International professional organizations, non-governmental organizations, and other international institutions work to make sure that medical training, medical practices, and medical equipment are standardized around the globe. Diagnostic terminology is set; medications from prescription drugs to anesthesia are globally-available.

Medical tourism takes advantage of this standardization of medical procedures. Doctors overseas—many of whom have trained in the US or Canada, or be members of international professional association—assure their patients that they’ll enjoy the same quality of care as they would at home, if not better.

Thailand is perhaps the best-established destination for medical tourism, and much of that is due to Thai doctors’ and hospital administrators’ global knowledge. Thai facilities’ characteristically high level of health routinism means that patients enjoy medical care and hospital experiences that are higher than, or at least comparable to, standards in their home countries. Not only do many Thai physicians hold US professional certification; a number of Thai hospitals maintain cooperative relationships with facilities in the US as well. Many travel to hospitals in Thailand for plastic surgery or other forms of cosmetic surgery from North America, Europe, and Japan. Get the whole story »