Botox Argentina

A patient receives a Botox treatment at the Sanatorio Diquecito Health Resort in Cordoba.

The breadth and depth of medical tourism offerings keep expanding in Argentina thanks to continued cost advantages, an increase in the number of specialists catering to foreign patients and more coordinated marketing efforts abroad. A new article in Iguazu Noticias charts the maturation of the industry, the emergence of regional centers of medical specialization and the most sought after procedures by foreign visitors.

As it relates to medical tourism in Argentina, the term “foreign” refers to international patients as well as national patients who travel from one province to another for surgery. While Argentina continues to be a magnet from neighboring countries, the number of  patients traveling from as far away as the U.S., Canada, Spain and other European countries is growing as well.

Domestic patients travel from the interior of the country to cities like Buenos Aires and Cordoba where the quality of care and hospital facilities are superior, while international patients come for the tremendous cost savings for elective and non-elective medical procedures that carry exorbitant price tags at home.

The top ten most common procedures associated with medical tourism in Argentina include 1.) plastic surgery (breast implants, liposuction, face-lifts), 2.) ophthalmology, 3.) dental surgery, 4.) weight loss, 5.) fertility treatments, 6.) vaginal rejuvenation, 7.) eye surgery, 8.) cardiology, 9.) addiction treatments and 10.) cancer treatments.

In recent years, major metropolitan areas in Argentina have become synonymous with certain procedures thanks to the number of specialists and facilities involved like breast augments and IVF treatments in Buenos Aires, weight loss in Cordoba and eye surgery in Mendoza. (Full Story in Spanish)

Argentina Plastic Surgery

International patients increasingly choose Argentina for complex procedures. (Photo: DrImbriano.com)

With health care costs spiraling out of control in other corners of the world, medical tourism in Argentina continues gaining momentum thanks to low costs, highly skilled surgeons and ongoing efforts to raise international awareness. One of those events took place this weekend in Spain at the 6th Annual International Health Expo in Murcia where Argentina joined 34 other nations promoting its many advantages for those seeking elective and non-elective procedures abroad.

The National Institute of Tourism Promotion (Inprotur) says the number of foreign visitors coming to Argentina for medical tourism exceeds 1,000 per month, and the sector is expected to generate US$80 million in revenue this year, a 10% increase over 2010. The continued growth in medical tourism arrivals is good news for hotels, restaurants and other service-related businesses in Argentina, as the average medical tourism visitor stays 12 days. The shortest stays are typically a week for simple procedures up to one month for more complex procedures requiring extended rest and follow-up visits with doctors.

Argentina has emerged as one of the global leaders in medical tourism thanks to world-class facilities, investment in new technology and well-trained surgeons with broad experience across some of medicine’s most specialized fields. Medical tourism patients in Argentina appreciate the quality and affordability of lodging for family members as well as assorted spas, resorts and natural springs which make ideal recovery environments after complex procedures. (Full Story in Spanish)

Doctors performing surgery in Buenos Aires Argentina

A team of surgeons in Argentina where doctors are typically well-trained, confident & knowledgeable.

When most foreign journalists return home from a trip to Argentina, they often pen glowing reviews of their gastronomic conquests down south…Newsweek’s Howard Fineman is not one of those journalists.

On a recent visit to see his daughter—who currently lives in Argentina—Fineman had a nasty bout with food poisoning. The illness and his subsequent 3-day stay in a private hospital in Bariloche opened Fineman’s eyes to the cost and quality of care advantages for expats and foreign visitors in Argentina.

My hospitalization included continuous intravenous fluids (to counter dehydration); IV antibiotics; an EKG, two blood tests and a chest X-ray; special meals; a private room; and even satellite-TV access to what seemed to be every obscure soccer match on the planet,” Fineman writes, “The doctors, nurses, aides, and others were all uniformly excellent. Total cost: about $1,500.

Considering that similar treatment in the U.S. would have cost roughly $12,000, the NBC political analyst was impressed by both the quality of care (“The doctors were clearly well trained and knowledgeable, and inspired confidence with their touch of Argentine cockiness.”) and the resourcefulness he witnessed first-hand. (“Perhaps they can’t always afford the latest in technology, but they strike me as doctors who don’t dwell on technology for its own sake.”)

While most Argentine medical tourism coverage to date has focused exclusively on elective procedures in BA, InvestBA believes Fineman’s anecdote sheds important light on the non-elective, year-round quality care awaiting  expats, transplants and foreign travelers in Argentina. (Full article)

Read more about Argentina lifestyle and quality of living in the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

Medical Tourism in Argentina is on the rise with companies like RefreshMed, Xetica and Procrearte in the lead.

Medical Tourism is on the rise with companies like RefreshMed, Xetica and Procrearte in the lead.

For the past three years, “medical tourism” has been a loosely-defined concept occasionally surfacing on the pages of popular magazines. In 2006, Time ran a story titled “Outsourcing Your Heart,” while Entrepreneur named “medical tourism” to its 2007 Hot List of emerging trends and business models for aspiring entrepreneurs. Fast forward to 2009 and the industry buzz around medical tourism is large enough to warrant a World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress, being held next week in L.A.  Going forward, Argentina is poised to capture a greater share of outsourced U.S. health care over traditional destinations like Inida, Thailand and Singapore. Similarities in time zones, language and countless tourism options are just a few of Argentina’s competitive advantages. And just to make it official, Argentina’s National Tourism Agency, finally decided to go after this $60 billion global industry with a marketing campaign (Full Story) called Medicina Argentina.

BA Mayor Shares His Vision in Miami

BA Mayor Mauricio Macri speaks at the Miami Herald's Americas Conference 2009

BA Mayor Mauricio Macri speaks at the Miami Herald's Americas Conference 2009

Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri spoke yesterday at the Miami Herald’s Americas Conference 2009 and shared his vision for Argentina’s future. Macri, who appeared in a panel discussion with journalist Andres Oppenheimer and Buenos Aires Province Governor Daniel Scioli, was critical of mistakes made over the past 20 years. According to Poder Magazine, “Macri told those present that his work will be concentrated on ‘trying to reverse two decades of neglect and lack of investment.’” Macri pointed to Brazil and Chile as regional models and cited the need for increased food & mineral production, greater tourism promotion and stronger, more transparent institutions if Argentina is going to be competitive going forward in the global marketplace.

 

Bariloche

Mendoza

Uruguay

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