title: UK medical tourists in Thailand: they are not who you think they are.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Travel for medical treatment is an aspect of globalization and health that is comparatively less understood. Little is known about volume, characteristic and motivation of medical tourists, limiting understanding of effects on health systems and patients. Thailand is amongst a handful of countries that have positioned themselves as medical tourism destination. This paper examines in unprecedented detail volume and characteristics of medical tourists who travel from the UK to Thailand for treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  As part of a wider medical tourism study, authors gained access to over 4000 patient records from the five largest private hospitals in Thailand. These included information on country of origin, gender, age, arrival month, hospitalization, diagnosis, procedures, length of stay, medical expenditure and type of payment. Patient records were analysed to understand who travels and findings were triangulated with data from the UK International Passenger Survey (IPS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  104,830 medical tourists visited these hospitals in Thailand in 2010. While patients originate all over the world, UK medical tourists represent the largest group amongst Europeans. The majority UK medical tourists (60%) have comparatively small, elective procedures, costing less than USD 500. A significant minority of patients travel for more serious orthopedic and cardiothoracic procedures. Data of individual patient records from Thailand shows a higher number of UK patients traveled to Thailand than indicated by the IPS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thailand is attracting a large number of medical tourists including larger numbers of UK patients than previously estimated. However, as many patients travel for comparatively minor procedures treatment may not be their primary motivation for travel. The small but significant proportion of older UK residents traveling for complex procedures may point to challenges within the NHS.
authors.forename: Thinakorn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noree
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health and Development, Faculty of Public Health and Policy London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Tavistock Place 15-17, London WC1H 9SH, UK. Johanna.Hanefeld@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hanefeld
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D057193:Medical Tourism / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013222:State Medicine; D013785:Thailand; D006113:United Kingdom