One of the main concerns of any person looking to retire overseas is
the quality of healthcare. Is it possible to get medical treatment as
good as what's available in the U.S. and Canada? The answer…a resounding
yes. Sometimes it's even better than what's on offer at home, and at a
more affordable price too.
Measuring the quality of
healthcare is difficult, and it's hard to put a number on it. We can,
however, put a number on the price of medical procedures. And these
costs (as well as quality) helped us score each of the 24 countries in
the healthcare category of International Living's 2017 Global Retirement
Index.
Read on to learn more
about the top five countries in the world for healthcare. In each of
these countries you'll find clean, excellent hospitals, highly trained
doctors, and very affordable care.
1. Malaysia: Medical tourism is booming
A stronger U.S. dollar, cheaper air travel, mounting
healthcare costs in Western countries (and long waiting lists), have all
contributed to the Malaysian medical tourism boom in the past decade.
Medical tourists arriving in Malaysia have increased on average by 100%
in the last five years.
George Town and Kuala
Lumpur are the main two medical centers in Malaysia, and both cities
are serviced by a multitude of international airlines from around the
world.
Malaysia has some of
the best-trained doctors in Asia–and the majority of them were trained
in the U.S., Australia, or the UK. All of them speak English too, and
that takes a lot of the stress away from what is already a stressful
situation.
Getty Images
Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur City
A stronger U.S. dollar, cheaper air
travel, mounting healthcare costs in Western countries (and long waiting
lists), have all contributed to the Malaysian medical tourism boom in
the past decade. Medical tourists arriving in Malaysia have increased on
average by 100% in the last five years.
George Town and Kuala
Lumpur are the main two medical centers in Malaysia, and both cities
are serviced by a multitude of international airlines from around the
world.
Malaysia has some of
the best-trained doctors in Asia–and the majority of them were trained
in the U.S., Australia, or the UK. All of them speak English too, and
that takes a lot of the stress away from what is already a stressful
situation.
Western accreditation
is also a vital component for confidence in undergoing foreign medical
treatments. Numerous hospitals in Penang and Kuala Lumpur are among
Southeast Asia's first recipients of the United States' prestigious
Joint Commission International (JCI) certification. Seen as the gold
standard for healthcare service providers around the world, Malaysia has
no less than eight JCI-accredited hospitals.
That being said,
there are also some very good "not for profit" hospitals here too. One
of best is The Lam Wah Ee Hospital in Penang. I've had two operations
there, and I can't say enough about their professionalism.
The most popular
areas of treatment across the board in Malaysia include cosmetic
surgery, dental work, and dermatology. In 2016 Malaysia was visited by
more than 1 million medical tourists from around the globe, a figure
that is certain to rise in 2017.
Other considerations
to take into account are that there is little to no waiting time when
you arrive. It's as simple as registering at the hospital of your choice
and then waiting for that particular specialist to see you. You also
don't need to be referred to that particular specialist by a General
Practitioner. – Keith Hockton
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