What is Medical Tourism?
Medical Tourism in Egypt
The Advantages of Medical Tourism in Egypt
The Best Medical Services in Egypt

What is Medical Tourism?
Medical tourism, in its simplest form, is the process of traveling abroad to receive any type of various medical treatments. In the past, medical tourism was limited to patients traveling from underdeveloped countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, to more advanced nations. The lack of some certain equipment or experiences encouraged patients to travel across borders to obtain better medical services.

However, during the past two decades, the term medical tourism evolved to include many other journeys. The exact opposite began to happen; citizens of richer countries began resorting to developing countries to receive certain medical treatments.
Now, why would a patient from Europe, USA, or the Gulf for example travel to a developing country to receive medical services? In fact, the number of medical tourists from such countries is rapidly increasing as well. Statistics showed that the number of American patients who resorted to medical tourism outside the USA increased from 750,000 in 2006 to more than 1 million and a half this decade.
There are many reasons that led to the increase of the number of medical tourists traveling around the world.

Lower Costs of Medical Services in Developing Countries
Cost is one of the major factors that play a vital role in medical tourism. The prices of several medical treatments in developed countries tremendously increased and became unaffordable for a large sector of the community. Patients began searching for other cheaper alternatives in other countries without compromising on quality.
The main reason behind the cheaper prices of medical services in developing countries is the low cost of labor and relatively less costs of using various equipment and supplies.

Developing Countries Began Offering World Class Medical Services
Developing countries have witnessed impressive growth in the quality of medical services offered. Doctors and specialists working in these countries receive their training in the best hospital and medical centers around the globe. The usage of the most perfect equipment and facilities with the latest state-of-the-art technologies guarantee providing medical tourists with the finest quality of services.

Long Waiting Lists for Patients in Advanced Countries
Many patients in more advanced countries spend weeks in waiting lists to obtain certain medical treatments in their native lands. They prefer to benefit from the merits of medical tourism in other countries instead of waiting for their turn while their health condition is getting worth.

Cheap Prices of Airlines
The presence of a large variety of affordable flights to and from developing countries contribute to the increase in the number of tourists. This advantage achieved a considerable growth in the number of medical tourists who travel to these nations to get the highest standards of medical treatments.

Exploring a New Destination
An important advantage of medical tourism is that it offers patients the chance to visit new remarkable destinations as part of their curative process. They would get the opportunity to explore wonderful historical sites. Medical tourists would enjoy recovery while they relax in distinctive beaches or resorts. They would also experience new cultures and heritages in various countries around the globe. All of this with even cheaper prices than that they would have paid receiving the same medical services in their homelands.

Medical Tourism in Egypt
Travelers from various regions around the world have visited Egypt since ancient times for curative reasons. Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher, mentioned Egypt many times in his books about natural medicines. He encouraged people of the old world to visit Egypt to benefit from its warm climate and refreshing weather.

The Distinctive Geographical Location and Weather of Egypt
Egypt enjoys a distinctive geographical location of Egypt. Situated between latitudes 22-31 with the Tropic of Cancer passing in the Southern section of the country, gives Egypt the advantage of having warm sunlight that many countries in the North miss.
The presence of many mineral and sulfur natural water springs in various regions around Egypt grabbed the attention of medical tourists for thousands of years. This is besides the moderate dry climate of Egypt that is recommended in the recovery period of several diseases.

Medical Tourism in Egypt Today
Although all these advantages are still present in Egypt until today, medical tourism has principally evolved in the country during in the past two decades.
Health services immensely improved in Egypt during the past 15 years or so. For example, Egypt achieved great milestones in combating Virus C, children cancer, and many other diseases. This was accomplished due to the enhancement of the medical treatments offered in hospitals and health institutions all over the country.
The Egyptian government, together with many multinational private corporations, began investing in medical tourism. They predict that the revenues of these distinctive medical services offered to medical tourists might exceed billions of dollars on annual basis.
Egypt is mainly targeting the residents of the gulf region and Africa especially KSA, Kuwait, and UAE. The latest studies show that the inhabitants of the gulf pay more than 5 billion US Dollars on medical tourism every year. Egypt plans to gain a large portion of this amount.
The country has started taking the required measures to ensure offering the highest standards of medical services. Several top-notch medical centers and hospitals with international accreditation began operating in Egypt.
The import of the latest medical technologies achieved a significant increase in the quality of medical services provided in Egypt.  The recruitment of qualified calibers that received their education in the most reputable centers around the world transformed Egypt into one of the most appealing medical tourism destinations.

