International travel for medical care is an increasingly important phenomenon. Medicine is perhaps the least expected of American industries to face global competition, but as businesses become globalized, national boundaries weaken against competitive forces and economic necessity.

Today, doctors can work remotely from patients, and patients can choose remote health care. Medical tourism is growing, and that makes it more important for American public policy to streamline health care and allow domestic providers to compete internationally. Patients worldwide are saving time and money traveling to high quality hospitals for non-cosmetic surgeries in developing countries like India and Thailand.

Medical malpractice costs, employer mandates, and underpaying federal programs threaten to stifle ourability to compete globally in health care.As long as U.S. laws hinder cost-effective and patient centered reforms that emphasize individual choice and ownership, American patients will increasingly choose health care outside our borders.

Please find "The Globalization of Health Care, Round Two" (PDF) at the Pacific Research Institute Website for more.