In the past, it did not dawn on the average person to seek medical treatment outside their homeland. For centuries, it was a long standing tradition to only use the services of the local doctor, or, if it was a serious illness, one might travel to a different region of their country to receive medical treatment or heal from an ailment. Only the incredibly wealthy were able to relocate to a different nation in order to heal from affliction.
Then, in the past century, travel became exceedingly more accessible than it had ever been in history. The dawn of the industrial revolution lead to transportation mechanics unlike the world had ever seen. First it was the railroad system and large passenger ships, then it was automobiles and subway systems, and then it was air travel. The world suddenly became a much smaller place, teeming with methods of travel and transport. International travel was accessible to demographics of people who had never been able to access it before.
With the spread of the information age, global awareness arose that foreign physicians may be able to treat medical conditions better than domestic ones. This was a radical idea to many members of the public. Throughout history, international travel was far too costly and exotic to consider a necessary expense in medical treatment. It was a much stronger tradition for people to select one physician and stay with them through any ailment. In the past twenty years, the ethic has shifted toward considering not only which physician in a person’s region is the most qualified to treat a condition, but which physician on the entire planet is the most qualified to treat a medical condition.
The trend of medical tourism caught fire and does not look to go away anytime soon. In fact, medical tourism is so popular that the medical industries of many countries rely on medical tourism dollars to sustain their medical industry. The global economy is supported with medical tourism, the exchange of information between countries is facilitated and patients receive the best medical treatment that is available anywhere.