Patients from Canada some times opt to go out of the country to get the surgery they need to avoid wait times.

Medical Tourism is discussed at length in the  two day conference and several questions were answered.

Article in The Province

Tourism's meaning in the context of 'Medical Tourism' should be taken as 'business of providing services to tourists'.  Hospitals abroad just provide medical services to the medical tourists.

Medical Tourism is definitely not for every one, and it is really a tough decision to make whether it is to get treatment sooner or cheaper or both.  More and more countries are promoting medical tourism as an industry to attract investments as well as revenues.  As the prestige and brand name of a country is involved, we can hope that medical tourists will be protected regulations soon.

Here are some of the things that are positive about medical tourism.
1.  Medical Tourism provides an excellent and proven solution for those in need in developed countries or from the countries in addition to those traveling else where for lack of facilities.
2.  In long run, developing countries will be building more hospitals which are world class, thus improving the health care for the local public.
3.  Competition in medical sector in developed countries will benefit the consumers also.
On the other side, some of the medical tourism destinations offer little or no legal protection, in many countries there is no regulatory authority to protect medical tourists.