Medical tourism – concepts, ethics, and practices

Increasingly consumers are responding to today's economic constraints and global healthcare market by travelling outside of their domestic country to seek alternative options for expensive medical procedures. The availability of apparently reliable medical care in Asia, offered at a fraction of the cost incurred in Western countries has created some lucrative business opportunities. The phenomenon of seeking out healthcare through international travel, known as 'medical tourism', incurs a host of potential moral, ethical, economic and legal benefits, questions, risks and problems. This cross-journal thematic series explores 'medical tourism' from an interdisciplinary perspective. Articles are included from BMC Public Health, BMC Health Services Research, Globalization and Health and Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine.