to do without?