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<keyword id="22976106" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indoor" source="keywords">Indoor</keyword> <keyword id="19900550" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-pollution" source="keywords">air pollution</keyword> is a bigger <keyword id="21117961" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-risk" source="keywords">health risk</keyword> than <keyword id="20543591" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="outdoor" source="keywords">outdoor</keyword> air pollution in India, and sometimes cities are cleaner than nearby villages where <keyword id="22976772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="household-pollution" source="keywords">household pollution</keyword> is higher, according to the country's two top policy experts. Addressing the India <keyword id="20445293" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="clean-air" source="keywords">Clean Air</keyword> Summit (ICAS) 2024, Principal Advisor, <keyword id="19904190" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Health-and-Family-Welfare" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ministry of Health and Family Welfare" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Ministry of Health and Family Welfare">Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</keyword>, Soumya Swaminathan said, "Studies done in Delhi have shown that women's average exposure to high levels of <keyword id="20827287" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="black-carbon" source="keywords">black carbon</keyword> (women <keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords">who</keyword> are mostly at home) is as much as auto-rickshaw passengers going around outdoor exposed to the ambient air pollution in Delhi, resulting in high systolic blood pressure." "Cities contribute less than 20 per cent to the overall state emissions, wherever they have been assessed, but household emissions predominate, ranging between 20 per cent and 40 per cent. Across the country, we are seeing is that sometimes cities are cleaner than the surrounding villages where household air pollution predominates," she said at the summit organised by think-tank Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy. This builds a strong case for expanding the scope of India's National Clean Air Programme (<keyword id="20133150" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NCAP" source="keywords">NCAP</keyword>), which currently focuses on non-attainment cities. Air pollution is a major threat to public health and contributes to a significant amount of morbidity as well as mortality. Apart from PM2.5 and PM10, short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon, methane, ozone, and hydrocarbons have the potential to harm the environment and warm the atmosphere even more than CO2. Black carbon can cause chronic respiratory illnesses, lung cancer, emphysema, pneumonia, asthma, heart disease, and low birthweight. "In terms of reducing our life expectancy, globally, PM2.5 is contributing to about 2.3 years of life lost. Just below that is tobacco. In fact, there's so much attention on tobacco and global frameworks for control, but not the same level of attention has been paid to PM2.5 and certainly not the same level of commitments," Swaminathan said. The impact of air pollution is not limited to public health but has a significant economic cost as well. Recently, the World Bank published a study highlighting that air pollution has resulted in a loss of around USD 8.1 trillion in 2019, which is 6.1 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). "We are always talking about air pollution as a problem but studies also show a strong economic case for action on clean air. There are significant positive consequences to investing in cleaning up the air in terms of the return on investments. We know air pollution is not just bad for our health, but it's also bad for agriculture, because it reduces the sunlight that's reaching the crops and it's bad for our economy or any country's economy as it deters people from coming and living or visiting those places," Swaminathan added. Kalpana Balakrishnan, Director, WHO Collaborating Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, said that the main barrier to shifting to clean cooking fuels that can help reduce household air pollution levels is finance. "If we give free LPG to women for two years, they are unlikely to shift back to biomass cooking even if you remove the subsidies," she said. Through Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) launched in May 2016, more than 100 million households in India received LPG cylinders by the end of March 2023. Studies shows over 50 per cent of the households that received new LPG cylinders under PMUY did not choose to refill it even once. Around a third of the world's population - 2.4 billion people globally (including 500 million people in India) - still lack access to clean cooking solutions. Although the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG) claims that the country's household LPG "coverage" stands at 99.8 per cent, the National Family Health Survey conducted in 2019-21 (NFHS-5) shows that 41 per cent of the population still cooks on biomass.

