The Philippine medical tourism industry can benefit from the growth of cosmetic surgery in the country. The growth of the cosmetic surgery industry in the Philippines was brought about by the quality and the cost of the cosmetic procedures in the country.

A new reality TV show- Marvels of Cosmetic Surgery has premiered in India last May 27.  The new TV series features Dr. Katsuya Takasu a cosmetic surgeon, performing surgery on himself.   The mini- series is composed of nine episodes aired twice a week every Wednesday and Thursday at 11PM on Care World TV.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised US travelers to avoid non-essential travels to Mexico to avoid contracting the A/H1N1 infection, more popularly known as the Swine Influenza. As of April 27, 2009 there have been 18 laboratory confirmed cases of swine influenza in Mexico.

Traditionally, people only travelled to other places to receive medical treatment if the procedure is not available where he is. Today, there are plenty of reasons people travel to other provinces in their own country or even to other countries within or outside their continents to receive health care. Here are three reasons Medical Tourism is popular today.

1.) Affordable healthcare- because of the worsening global economy, a lot of people are finding it difficult to fund expensive medical procedures and treatments especially in first world countries where healthcare costs can be pretty steep. Millions of people now travel to Asia and other destinations where healthcare can be more affordable because of the currency rates and also because of the lower healthcare administrative costs.

2.) Good Quality- Although people are often doubtful about the quality of healthcare from developing nations, there are many hospitals in developing nations that offer healthcare services comparable to the world-class services being offered in top medical institutions in first world countries. Private institutions as well as the government of these countries pour funding to medical facilities to improve the quality of healthcare in their country. Many of these countries really promote medical tourism to their country as part of national economic plans. Many foreign hospitals are getting accredited by the JCI to show patients that their services are at par with top hospitals in first world countries.

3.) Opportunity for Leisure- Medical tourism offers patients the unique opportunity to relax and enjoy the recovery period in a nice foreign country instead of staying at home dealing with the stresses of daily life.

Do you have any more reasons while medical Tourism is popular?

The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs in Korea recently announced a new ruling regarding the percentage of sick beds that will be allotted for foreign patients. According to the new ruling, only a maximum of 5% of total sick beds in several large hospitals should be made available to foreign patients. This is to prevent hospitals from prioritizing foreign patients over locals because of the potential income from them.

However, patients who have been in Korea for over 90 days are excluded from this ruling. Because they have been in the country for more than three months, they are already considered as domestic patients.

The announcement came just as the country takes steps in deregulating its hospitals and gearing towards an increase in medical tourists. The country is expecting to attract at least 100,000 healthcare tourists this year and next year. Aside from the deregulation of the industry, hospitals are now allowed to have domestic and international marketing campaigns.

Among those affected by the new ruling are Yonsei Severance Hospital and the Samsung Medical Center. Smaller hospitals are not affected by the 5% quota. The Ministry said the 5% quota may be raised in the future depending on the number of medical tourists that will visit Korea.