The Advantages of Medical Tourism in Egypt
The Best Prices in the Region
The costs of various medical treatments in Egypt are estimated to be around 30 to 50% less than other nations. With the devaluation of the Egyptian pound in November 2016, the prices of health services for foreigners in Egypt became unbelievably cheap. Compared to the costs of the same services with similar levels of quality and satisfaction in other countries, several medical tourists began preferring to receive their treatments in Egypt.

World Class Medical Institutions and Professionals
Egypt hosts several world class accredited health centers and hospital. These institutions offer the best medical services featured with the highest standards of quality and accuracy. The facilities include labs, devices, examinations, and research centers.
The investment in medical tourism has become a major focus of the Egyptian government and many investors who acknowledged that the revenues of such a booming field would be extremely rewarding. Egypt also has some of the world’s best doctors and medical specialists. Those professionals obtained their education, training, and long experiences from the best and most reputable hospitals in the world.

Customized Medical Services in Egypt
Egypt has a large number of choice and alternatives in terms of highly equipped and qualified medical centers and hospitals that offer the best medical and health services with international standards.
This is an advantage that is highly appreciated by medical tourists as it enables them to customize their services according to their specific budget and requirements. For instance, some medical treatments would be condensed for travelers who wish to have a shorter stay. Some surgeries would only require two or three days to be fully completed.

Medical Services Facilitators Offering Comprehensive Services
A number of multinational medical centers have recently started offering comprehensive services for medical tourists in Egypt. They would serve as a one-stop-shop and be responsible for every single aspect of the medical trip to the land of the Nile. They would perfectly organize all the details of medical tour for their clients. Their services would include airlines’ reservation, hotels, various medical treatments, and visits to the most wonderful sites and monuments in Egypt.
These centers would send their clients a fully-detailed and priced program. The offer would be especially designed to suit their needs, that includes literally everything. These medical services facilitators would be responsible for clients from the moment they leave home and until they have all what they require accomplish in Egypt.

Egypt is a Magnificent Destination for Tourism
Away from medical tourism, Egypt is one of the most fabulous destinations in the world that travelers should visit at least once in a lifetime. The attractions of Egypt include startling ancient monuments, the best beaches of the Red Sea, and marvelous shopping opportunities. Medical tourists would have their health services in the best medical centers in the world and enjoy exploring all the treasures Egypt offers to its beloved guests.

Minimum or No Language Barriers
Language barriers would never represent a problem for medical tourists in Egypt especially if they come from Arab nations. Egypt is one of the most preferred destinations for Saudis, and many other Arab nationalities, to have their medical services.  They would feel home away from home with the distinctive historical relation between the peoples of the two countries.

A Wide Variety of Qualified Medical Specializations
Medical professionals in Egypt have gained long and sophisticated experiences in various fields like orthopedics, cardiology, maxillofacial surgeries, plastic and cosmetic surgeries, dentistry, urology, and many more specializations. All these services are provided by the best well trained staff that include specialists, doctors, nurses, and even supporting staff.

The Best Medical Services in Egypt
The best medical services in Egypt include: –
–    Lap sleeve gastrectomy
–    Lap gastric bypass
–    Total hip replacement
–    Total knee replacement
–    Scoliosis surgery
–    Endoscopic laser prostatectomy
–    GABG operations
–    Aortic or mitral valve replacement
–    Orthognathic Surgeries
–    Dentistry

*Please note that the coming article/articles might address these specializations in details