Indoor air pollution poses greater health risk than outdoor: Experts

Adequately spaced pregnancies can significantly improve maternal and <keyword id="22472928" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="child-health-outcomes" source="keywords">child health outcomes</keyword>, Union Minister Anupriya Patel said on Friday, underlining that this also reduces risks and empowers women to make informed choices about their <keyword id="20548742" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reproductive-health" source="keywords">reproductive health</keyword>. "The government's efforts have resulted in reduction of <keyword id="20741690" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="maternal-mortality" source="keywords">maternal mortality</keyword> from over 130 to 97 per one lakh births," the minister of state for health said and also highlighted the efforts taken by states to involve men in <keyword id="19943279" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="family-planning" source="keywords">family planning</keyword>. Patel held a meeting with public health experts as part of a series of programmes to observe the World Population Day. The theme of the meeting was "Reaching the Last Mile for Ensuring Healthy Timing and Spacing between Pregnancies: Issues and Challenges." The minister said the government has always been conscious of these issues. "The launch of initiatives such as the <keyword id="22472929" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradhan-Mantri-Surakshit-Matritva-Abhiyan" source="keywords">Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan</keyword> (PMSMA), extended PMSMA, identification of high-risk pregnancy in PMSMA, Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan and the Post-Partum Family Planning Programme (Post-Partum IUCD and Post Abortion IUCD) are some examples of the government's commitment to the cause," she said. Patel also underscored the importance of an effective communication strategy. "The task of achieving Viksit Bharat (developed India) by 2047 cannot be done without empowering our women. Healthy timing and spacing between pregnancies are very important for women's health," she said. Additional Secretary and Mission Director NHM at the health ministry, Aradhana Patnaik, highlighted that India has already achieved a total fertility rate (TFR) of two with 31 states and Union territories achieving the replacement level. There is a need for an effective strategy to bring the TFR under replacement level in the remaining five states, the minister said. Patel said that "we would be able to reach the last mile" by empowering the youth, addressing challenges of equal participation of men and women, increasing couple communication, learning from best practices, taking cues from current and historical trends in family planning data and expanding the contraceptive basket of choices. She also stressed on identifying and mapping regions, districts, and blocks with data of issues such as low uptake of <keyword id="22472930" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="family-planning-services" source="keywords">family planning services</keyword>, low demand for modern contraceptives and high unmet needs, and saturating them with services and enhanced social and behaviour change communication.

Healthy timing, spacing between pregnancies crucial for women's health: MoS Patel

<keyword id="19896018" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala" source="keywords">Kerala</keyword> is on high alert following the death of a 14-year-old boy from <keyword id="20824677" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="malappuram" source="keywords">Malappuram</keyword> district due to the <keyword id="21881533" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nipah-virus" source="keywords">Nipah virus</keyword>. To prevent the situation from escalating further, the central government has stepped in to assist the <keyword id="73082" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kerala-government" source="Orion">Kerala government</keyword> and safeguard the public. A zoonotic illness, the <keyword id="20197512" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nipah" source="keywords">Nipah</keyword> virus,infection is transmitted from animals like pigs and fruit bats to humans, as well as through contaminated food and contact with an infected person. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has even flagged the virus as a priority pathogen due to its epidemic potential. The boy from Malappuram showed symptoms of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) and was initially treated in Perinthalmanna before being transferred to a higher health centre Kozhikode. The National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune subsequently confirmed the <keyword id="22489646" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nipah-virus-infection" source="keywords">Nipah virus infection</keyword>. In response, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) sent monoclonal antibodies for patient management and a mobile Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory for testing additional samples from contacts. Unfortunately, the boy's “poor general condition” prevented the administration of the antibodies. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Health ministry advises Kerala to take four immediate public health measures" comment="subhead" text="Health ministry advises Kerala to take four immediate public health measures"><keyword id="19896140" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-ministry" source="keywords">Health ministry</keyword> advises Kerala to take four immediate public health measures</cmsannotation> The 14-year-old’s demise in Malappuram has triggered an urgent public health response from the Centre, with the Union health ministry advising Kerala to take four immediate health measures to ensure public safety. They are as follows: 1. Active Case Search: The state government should begin active case searches within the family of the confirmed case, the neighbourhood and other areas with similar topography to identify any additional cases. This proactive approach will help in early detection and containment. 2. Contact Tracing: The state should trace contacts the identified case had over the past 12 days. This includes monitoring these contacts for symptoms and taking steps to prevent further spread of the virus. Detailed records of interactions and movements of the infected individual will be crucial. 3. Quarantine and Isolation: Contacts of the confirmed case should be strictly quarantined, and any suspects showing symptoms should be isolated. This measure is essential to contain the virus and prevent it from spreading within the community. 4. Sample Collection and Testing: Samples from potential contacts and suspects should be collected and transported for laboratory testing. This ensures early detection and allows for a swift response to any new cases that may arise. To assist the Kerala government, a multi-member joint outbreak response team from the National ‘<keyword id="15536661" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="One-Health-Mission" source="Orion">One Health Mission</keyword>’ will be deployed. This team will help investigate the case, identify epidemiological linkages and provide technical support. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111771996" title="What is the Chandipura virus that has already claimed the lives of 6 children in Gujarat?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George has confirmed that an additional 60 people have been identified as high-risk for contracting the disease. Amid this situation, residents in vulnerable areas have been instructed to take precautions, such as wearing masks in public and avoiding hospital visits. The Nipah virus has been linked to dozens of deaths in Kerala since its first report in 2018. The state has faced multiple outbreaks, with the most recent occurring in 2023 in Kozhikode district.

