According to the Cancer Institute and Hospital in Beijing, the five-year survival rate for cancer patients in China is 30%, as compared to 70% in the United States. To tap into the healthcare market in China, several top hospitals in the United States, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have recently begun partnerships with Chinese businesses in an effort to attract affluent Chinese consumers seeking lifesaving treatments unavailable at home in the United States. The number of patients from China seeking high-end medical treatment overseas is estimated to be about 3,000 a year.

Although medical procedures in China are fairly inexpensive, Chinese hospitals have become overburdened, increasingly crowded, and incur long waiting periods for specialized treatment. Some Chinese consumers travel overseas in search of advanced pharmaceuticals because bureaucratic red tape has delayed their availability in China. Government-run hospitals in China are also known to run short of physicians and suitable facilities.

Many Chinese are demanding access to top-notch treatment in the areas of cancer, heart conditions, orthopedics, and plastic surgery as China's population and affluence have grown. Chinese travel agencies are taking advantage of the trend, and medical tourism packages to the United States, Canada, and Japan are in high demand. The packages include airfare, five-star hotels, fine cuisine, and post-surgery sightseeing tours.

As a result, U.S. companies and international entrepreneurs are tapping into healthcare markets in China. One company plans to launch an online platform that will connect Chinese tourists with a wide variety of medical institutions in the United States. Within two weeks, after downloading records, Chinese consumers can receive a diagnostic report concerning their conditions from any of the participating U.S. hospitals. Medical records translation, visa application assistance, airport pickups, and accommodations—all of which are sure to ease post-surgery healing—will generate revenue for the healthcare facilities involved.

Questions for Critical Thinking

1. What are the potential risks that could arise from medical tourism? What recourse should the medical tourism company offer should something go wrong with the surgery?

2. Other types of medical tourism include U.S. health insurance companies encouraging patients to have surgeries performed overseas at half the cost. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this strategy.