Summary
Just as high tech products are manufactured in Asian countries for a fraction of the cost, medical procedures will be provided in less developed countries for a fraction of the cost in the not so distant future.
It will initially be low tech procedures such as cosmetic operations and minor procedures and will go on to more complex procedures like orthopedic and cardiac surgeries.
Analysis
Health tourism is a reality but on a small scale for now. People in the US can get their hips replaced , their heart arteries bypassed or their noses fixed in India or Singapore for a fraction of the cost they would pay at home.
The physicians performing the procedures are oftentimes US-trained or trained by physicians who were trained in the US.
Getting an operation abroad is most attractive when airplane tickets are cheap and when the patient doesn't have insurance. It is also attractive for procedures not reimbursed by medical insurance such as cosmetic surgery.
Medical globalization will ultimately lead to lower prices for medical devices because the same scalpel sold for $50 in the US sells for $10 in Ghana. If US medical offices and hospitals are going to compete with low-cost hospitals or spas in Ghana or in Vietnam, they will be less willing to pay the $50 and will demand to buy the scalpel at $10 too.