Nipah virus: Health Ministry instructs Kerala to enforce four immediate safety measures following 14-year-old's death

India's government <keyword id="21309215" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="healthcare-spending" source="keywords">healthcare spending</keyword> appears to be on the rise, but a closer look reveals a concerning trend. While the headline figures might suggest an increase, the reality is a steady decline in health expenditure as a proportion of both the <keyword id="19936553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget" source="keywords">budget</keyword> and GDP over the past five years (2018-19 to 2023-24). This decline is even starker when adjusted for inflation. In real terms, spending has barely kept pace since 2019-20. As a percentage of the total budget, health spending has shrunk from 2.4% in 2018-19 to just 1.9% in 2023-24. Similarly, the share of GDP allocated to health has fallen from 0.30% to 0.28%, as per a report from the Times of India. <h2>Growing expectations ahead of <keyword id="15478236" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget-2024" source="Orion">Budget 2024</keyword></h2>As the Finance Minister <keyword id="19916618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="keywords">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> prepares to present the full budget for the current fiscal on July 23, the expectations from the health sector has only been growing. “The Union Budget 2024-25 is a pivotal moment for India's healthcare sector. Building on the ₹64,180 crores allocated in 2023-24 under the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, we need enhanced tax incentives and financial support for healthcare startups to catalyze innovation. Significant investments in <keyword id="21226679" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-health-infrastructure" source="keywords">digital health infrastructure</keyword>, particularly AI, will improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency,” says Dr Sravani Reddy G, Founder &amp; CEO, Soprav Healthcare Consulting. “Strengthening public-private partnerships will improve healthcare accessibility and quality, leveraging private sector efficiency. Additionally, focused efforts on affordability and access, such as reducing out-of-pocket expenses and improving insurance coverage, are vital for a more equitable healthcare system.” “The healthcare sector in India is on the brink of excellence. There is an increased focus on treating unique patient cases, robotic surgeries, and increasing prominence of AI for accurate diagnosis. To reach the next phase, emphasis must be laid on innovation, research &amp; development, and infrastructure development. These are the foundations for India’s health sector to achieve an international standard of treatment for all,” hopes Joseph Pasangha, Group COO, SPARSH Hospital, Bengaluru. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111730426" title="Pan-India rollout of U-WIN to track routine immunisations likely by Aug end" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Health tax not helping enough </h2>This situation is further complicated by the introduction of the <keyword id="22446013" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-cess" source="keywords">health cess</keyword> in 2018. This tax levy was intended to boost government spending on healthcare, particularly for the underprivileged. However, the collected funds seem to be merely filling the gap created by cuts to regular budgetary allocations for health. In 2022-23, over Rs 18,300 crore of the central government's health spending came from the health cess. Excluding this amount, the actual budgetary allocation for health stands at a concerning Rs 59,840 crore. This is lower than the pre-pandemic level of Rs 66,042 crore allocated in 2019-20, even without adjusting for inflation. <h2>Where's the money going?</h2>The intended purpose of the health cess seems to be falling short. In 2018, health spending accounted for 2.4% of the government's total expenditure. If this ratio had remained constant in 2023-24, the health budget should have been over Rs 1.07 lakh crore. Instead, the revised expenditure, including the health cess, stands at just Rs 83,400 crore. Even the additional allocations for the COVID-19 pandemic (Rs 10,655 crore and Rs 15,955 crore in 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively) cannot mask the overall decline. When combined with the regular health budget (excluding health cess), the total spending in these years still falls short of what it would have been if the 2.4% share of 2018-19 had been maintained. <h2>More for alternative medicine</h2>While the share allocated to Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga &amp; Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) has seen a significant increase, spending on crucial areas like health research has seen only marginal growth. Additionally, a major portion of research funding goes to the Indian Council of Medical Research, with only a temporary increase during the peak of the pandemic response. The most concerning decrease is in the allocation for health and family welfare, encompassing national programs, the National Health Mission, and health system strengthening. This critical area has seen a substantial decline in its share of both GDP and total budget expenditure, falling from a peak of over 2% in 2017-18 to a mere 1.7% in 2023-24. Excluding the health cess, this figure drops even further to 1.5%. <h2>What this means</h2>This decline in government health spending raises serious concerns about India's commitment to public healthcare, particularly for its most vulnerable populations. Increased investment in health is crucial for a growing nation like India, and a reversal of this downward trend is essential to ensure accessible and quality healthcare for all. The 2024 Interim Health Budget saw a boost in total healthcare expenditure from Rs. 79,221 crore to Rs. 90,171 crore. Experts have opined that The healthcare budget should encompass at least 2.5% of the total budget. But it remains to be seen how the exact picture will turn out to be on July 23. “The 2024-25 budget presents an opportunity to build on past successes while addressing shortcomings, ensuring that India's healthcare system remains resilient, innovative, and patient-centric. This budget can pave the way for a healthier, more equitable future for all," concludes Dr Reddy. (With inputs from TOI) <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111689743" title="Union Budget 2024: A handy FAQ guide to decode the upcoming budget" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

