The medical tourism industry has grown sporadically after its initial burst onto the scene. Predicting the outcome of any industry is a dangerous game, specially an industry that has so many variables. The effect of global politics, economics, country invasions, broken negotiations and the outbreaks of viruses such as Ebola could not have been predicted beforehand. Those things have had an impact over the industry and have somewhat hindered the growth of medical tourism on a global scale.

However, 2015 has been a decent year for the growth of the medical tourism industry and there are certain things that have helped it regain its mojo back. So let’s take a look at the medical tourism industry in the year 2015.

The Growth

The biggest players in the growth of medical tourism this year seem to be Russia and China. These two global superpowers are major players and the acceptance of medical tourism in both these countries is seen as a major coup for the industry as a whole. Although, politics and economic instability in the country had put a dent in the growth of the industry, it has nevertheless continued to flourish this year.

The Quality of Care

One of the biggest threats to the medical tourism industry in recent years has been the poor standard of medical care that is afforded to patients in some of the tourist destinations. Untrained surgeons and poor healthcare facilities have given the industry a bad name, and while no medical care can be 100% safe, that can’t be used as an excuse to answer the poor quality of care offered. In 2015 most countries have stepped up the quality of care and while there will be deaths, the standard of care that is afforded to medical tourists has definitely been stepped up this year.

Health Insurance and Medical Tourism

A lot of health insurers had shunned the medical tourism industry, since it was taking business away from them. However, the year 2015 has been a promising one due to the fact that most health insurers have started providing insurance to medical tourism patients and that has really helped the industry. Health care insurance providers have smartly marketed their insurance to consumers, and have made sure that people purchase their insurance in order to travel abroad to seek medical care and treatment.

Employer Driven Medical Tourism

One of the shining lights for the medical tourism industry in 2015 has been the support of employer driven medical tourism. A lot of employers have seen that their employees are increasingly seeking medical care in foreign destinations and therefore they have offered to provide insurance to their employees for medical travel and care. This is also helping the company save money, since they don’t have to pay the huge medical insurance costs for their employees in the United States and it has proved to be a win-win situation so far for all parties. If things continue like this then the medical tourism industry can definitely look towards a brighter future in the coming years.