Here's something for healthcare brands to think about:

The increasing cost of medical care, growing numbers of uninsured or underinsured Americans, the global outsourcing of record-keeping and x-rays, the recruitment of doctors and nurses from other countries, and the increasing quality of hospitals in other countries is paving the way for the growth of medical tourism says The Economist. They report that Americans can save as much as 85% by 'shopping around’ for medical care and that the number of Americans traveling for care will grow from 1 million in 2007 to 10 million in 2012, costing American hospitals $160 billion in annual business.

Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG),  has teamed up with the Medical Tourism Association, an international, non-profit association made up of the top international hospitals, insurance companies, healchcare companies, medical tourism companies, etc., to launch an initiative to offer medical-related travel into Latin America. Expect more of these partnerships as costs mount in the US and interest grows in cost effective alternatives.

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