Despite pandemic and growing health scares, India’s budget share for healthcare continues to decline

When Josef Woodman's shoulder gave out in 2012 — strained from chopping firewood on his farm outside Chapel Hill, North Carolina — he said he was quoted between $2,400 and $3,200 for an MRI at Duke University Hospital.He didn't want to shell out the cost of a nice vacation just to find out he didn't need surgery, so he decided to wait, even as his mobility decreased to the point where he had to severely limit his farm work and could hold only one-third of the weight he normally could. Two years later, his patience was rewarded: While on a work trip to Bangkok, he got an MRI for just $460, landing an appointment two days after his consultation at a hospital."The results came back and they said, 'You don't need surgery. You've got a separated rotator cuff,'" Woodman said. The surgeon prescribed physical therapy, which he completed in the US. "The shoulder got way better," he told me. He was glad he waited.Like Woodman, millions of Americans travel abroad for medical procedures each year, saving anywhere from 40% to 90% on the services they receive. Many <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(18)30620-X/fulltext">don't have health insurance</a> or don't get coverage for the procedures they seek out — dental work and cosmetic procedures like breast implants and liposuction are by far the most popular. There's also a small but growing market for people seeking thorough checkups and testing abroad. An ascendant medical-tourism industry is offering these types of screenings, including MRIs and electrocardiograms, in beautiful locations around the world and packaging them with transportation, accommodations, food, shopping, and sightseeing. And with an increasing obsession with "wellness" and celebrities like Kim Kardashian promoting full-body imaging, it's easy to see why more and more Americans are looking to pair cabanas with CAT scans."If you've got some kind of joint pain, or if you have some kind of condition that isn't progressing, incorporate that into your normal travel plans," Woodman, now 72, said. In 2007, he founded Patients Beyond Borders, a healthcare-consulting company that helps Americans plan medical vacations, after growing up taking trips to Mexico for dental work with his dad. "In any kind of industrialized nation, you'd be able to get access to good-quality screening and people who can interpret the results," he said.Medical tourism comes with risks; the American Medical Association recommends going only to medical facilities recognized by international accrediting bodies and following up testing with care at home. But a growing number of Americans are willing to take those risks, as suites of tests abroad are often cheaper and faster than just a single test in the US."We just don't have a preventative-oriented society here in the United States," Woodman said. "Our approach is reactive."In a July <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bryn.elise/video/7386406512593325355?lang=en">TikTok</a> that's amassed over 17 million views, Bryn Elise documented her experience at a Turkish hospital where she received over 30 scans and tests, including an EKG, chest X-ray, and abdominal and thyroid ultrasounds, in a single day. The bill? $830. Without insurance, the cost of an EKG alone in the US <a target="_blank" href="https://enhancehealth.com/blog/how-much-does-an-ekg-cost-at-urgent-care-without-insurance/#:~:text=The%20total%20cost%20of%20an,where%20you%20get%20the%20service.">can vary from $100 to $5,000</a>."Personally, I'd rather spend $700 on a flight to Turkey, get dozens of tests there, and take a whole vacation than spend the thousands that this would have cost in the United States," Elise said in the video, which also featured clips of her on a beach, poolside, and eating a spread of delicious-looking Turkish veggie bowls. The 29-year-old health- and beauty-tourism influencer said she booked the trip because she wanted to investigate some "mysterious ailments," including brain fog, vision problems, and heart palpitations, without paying America's sky-high healthcare costs. She told her followers she had struggled with an eating disorder for 10 years and that "since our US checkups are only a tap on the knee and a blood-pressure check, I've been low-key terrified that I've caused permanent damage to my body but would never find out until it's too late."Her tests unearthed an astigmatism, early signs of osteoporosis, and "critically low" levels of vitamin B12. "The feeling of impending doom I've had due to health concerns is gone," Elise said.She chose a hospital that had been accredited by the Joint Commission International, an Illinois-based organization that has accredited over 1,000 health facilities in more than 70 countries. Dr. Paulo Neno, an international-accreditation surveyor at the commission, told Business Insider the accreditation process takes up to two years to complete and is renewed every three years. It includes a 12-part evaluation, during which a team of doctors and nurses visit the medical facility and assess everything from its operating theaters and intensive-care units to its