Emerging issues in medical tourism: A case study of cosmetic surgeries in Mexico

This assignment discusses the emerging issues in medical tourism, specifically focusing on cosmetic surgeries in Mexico. It explores the growing trend of medical tourism, options for traveling abroad for better treatment, and evaluates the effectiveness of cosmetic surgery services in Australia. The assignment provides insights into the industry and highlights the challenges and opportunities in this field.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Emerging issues in medical tourism: A case study of cosmetic surgeries in Mexico
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Table of contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Overview of the industry............................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Overview of the situation.......................................................................................................3
Growing trend of the cosmetic surgery..................................................................................5
Options for travelling abroad for getting better treatment.....................................................6
Evaluating the effectiveness of cosmetic surgery services in Australia....................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Tourism industry has lots in store for the people coming from outside to spend their
vacation, business purpose, medical treatment among others in the threshold of Australia.
Provision of quality services in restaurants, hotels, transportation and medical parameters are
a means for influencing the purchasing power and decision of the tourists. Narrowing down
the focus, the assignment would focus on medical tourism in particular. As per the revelations
of the Better health Channel, medical tourism has achieved accolades and glory by generating
$54.6 billion annual revenue. According to the estimate of the Australian Trade and
Investment Commission, the industry is expected to grow by 25% in terms of the annual
calculation. This would be a hike in the GDP along with the 3.2% contribution in the GDP
(Australian Govt. Productivity Commission 2015).
Overview of the industry
Over the last two decades, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of
people preferring medical tours and travels. The major drive behind this are rising costs of the
healthcare services in Australia, difference in quality and accessibility towards the healthcare
services, technological innovation, lower transport costs, trade liberalization among others. In
case of Australia, commercialization of the medical tourism is perceived as scattered. In the
era of 2010, the tourists travelling for medical reasons were only 0.23%. This is
approximately, 5.5 million people. In the phase of 2005-2010, the percentage of annual
growth was estimated to be around 14% as compared to the 2% of the total tourists.
According to the estimates, the average spending on healthcare tourism accounts for $3973
including the airfares, accommodation and others (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
2019).

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Discussion
Overview of the situation
The number of tourists visiting Australia locally is low as compared to the number of
tourists visiting Australia from outside. The main reasons of this are the high costs of the
healthcare services, lack of technologies among others. Supervision of the clinics by the
Ministry of health standardizes the provision of the healthcare services. Mention can be made
of uplifting the restrictions on the retail pharmacies, which have intensified the competition
between the healthcare settings in Australia with that of Mexico, Thailand, Germany,
Singapore and India. Recording of the information on electronic devices have enhanced the
transparency and coordination in the parameter of palliative care (Abc News 2018).
Narrowing down the focus, the segment would concentrate on the aspect of cosmetic
surgery. According to the reports of Foxnews.com (2019), a Texas women, suffering from
severe brain damage from surgical complications, related to plastic surgery, died in Mexico.

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Her family members decided to shift her to hospicare after she remained in coma for several
days. Laura, the victim, got nose job and breast augmentation from a clinic in Mexico. After
this, she suffered complication from the anaesthesia, resulting in the swelling of the brain.
This issue reflects the lack of quality within the healthcare services related to the cosmetic
surgery. This reason is adequate for the Mexico people to prefer Australia as a destination for
getting better healthcare services in terms of cosmetic surgery.
In terms of the price, cosmetic surgery is not affordable option. The medical expenses
in the United States are skyrising (Devex.com 2019). As a matter of specification, the prices
of the services are as follows:
 Rhinoplasty – $2,000.
 Full face lift – $3,200.
 Breast augmentation – $3,500.
 Buttock Enlargement – $4,000.
 Liposuction – $2,200-$3,000.
 Tummy tuck – $2,200.
This compels the people to look for cheaper options. In addition to this, most of the
insurances do not bear the cost of the plastic surgery, which aggravates the complexities of
the customers belonging to the middle class. This is because they have to pay from their own
for availing the services of face lift, tummy tuck, breast augmentation and others. There are
very few skilled plastic surgeons, which can result in the negative outcomes, if the people do
not conduct effective market research, they can get deceived by the improper quality of the
healthcare services (Devex.com 2019).
Mention can also be made of the payment option, which is difficult for the locals in
Mexico. Example can be cited of the 50% deposits while leaving the hospital. This

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compulsion strains the budget, affecting the income and lifestyle of the clients and the
customers belonging to the middle classes. In other cases, advances needs to be paid before
the procedure starts. Compulsion in paying the advances aggravates the tension and worries
of the customers regarding searching for better and cheaper cosmetic surgery services.
Growing trend of the cosmetic surgery
In the threshold of United States, cosmetic surgery has achieved accolades and glory
by generating the revenue of 16 billion dollars. As per the revelations of American Society of
Plastic surgeon, 17.5 million cosmetic and minimally invasive procedures have been
performed in the era of 2017 (Devex.com 2019). Most of the cosmetic surgeries are
performed in the United States as compared to the other countries. High rising costs of the
cosmetic surgery adds an interrogative parameter to the marketing of the medical tourism.
According to the estimates of Patient Beyond Borders, elective plastic surgery has
encountered an increase from 15 to 25 %. Aling with this, the estimations also relates to the
fact that approximately 1.4 million Americans travel to abroad countries for availing the
services like knee surgery to the dental crowns.
Many Americans never consider going abroad for knee replacement. Therefore, their
decisions are easily influenced in terms of going to other countries for purchasing better
cosmetic surgery services. According to one of the issues of Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery, complications like infections, wound healing problems, pain and hospitalization
have emerged in case of the patients returning from abroad after availing the cosmetic
surgery services (Devex.com 2019).
Options for travelling abroad for getting better treatment
Flight is one of the effective modes of transport for the people, intending to visit
Australia for better healthcare services in terms of the cosmetic surgery. The distance

