By Jessica Yarbrough, Marketing & Communications Manager, Satori World Medical

Recently, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions released the 2009 Medical Tourism Report, “Update and Implications” exploring the state of the medical tourism market since last year’s study. According to Deloitte, there are several emerging U.S. healthcare trends that will fuel the demand for medical tourism. Below, highlighted are a few of the key drivers:

• Increased demand for outpatient surgery – The number of outpatient surgical procedures performed in the U.S. tripled from 1996 to 2006. Approximately 35 million patients had outpatient surgery in 2006 alone. Growth is attributed to enhanced technology which allows patients to return home post-op, decreasing lengthy stays in hospital. Patient demand for surgeries has also increased the number of outpatient surgical centers. Outpatient surgeries represent 75% of medical tourism procedures and typically require high out-of-pocket expenses for the patient. As more consumers are faced with paying thousands of their own dollars for surgical care, medical tourism will become a more attractive alternative.

• Increased sophistication of medical tourism operations – The medical tourism industry is adapting to meet the quality needs of the U.S. payor market. Facilitators, who emphasize quality in their patient care model, including coordination of post-op care, safety, outcome data and transparency, will be most attractive to health insurers and employers which are considering adding a medical travel benefit.

• Increased globalization of the U.S. workforce – In the next 25 years, more than half of the U.S. workforce will be of second-third generation descent. As more employees express a desire to return to their ancestral home for care, more insurance plans and employers will incorporate medical travel programs to meet the needs of their culturally diverse workforce.

Other growth drivers outlined in Deloitte’s report include increased coverage and demand for dental and cosmetic surgery, increased access to low-cost global transportation, and increased acceptance by employers and health plans. As the industry continues to mature, it is evident that medical tourism will become a widely accepted option for individuals to receive high quality, cost effective care.

By Jessica Yarbrough, Marketing & Communications Manager of Satori World Medical

Last Friday, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions released its 2009 Medical Tourism Report, “Update and Implications, which serves as an update to Deloitte’s medical tourism study, “Consumers in Search of Value,” issued last year.

According to Deloitte’s findings in 2009, all indications show that as the cost of healthcare continues to rise, more Americans will seek alternatives to obtaining quality and affordable medical care and fuel the demand for global healthcare.

In the report, Deloitte forecasts that barring any tempering factors such as supply constraints, increased domestic competition, or governmental policies, outbound medical tourism (the practice of receiving medical care internationally) could reach upwards of 1.6 million patients by 2012, with sustainable annual growth of 35 percent.

One key driving factor fueling the industry’s growth is the emergence of medical travel programs that are being offered as a benefit option to individuals through their health plans. More U.S. employers are looking at medical travel programs as a way to reduce their employee healthcare expense while still providing access to high-quality providers at top institutions worldwide.

In the report, Deloitte highlights the introduction of pilot programs, whereby health plans and employers are offering global healthcare programs as a built-in benefit option for covered individuals, with the hopes that such plans will be expanded on a broader scale.

Satori World Medical has created a fully integrated, high-quality global healthcare program that can be easily added to an employer’s benefit plan design at no cost to the plan sponsor. What makes this program so unique is its innovative financial sharing model, whereby for the first time, the employee receives a direct and meaningful portion of the savings of medical tourism. By receiving care at any of the Joint Commission International (JCI)-accredited hospitals in the Satori Global Network™, the employee is eligible for a deposit of thousands of dollars in an employer-funded Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). The money deposited is tax-free to the employee and can be used to fund their future medical expenses for several years.

According to Paul Keckley, the Executive Director for the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, “Medical tourism has transitioned from a cottage industry to an acceptable alternative for elective care that’s safe and cost effective if coordinated by reputable health plans and providers. “   He continues, “With health care costs increasing at six percent per year for the next decade, and medical tourism offering savings of up to 70 percent after travel expenses, we anticipate that the industry will recover from the current economic downturn and attain 35 percent annual growth in the coming years.  The concept of “value” in health care is not new.  Medical tourism represents another mechanism for value purchasers of health care services.”

Deloitte’s 2009 report is a solid indication that the demand for medical travel will continue to soar, and we’re glad to be at the forefront of delivering high-quality healthcare solutions that America’s workforce will value.

To learn more about Deloitte’s latest findings on medical tourism, you can download the complete 2009 report here.