Need treatment, will travel

Business in Vancouver

By Noa Globerman

Millions of patients travel to places like Belgium, Costa Rica and South Africa annually to undergo urgent or elective medical procedures. Whether it's to avoid the high costs, long waits or poor quality they usually associate with their local health systems, the prognosis remains medical tourism is fast becoming a multibillion-dollar industry.

"What if we could transform our most costly social program -- health care -- into a revenue generator?" asked Brian Day, an orthopedic surgeon and founder of Vancouver's Cambie Surgerery Centre. "As outrageous as that may sound, I believe it's acheivable."

See full story here.