#1

I was wondering which countries (and ideally which specific hospitals) may have the best options for cost-effective health check-up’s. I’m mainly thinking about private blood tests, and other medical services such as vaccinations, MRI’s etc. Countries and hospitals that offer competitive pricing for private health check-up’s, but also maintain high standards of care. Such services may be more affordable than in some Western countries.
Perhaps other members that get their blood work/ medical services performed in regions such as Asia (also Turkey), the Balkans, etc. would want to chime in. That would certainly be very helpful/insightful. Thanks a lot.

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#2

Medical tourism for procedures is quite popular, but I’ve never thought about doing it for testing. A quick google search revealed Medical Tourism - MRC

$1k for
1- Whole Body MRI $750
2- Chest X-ray $30
3- Abdomino-pelvic Ultrasonography $40
4- Color Doppler Echocardiography $50
5- ECG / Stress test $70
6- DEXA $30
7- Body (Fat/Muscle) Composition $30
8- Sono-mammography (> 40 years) $70
9- +/- CA score (>50 years) + Offering coronary angiography if needed $50
10- Carotid Duplex (> 50 years) $40

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#3

How do you determine the quality/accuracy of the results?

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#4

My wife has a medical tourism agency bringing patients to Turkey where her father is a doctor. If anyone is interested, DM me.

From my experience, the quality of care is great in Turkey compared to the UK where I live (that’s why most foreigners living in the UK go to their home country for healthcare).

Dubai is also great.

Then, wherever you are (including in your home country), you need to find the right doctor/hospital. I rely on Google reviews + word of mouth + credentials.

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#5

How do you determine it in your home country? :thinking:

Fun story: a few British doctors were traveling to Turkey and visited my father-in-law’s radiology clinic. They were impressed by his machines: all the latest, most expensive and most accurate MRIs. So they invited him to London to convince him to partner with him. They wanted to lease some of his older machines and start a joint venture to launch a clinic in London. He was excited about this opportunity to expand abroad. I attended the meeting. We visited a London hospital. My father-in-law was shocked that they only had old machines in an old grim building. After that meeting he understood how dilapidated the UK healthcare system was and realized that these British doctors needed him more than he needed them. They were desperate to get proper equipment to do their job.

Another story: a Lebanese friend of mine gave birth in central London a few months ago. Her mother came to the hospital and said: “I gave birth to you in Beirut in the middle of the Civil war and the hospital was 10 times better than this third word hospital in London”.

I think most people overestimate the quality of healthcare in their home country. If you’re abroad I recommend you test the local healthcare system: a blood test, a GP appointment, etc. Or just visit a hospital. It’s interesting. I did that in Turkey and Dubai: 5 star experience. Whereas in France and the UK not so much… Reversed third world.

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#6

For Americans who believe that the US does everything best then you can go to an American accredited hospital abroad, see JCI-Accredited Organizations | Joint Commission International

There are about 1,000 JCI accredited hospitals in the world. Mostly in Brazil, Thailand, Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

More about the Joint Commission on Wikipedia: Joint Commission - Wikipedia

A majority of US state governments recognize Joint Commission accreditation as a condition of licensure for the receipt of Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.

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#7

Romania has poor public health care but great private health care in the big cities. Prices are good and you can find very good doctors. You can also order a whole lot of blood tests and other diagnostic tests without needing a doctor’s referral.

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#8

Thanks so much for the recommendation. I may start to look at Romania also.

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