For many, traveling for medical treatment abroad is intimidating. But  it doesn’t have to be. After all, if you travel for pleasure, you can travel for other reasons too, including wellness tourism, cheap (aka affordable) surgery, or a combination of medical care and a vacation.

Today, people in major developed countries like the United States, Great Britain and Canada pay outrageous costs for medical care. The medical care system in the U.S. and other countries has long waiting lists, convoluted medical or health insurance plans and limitations, and then the cost of prescription medications for conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and chronic medical conditions like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), diabetes, lupus and others may drain financial resources beyond belief.

International medical destinations offer treatments, surgeries and procedures for a variety of medical conditions and needs, including bariatric or obesity surgery, alternative medical treatments like Ayurvedic medicine, and stem cell research and technologies. For treatment abroad, the two things you need most are a passport and a visa. A passport is a small booklet with your personal identification information that has blank pages in it. Every time you visit a foreign country, you may be required to obtain a Visa stamp or sticker that is placed inside your passport. This Visa is what grants you entry into a particular country for a certain amount of time.

You can determine Visa requirements by accessing the Embassy of the country you wish to visit, online, or via telephone or in-person visits. Every country has different Visa requirements. To ensure the best facilities with the best prices, check out PlacidWay.com for all the information you’ll need to plan your medical care abroad. Check ahead of time for all necessary travel documents and your medical tourism adventure will go smoothly.