power and water systems."We are focused on understanding how they are providing safe care for high-risk patients," Neno said.It's unclear, though, how many medical tourists visit accredited facilities, and there's still the question of whether all these tests are useful for someone who is seemingly in good health. Woodman knew he had an issue that needed to be examined, but Elise was more interested in a holistic screening regimen. One person commented on Elise's TikTok, "The hypochondriac in me thinks this is the perfect vacation. I'd go every year."Since COVID-19 came into the picture, health screenings and extensive physicals have received some buzz. Last year, Kardashian got a full-body MRI done by Prenuvo, a US chain of diagnostic clinics that offers the service for $2,500. In an Instagram post promoting it, Kardashian described it as a "life saving machine" that could detect cancer or conditions like aneurysms in their earliest stages. Especially given the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colon-cancer-cases-doubled-young-people-2024-5">rise in colon cancer</a> among young people — a disease that can spread with no or minimal symptoms — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/get-colonoscopy-colon-cancer-symptoms-colorectal-oncologist-2024-4">early screenings</a> are on more people's minds.But Arturo Vargas Bustamante, an associate professor of health policy and management at the University of California, Los Angeles, said these kinds of rigorous tests can often do more harm than good."You may get a lot of things that you may not need based on your age profile, or you may get screenings that ultimately would find something that could lead to treatment that may harm you," he said. US guidelines on which demographics should get tested are based on scientific evidence, he added, while clinics abroad may be more motivated by profit.If a test finds cancer at a very early stage when it's very slow-moving, Vargas Bustamante said, the patient may feel compelled to treat it immediately, subjecting themself to chemotherapy and radiation. But in reality, it's possible they could have gone years without needing to start treatment. "Sometimes knowing too much may not be that good for you," he said.Others, however, think that America's lack of access to robust preventive screening is a critical failure.Dr. Misael Uribe Ramos is the director of international medicine at Médica Sur in Mexico City, a Joint Commission International-accredited hospital that offers checkups with eight different specialists for $1,600. Uribe Ramos has seen interest in rigorous physicals boom since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic — and he thinks it's a good thing.Often when you go to the doctor, it's to treat a specific issue or disease, he said. "But why is that? Because you don't have prevention," he said. "Prevention is the best way to be healthy."In America, chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are leading causes of death and disability, driving the majority of the US's $4.5 trillion in yearly healthcare expenses, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/about/index.html">according to</a> the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These illnesses are largely preventable. The CDC also says that between 30% and 50% of cancers diagnosed today could be prevented by reducing risk factors (like not smoking and maintaining a healthy body weight) and getting recommended screenings and vaccinations. However, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://health.gov/news/202401/prevention-still-best-medicine">US Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion</a>, only 5.3% of Americans 35 and older received all recommended clinical prevention services in 2020 — a number that dropped from 8.5% in 2015. Why? Simply put, many Americans aren't regular healthcare users. They often don't have a family doctor, they live too far from one, they don't have a way to get there, or they simply can't afford it, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion says. Meanwhile, preventive-care services aren't prioritized because healthcare providers are paid to treat diseases — not to prevent them by keeping people healthy. A 2020 study said the National Academy of Medicine <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7309216/">estimated</a> that missed prevention opportunities cost the US $55 billion annually.Other countries take a different approach. In Japan, for instance, the most basic annual checkups include EKGs, chest X-rays, blood tests, eye and hearing tests, and stool and urine tests. And some residents require a more comprehensive version that includes cancer screening. Japanese employers are required to provide them for all of their employees. In 2019, about 74% of men and 66% of women in Japan completed some type of medical checkup, according to the country's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.South Korea's regimen is similar to Japan's. On a work trip there in 2010, Woodman had extensive testing done, including an MRI and CT scan, as part of a "wellness preventative program" he tried out for work, he said. He was offered an endoscopy and colonoscopy as part of the package but declined."Testing in the United States is really kind of pathetic," Woodman said. "They weigh you. They take your blood test. 