title: Cochlear implants and medical tourism.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the costs of medical tourism in cochlear implant surgery performed in India as compared to the United States. In addition, the cost savings of obtaining cochlear implant surgery in India were compare d to those of other surgical interventions obtained as a medical tourist.
  
  
  METHODS
  Searches were conducted on Medline and Google using the search terms: 'medical tourism', 'medical offshoring', 'medical outsourcing', 'cochlear implants' and 'cochlear implantation'. The information regarding cost of medical treatment was obtained from personal communication with individuals familiar with India's cochlear implantation medical tourism industry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The range of cost depended on length of stay as well as the device chosen. Generally the cost, inclusive of travel, surgery and device, was in the range of $21,000-30,000, as compared to a cost range of $40,000-$60,000 in the US.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With the escalating cost of healthcare in the United States, it is not surprising that some patients would seek to obtain surgical care overseas at a fraction of the cost. Participants in medical tourism often have financial resources, but lack health insurance coverage. While cardiovascular and orthopedic surgery performed outside the United States in India at centers that cater to medical tourists are often performed at one-quarter to one-third of the cost that would have been paid in the United States, the cost differential for cochlear implants is not nearly as favorable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, GA, USA. brmckinnon@mcg.edu
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: McKinnon
authors.forename: Nishant
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhatt
mesh_terms: D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics*; D003054:Cochlear Implants / Q000191:economics; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007902:Length of Stay; D057193:Medical Tourism / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States