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between Mexico and Australia is 14,650 km, which can be covered in 16 hours 37 minutes by
flight.
Fig: Distance from Mexico to Australia
(Source: Australian Govt. Productivity Commission 2015)
The travellers can follow the following schedule for reaching Australia for availing
better services in cosmetic surgery:
Day 1  Boarding from Benito Juares on Latam Airlines
 Stop at Santiago, Chile
Day 3  Arriving at Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney
 Check in at Hilton Hotel
Day 4  Visiting Sydney Cosmetic Clinic\Australian Society of Plastic Surgeon
Day 5  Exploring the centres dealing with the cosmetic surgeries

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 Returning to hotel
Table 1: Itinerary plan in Australia for getting better cosmetic surgery in Sydney
(Source: Created by the author)
Evaluating the effectiveness of cosmetic surgery
services in Australia
In Australia, the care and wellbeing is the motto of the healthcare services. Special
care, attention and support is provided for fulfilling the needs, demands and requirements of
every patient. Social media is used for reducing the queries of the customers regarding the
specific details of the cosmetic surgery services. Typical example of this is the follow up
consultation services, which enhances the preconceived skills, knowledge and expertise of
the patients and their family members. Post-operative care reflects the approach of the
personnel towards ensuring the wellbeing of the patients. Skilled and experienced doctors
supervise the process of cosmetic surgeries, which results in positive outcomes. Provision of
personalized services is an agent in terms of achieving large scale customer satisfaction
(Cosmeticsurgeryaustralia.com.au 2019). The price of the services is affordable, this is in
consideration of the income and lifestyle of the clients and customers.
Labiaplasty $4590
Injectables $200
Eyelid surgery $5590
Liposuction $7990
Breast augmentation $13290
Mini tummy tuck $8990
Breast augmentation (new year package) $6000

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Breast lift $8890
Table 2: Price list of the cosmetic surgeries in Australia
(Source: Cosmeticsurgeryaustralia.com.au 2019)
In all of the services, there is a consultation fee, which the patients have to pay. This
is accompanied by the post-operative care and suggestions, which helps the patients to
maintain their health in an efficient and effective manner. There is a consultant, who will
guide the visitors, once they contact the Cosmetic Surgery hospitals and clinics in Australia.
This is followed by the request for photo request form, which needs to be duly filled. Along
with this, the instructions would be levied about the images, which needs to be send. These
images would be verified, followed by the suggestion regarding the surgery, which is suitable
for the patients (Cosmeticsurgeryaustralia.com.au 2019). Confidentiality is maintained in
scrutinizing the images, which reflects the conscious approach towards maintaining the
privacy in the personal documents of patients.
The patients are requested to fill up a medical questionnaire form. In this process, the
customers are provided with detailed information regarding the prescribed form of surgery.
This includes the cooling off periods, recovery time and measurements involving the post-
operative garment. The doctors conduct face to face sessions before conducting the surgery.
Along with this, the patients are provided access to the contact numbers, where the nurse
would contact the patient after the procedure is performed. During this, the appointment with
the doctor is booked (Cosmeticsurgeryaustralia.com.au 2019).
Conclusion
Medical tourism has achieved accolades and glory by upgrading on the healthcare
services. As a matter of specification, mention can be made of digitalizing the cosmetic

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surgery services. Specialized services in Australia compels the Mexicans to choose Australia
in terms of seeking better medical services. Along with this, affordability is one of the other
reasons for the selecting Australia in terms of selecting Australia in terms of receiving quality
care and support in preserving the health. Follow-ups from the doctors and nurses in
Australian cosmetic surgery necessitates the need of improvising on the cosmetic surgery
services. Typical example of this is revising the selection and recruitment policies in case of
the surgeons. Along with this, technological training would be fruitful in terms of enhancing
the knowledge of the personnel in taking proper care of the patients. Follow-ups through
survey is needed in terms of providing post-operative care to the patients. Variation in the
types of the cosmetic surgery services is a means for influencing the purchasing power and
decisions of the patients. Social media is a means for enhancing the trafficking of the
audience towards the brand image.

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References
Abc News 2018. Rising out-of-pocket medical costs force more than 1m Australians to put
off doctor visits. Available at: (Accessed on 22nd April 2019)
Cosmeticsurgeryaustralia.com.au 2019. About us. Available at:
https://cosmeticsurgeryaustralia.com.au/ (Accessed on 22nd April 2019)
devex.com 2019. About us. Available at: https://www.devex.com/organizations/ministry-of-
health-mexico-52587 (Accessed on 22nd April 2019)
Foxnews.com 2019. Texas woman dies after botched plastic surgery in Mexico: report.
Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/health/texas-woman-dies-after-botched-plastic-
surgery-in-mexico-report (Accessed on 22nd April 2019)