'How tall are you?' And that's pretty much it."Americans seeking better preventive screening tend to visit South Korea, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, while Mexico, Barbados, and Thailand are popular for genetic and fertility testing, as well as testing related to gender-affirming care, medical-tourism advocates told BI.Many of these countries have hospitals that cater to foreigners. In Mexico, Médica Sur's checkups take about five hours, with screenings across disciplines such as internal medicine, cardiology, gynecology, and ophthalmology. (In the US, a typical physical takes less than an hour.) Packages include breakfast, transportation, accommodation, menus catering to dietary restrictions, discounted sightseeing for an extra cost, and concierge staff who help patients coordinate their stay and remain by their side for the duration. The hospital is also connected to a Holiday Inn if visitors want to stay on-site.Results are available within two weeks, at which point the patient can discuss the findings with a doctor in person or remotely; a checkup three months later is also included in the price. If, for example, the screenings indicate a malignant tumor, Uribe Ramos said, doctors will explain to a patient which follow-up tests they need, either in their home country or at Médica Sur. He recommends getting a thorough exam once a year.Since opening its international-medicine wing in 2019, the hospital has seen 5,000 foreign patients, most of them American and Canadian, Uribe Ramos said.Imani Bashir was living in Cancún three years ago when she felt what she thought was a lump in her breast. At the time she was 34 — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/screening/screening-recommendations-by-age.html#:~:text=Women%20ages%2040%20to%2044,should%20get%20mammograms%20every%20year.">young</a> to be receiving a mammogram — but her family had a history of the disease, so she booked an appointment anyway. In the US, the median <a target="_blank" href="https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.e18917">cost</a> of a mammogram ranges from $140 to $360 for women who aren't insured. In Mexico, it was under $50. As a Black woman who grew up in the US without health insurance, the 37-year-old communications director found the experience especially validating."When we go to the doctor and say that we're in pain, it's kind of just shooed away, like it's not a big deal," Bashir said. In Mexico, the medical center didn't question her. Now that she's living in Washington, DC, she continues to travel to Mexico for both her and her son's dental appointments and other medical issues because it's cheaper and easier to get appointments. "It always feels good when you feel like you can take care of yourself, and financially, it's not going to be a detriment to your life and your health," she says.Given how many people experience difficulty navigating the American healthcare system, it's no surprise that the medical-tourism market is growing rapidly. Patients Beyond Borders estimates the industry is growing between 15% and 25% each year. And 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9104082/#:~:text=The%20increase%20in%20medical%20tourism,other%20time%20in%20the%20past.">research</a> found that the increase in international tourism had helped fuel the trend. As <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/travel-agents-back-gen-z-millennials-vacation-planning-overseas-resorts-2024-6">more people spend time abroad</a>, it becomes easier to tack a few small medical tests onto your trip.Vargas Bustamante thinks traveling internationally for rigorous testing probably most benefits healthy people who just want "peace of mind." Despite the risk factors, the industry's growing appeal illustrates the limitations of American healthcare."Why would someone have to buy a plane ticket to go all the way on the other side of the world just for an adequate amount of healthcare? It's nuts," Bashir said. "But if people have the privilege, if people have the money to be able to do so, then I say, yeah."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/manisha-krishnan">Manisha Krishnan</a> is an Emmy award-winning journalist who covers healthcare. She is based in Brooklyn.

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Indoor air pollution poses greater health risk than outdoor: Experts

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Healthy timing, spacing between pregnancies crucial for women's health: MoS Patel

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Nipah virus: Health Ministry instructs Kerala to enforce four immediate safety measures following 14-year-old's death

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Despite pandemic and growing health scares, India’s budget share for healthcare continues to decline

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Mojitos and an MRI: Meet the Americans who are getting health screenings on vacation

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