Travelers from the United States, Great Britain, Turkey and Hungary are among the largest numbers of nationalities to cross borders for medical travel in 2010, according to the Medical Tourism Climate Survey 2010. Representatives from the medical tourism industries including medical tourism agencies and medical tourist facilitators, hospital organizations and business consultants involved in medical fields such as dentistry, orthopedic surgery, and cosmetic surgery reported the highest numbers.

Where are these people going? According to the survey, popular and customer service oriented destinations continue to me Thailand, Hungary, India and Malaysia. Where are they coming from? The greatest numbers of medical travelers are coming from Russia, Great Britain and the United States. Why are natives from these countries so unhappy? In the U.S., rising health care costs, insurance hoops to jump through and the uncertainty of the future of healthcare delivery resulting from new healthcare reform laws. Russians just don’t have the technological infrastructure that offers that many affordable options, especially for those living in rural areas. In Great Britain, high costs and long waits are blamed.

What drives individuals to other countries for medical care? Choices, access and affordability. In addition to choices and options regarding quality care, individuals also seek the qualifications, experience and expertise of medical professionals and medical hospitals and outpatient clinics from around the world that offer both medical services at affordable prices and the specific care they’re looking for.

Patient-focused ambulatory surgery centers such as Cedyt in Bariloche, Argentina and infertility treatments at emBIO Medical Centre in Athens, Greece are just a couple of the locations offering accredited and certified services for those seeking both affordability and efficacy in treatments and procedures.