June 2005

Spas + surgery = synergy

by Dr. Madeline Behrendt

It's June and you're probably sweating right now. Or sweating over your electric bill.

It's way too hot to get bothered, but you know, some people just can't take it anymore.

They're tired of being taken advantage of, sick of their hard‑earned money being sucked into a broken system. In short, they're mad. But, not only that, they're packing their bags and taking their hard‑earned money overseas.

That's right. Increasing numbers of Americans have gotten tired of their problems with the American medical system and are now living large as the preferred customers of the booming "medical tourism" industry. Never heard the term before? Medical tourism is destination health care, where a patient/tourist can go to a top health care facility, with top doctors, private rooms, actual nurses (rather than aides) who take care of them, undergo affordable procedures, AND book a vacation in a locale near the facility. Yep, spas + surgery = synergy.

In April 2005, "60 Minutes" did a feature on this very topic. They described Bumrungrad Hospital in Thailand, which "claims to have more foreign patients than any other hospital in the world" ‑‑ over 350,000 a year. They also reported that "India wants to become the world leader in medical tourism..." and "for most procedures, with prices about 10% what they would be in the United States." They interviewed a number of patient/tourists who raved about their experiences, preferring this new approach to medical experiences in their home country.

In a previous column I wrote about the emergence of tourism related to infertility treatments. Since then, I've learned that this new "alternative" is a serious competitive global industry for all types of medical treatment, not just those typically absent from US insurance policies such as plastic surgery or infertility.

Now, before any of you zealous chiropractors start putting up tikki bars in your reception area and handing out flyers promoting your office as a destination center, consider how the world is changing.

Many readers are familiar with my study of Richard Florida's work. For newcomers, Florida is the author of "The Rise of the Creative Class." In April 2005, his latest book was published called "The Flight of the Creative Class," which details the brain drain from the United States and the subsequent global economic shifts.

Today's economy is based on knowledge workers, not linked to landlocked materials, so people are free to move anywhere that's competing for their talent. While at one time the world sent its citizens to be educated in American universities and to work in the top companies in the US, that is no longer the case. Talented, creative workers don't need to come to America. The opportunities, the technology, and the success they want can be found in their own backyard, or a less expensive destination than the US. Knowledge workers from India, China, Thailand, Ireland, can now all stay home. And that includes health care providers.

That details part one of the world's shift ‑‑ the rest of the world has technology and talent, therefore they don't need to come here. Part two of the shift is that America is becoming unaffordable for many Americans, so they travel internationally to spend their American money where they get more value ‑‑ including buying medical care abroad. A practice formerly pursued only by the very rich has gone middle class.

The third part of the shift is that increasing numbers of Americans, knowledge workers who are free to move anywhere there's competition for their talent, are moving abroad. And a significant factor here at home that influences this flight is tolerance. We've seen a number of chiropractors leave the US and work abroad, using their talents to make strides that would have been very difficult, if not impossible, within the boundaries of the US health care system.

What does all this have to do with chiropractic, and women's health? Well, women are the world's greatest consumers, especially when it comes to health care. And because the new trend of medical tourism is really trying to fix old problems, people want health care they can afford, doctors who care, and good results.

Chiropractors can do that. While people fly 22 hours to see a medical doctor in Thailand, how many DCs do they take to the skies over? Of course, I'm not saying chiropractors duplicate the results of heart surgery and specific medical treatment. What I am saying is that chiropractic is still a great deal, that it has doctors who really care, and it definitely offers good results. Yet, it's still a secret to many.

So, while the trend in the world is to look far away for answers, I'm encouraging chiropractors to go out into their communities and connect with the women who need their care, and whose families need their care. Help them find care at home.

(Dr. Madeline Behrendt is chair of the WCA Council on Women's Health and associate editor of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research [JVSR]. An author and speaker, she is committed to connecting women to chiropractic and chiropractors to women, and may be contacted at mbdcawe@aol.com)