Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global health care) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care.

Such services typically include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries. However, virtually every type of health care, including psychiatry, alternative treatments, convalescent care and even burial services are available.

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Forty-five million Americans are currently uninsured and health expenditures in the United States are rising faster than wages and inflation. Despite spending more on health care than any other industrialized nation, the United States in 2000 ranked 37th in the World Health Organization's evaluation of health care systems around the globe. Reforming domestic health care was a big issue in the US presidential campaign, yet a growing number of Americans and insurance providers are turning to international solutions.

About 750,000 Americans traveled overseas in 2007, and the number of so-called medical tourists could increase to more than 15 million in 2017. In previous decades, the medical tourism industry was dominated by cosmetic and dental procedures. Today everything from knee replacements to major heart surgeries can be obtained in developing countries where internationally accredited health centers provide high-quality treatment with lower costs and shorter waiting periods than in the United States and Canada.

A heart-valve replacement priced at $200,000 US or more in an American hospital can cost $10,000 in India, according to the University of Delaware, including airfare and a post-operative care .

Nonetheless, the major cost savings associated with medical tourism are attracting more patients and health insurance companies than ever before. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of South Carolina now facilitates travel from the United States to India through its Companion Global Healthcare subsidiary.

Legislation was introduced in West Virginia that would provide incentives to state employees who go abroad for medical treatment. According to Business Week, more and more insurers will be offering overseas options to their policyholders in the next five to 10 years.

Medical tourism is not an alternative to significant reform of the US health care industry. Aside from the negative effects on public health overseas - plus the environmental impact of long-distance travel linked to the industry - medical tourism is not predicted to reduce the country's health spending by more than 1% to 2%. The overseas options will cost health care providers in the United States roughly $16 billion in 2008, according to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions - a figure that may jump to $373 billion or more within a decade.

By introducing global competition to an industry that's long been considered immune to outsourcing, medical tourism may up the ante on reforming coverage, cost, and quality at home.

Here's to your health!