Medical Tourism still going strong

Although USA Today recently publicized that Medical Tourism was one of the top trends for 2010, we’ve had our eye on this tourism trend for some time. Back in 2007, we noted that “wellness and looking good continue were moving up in consumers financial priorities.” Lifestyle trends such as this fueled the spa and medical tourism boom in 2007. We saw the advent of medical real estate, where master-planned communities emerged, such as Cooper Life at Craig Ranch in Texas, which were built around wellness and medicine. Monthly fees provide luxuries and services, including annual physical examinations and doctor house calls.

Serving the medical tourism boom, we’ve discovered RevaHealth, an Irish website that provides TripAdvisor-like reviews for all sorts medical tourists. Targeted primarily at consumers from the UK and Ireland, the site features more than 100,000 clinics from Boston to Bratislava, offering a range of procedures such as dentistry, cosmetic surgery and fertility treatment. Searches can be filtered according to location, specialization, treatment and special services.

RevaHealth is a triumph for transparency in a sector where consumers really can’t have enough information—if tourists are going to let someone in a foreign country cut them open, they should be confident that they’re the right person for the job. And while there’s been a boom in directories and review sites, there are still niche areas where consumers will welcome a comprehensive, accessible directory with reviews.