Czech Republic keen to develop Medical Tourism
By Ilya Marritz - Czech radio 23/1/07
Now some economists say it’s time for the Czech Republic to fully cash in on the price advantage, and specialize in medical tourism. Tomas Sedlacek, is chief economic strategist CSOB bank, and a former advisor to President Havel.
Lately he’s been talking up the idea of medical tourism, and says there’s a great deal of interest - from people in government, from doctors, and from other economists.
“You can make a very nice deal for foreigners. You know if you want a hip replacement you can either wait for 60 days in your home country or we can fly you to the Czech Republic first class. You can spend two weeks after the operation at a spa. We’ve done in our heads calculations and rough estimates, even if you do this it’s still half price of what it would cost in Western Europe. So for local insurance this would be good thing especially at first while prices are still low and people are not used to coming here for their medical care.”
You might call it reverse exploitation. It’s not simply westerners taking advantage of the low prices in the east, it’s the Czech healthcare system taking advantage of how much Western Europe’s health insurers, and private clients, are willing to pay.
“If we instead of shipping doctors to foreign countries, ship foreign patients here, we gain in many respects. Firstly, the good doctors stay here, secondly, the economy will profit, not only healthcare but the whole economy - the tourist industry because there will be other services joined to this core business.
