Mexico is the second-largest medical tourism recipient in all of Americas, here’s why
Mexico is home is home to one of the oldest continuous institutions of medical tourism.
Since the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century hospitals began sprawling throughout the Mesoamerican colonies, chief among them being the Viceroyalty of New Spain, modern Mexico. Hospital de Jesús Nazareno, which is active to this day was founded by Hernan Cortez himself and soon became a center of medication for natives of the surrounding areas, giving birth to an archaic form of medical tourism in Mexico.
As the crown jewel of former Spanish colonies, Mexico received special attention from the Jesuit order, and the religious community built many hospitals in the country, making the colony one of the most efficient healthcare systems in the new world.
Today, Mexico continues to be a popular tourism and medical tourism destination. The Mexican government considers tourism as an integral part of their economy, and as a result in the recent years the country has also focused on medical tourism, elevating the industry in the process. Today we will go over the benefits of medical tourism in Mexico.
Mexico is best-known for its advanced dentistry and cosmetic surgery medical capabilities, making it one of the best countries for patients seeking dental care.
Every year around 1.2 million medical tourists visit Mexico from all around the world to undergo quality medical treatments that would cost twice as much in their own countries. Nearly a million of these tourists are coming to Mexico from the US. This makes Mexico the second largest receiver of medical tourists in the world just after the United States. On Mexico’s part, medical tourism generates a gross revenue of over of 6 billion US dollars. The fact that the vast majority of Mexico’s incoming medical tourists is comprised from the citzens of the leading country in the industry is a testament to the quality and professionalism of medical tourism in Mexico.
With the support of the Mexican government the states of Baja California Norte, Tamaulipas, Quintana Roo and the Riviera Maya are quickly developing hospitals and medical centers as part of the overall medical strategy tourism in Mexico.
Based to data from the Deloitte consultancy, the main reason for the influx of American patients travelling to Mexico is the close proximity of the two countries to each other, accessible air routes, and certified medical companies operating between the two countries, which often offer to provide packages with a full range of services, for example, airport transport as part of their medical services.
While the United States has one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the world, it is also one of the most inaccessible and expensive ones in the world. Mexico successfully exploits this fact and offers the same services for nearly 50 to 65 percent less than what they cost in the US, for example, a gastric sleeve surgery costs 8900 US dollars, which is 46% less in Mexico. A rhinoplasty surgery costs around 3,800 dollars, nearly half as much as 6,500 dollars that it would cost in a US hospital.
According to data from the Medical Tourism Association, this has resulted in 8 out of 10 medical tourists who visit Mexico being from the US.
Additionally, nearly 70% of medical tourists who come from the United States come from the states of Texas, Arizona and California, all being border states. This has caused a unique method of medical tourism: Pharmaceutical medical tourism. Since the price rates for many prescription drugs is much lower in Mexico than in the US, many Americans living on the border go across the border to purchase their needed drugs in order to save money. The states along the border that benefit the most from this unique way of medical tourism are Merida,Tijuana, Mazatlan, Chihuahua, Cabo San Lucas, Monterrey. The border states of Mexico are also the regions with the highest revenues in other areas of medical tourism.
Mexico has 98 hospitals accredited by the country’s Federal Health Ministry, and 7 JCI-accredited hospitals, most of them located in the capital Mexico City.
Mexico is best-known for its advanced dentistry and cosmetic surgery medical capabilities, making it one of the best countries for patients seeking dental care, both in medical and cosmetic manners. The Merida Clinic for Cosmetic Dentistry is a premier cosmetic dental clinic in Yucatan, while the Hospitals in Merida is a JCI-accredited international hospital especially recommended for medical tourists.
As always tourism and medical tourism go hand in hand, so it’s time to cover the major tourism attractions that function as add-ons in the Mexican medical tourism package. With 35 UNESCO world heritage sites, Mexico ranks seventh country in the world in terms of such sites, The most famous of these of course being the grand Mayan pyramid of Chichen Itza, one of the seven new world wonders.
The country also houses a great number of other Mayan and Aztec ruins often mixed in with natural heritage sites, which give an incredible experience of the country’s past. The coast of Gulf of Mexico offers excellent resorts for recovering patients, with many spas, and alternative medicine centers available to ensure patients a steady convalescence.