Costa Rica has become the first choice for Americans, Canadians and Europeans seeking quality and affordable medical treatment, or what is known as medical tourism and wellness.
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica. According to Mark Sydney of Americana WellcareCR, between 150,000 and 200,000 foreigners could be traveling to Costa Rica in 2011 for medical procedures.
It’s hard to give an exact figure, but based on statistics from the middle of this decade (150,000 in 2006), Costa Rica might expect almost 200,000 medical tourists this year, said Sydney, whose company, Americana WellcareCR based in San José, Costa Rica, brings people there for medical treatment.
What draws most medical tourists to Costa Rica is the low cost of medical procedures compared to their countries; the high quality of medical personnel and medical services; and the speed at which the required medical treatment can be obtained.
Cosmetic surgery and dental treatment, not necessarily in that order, are still the most popular treatment here, says Sydney. But more and more people are coming to Costa Rica for orthopedic and bariatric surgery because of the cost and the benefits of some of the best recovery centers in the world, where a patient’s post-op recovery is monitored 24/7 in an eco environment with trained professionals. Read more... (600 words, 1 image, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)
It has not been a surprise to some how Costa Rica has become a desired and popular medical tourism hub attracting thousands of medical tourists every year. They are coming in for all kinds of different medical treatments, starting from necessary surgery to elective procedures and prolonged treatments.
In the last few years, the medical tourism industry has jumped up 200% and that is expected to increase within the next few years, 4-6% of all tourists will be those seeking some sort of medical treatment.
Costa Rica is a great choice for North Americans. On the one hand, medical centers in Costa Rica have been developing and blossoming, realizing the needs of global patients to travel to other countries for medical purposes and working to raise medical standards and practice medicine at the highest level. On the other, Costa Rica is just a short flight away and the capital of San Jose has many culture similarities, as well as most medical staffs speak English, making it easy on patients.
Besides the active volcano(s) and the country’s gorgeous beaches and legendary weather, the Costa Rican healthcare system has rapidly developed and the country is also known today as a leading medical tourism destination. As such, Costa Rica also offers very advance state-of-the-art private medical centers to Costa Ricans as well as inbound medical tourists. Read more... (684 words, 1 image, estimated 2:44 mins reading time)
We get many emails asking about alternative medical and which doctor or practitioners would we most recommend. Requests vary from everything to vitamins injections and Cobalt treatment for whatever, HIV/AIDs and cancer cures and the increasing inquires about anti-aging remedies.
With Health Care in the US running amok, Costa Rica has become a major place for medical tourism that include modern hospitals that provide elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries – the Central American country has also has seen an major increase in herbalism or what is also called, botanical medicine.
According to The United Nations, Costa Rica ranks in first place in Latin America for the development of curative and preventative diseases. And the World Health Organization (WHO) has Costa Rica placed higher for health services than that of the US. So it is very appealing for those seeking treatment to do it in Costa Rica and most important, medical costs vs the US are a lot lower.
Herbal medicine is an approach to the treatment of diseases and medical complaints involving the use of plants and their extracts. Many conventional drugs also use medicines derived from plant sources. Read more... (743 words, 1 image, estimated 2:58 mins reading time)
The private Hospital of Clinica Biblica in San Jose, Costa Rica is one of the top hospitals in all of Latin America
General Medical and Police Services
Medical care in San Jose is adequate at the public hospitals, but super at the private hospital. Areas outside of San Jose have more limited medical services, and road conditions increase driving times to hospitals for routine or critical medical care. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash or credit card payment for medical services. Local Cruz Roja (Red Cross) ambulances, usually the first responders to accidents, are minimally-equipped to handle emergencies.
U.S. medical insurance is not always valid in Costa Rica and many insurance companies are now covering Costa Rica, so check with your insurance broker. Supplemental medical insurance with specific overseas coverage, including a provision for medical evacuation, has been useful in many emergencies.
Costa Rica does employ a 911 emergency assistance system and it is the best in all of Latin America. However, response time varies widely in the remote areas; it can take up to several hours. But in the major cities, it is surprisingly fast. Read more... (1123 words, 2 images, estimated 4:30 mins reading time)
This week Costa Rican Health Ministry banned experimental stem cell treatment and ordered Institute of Cellular Medicine to cease treating spinal injuries and degenerative diseases
Back in Oct, 2009, we wrote how suddenly there was major increase of foreigners heading to Costa Rica for stem cell treatments that involved everything from ailments, to bone fractures, to multiple sclerosis.
The reason was simple; when people heard that, the International Society of Stem Cell research claiming, US clinical trials were “ambiguous” and treatments based on anecdotal success could be exploitative, it slammed the US doors on hope.
So when Costa Rica doctors offered the groundbreaking treatments to medical tourism, free from scrutiny, it drew thousands of westerners as well as locals.
With this increase, Costa Rican legislators started to put the finishing touches on a law to promote and regulate adult stem cell research and treatment across a spectrum of diseases. For a while it looked like the government was encouraging these medical professionals.
Unfortunately, this week things changed. The Costa Rican Health Ministry banned experimental stem cell treatment and ordered a client, Institute of Cellular Medicine to cease treating spinal injuries and degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Read more... (539 words, 1 image, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)
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