Omanis Traveling Abroad for Healthcare: A Time for Reflection

Medical travel is the practice of patients leaving their country of residence and going abroad with the purpose of getting access to medical care; this can be diagnostic, consultancy, or surgery.1 Medical travel is not uncommon, and some patients from both developed and developing countries seek medical treatment away from home, often in countries that invest in ‘medical tourism’. Reasons include lower cost for expensive procedures, better quality of care and facilities, immediate care with little or no waiting, seeking care that is not available/accessible in their home country, and more inpatient care compared to short hospitalization in their home country.2 There are, however, risks associated with medical travel. These include but are not limited to: variations in healthcare quality, safety, cultural, and ethical values, lack of continuity of care, different disease epidemiologies, lack of malpractice insurance, and building false hopes and unrealistic expectations in patients for the sake of financial benefits for the host healthcare facility.