Medical tourism dialogue needs a broader scope

We read Stanbrook and Fletcher’s editorial1 with great interest. As the editorial argues, the decision for Canadian hospitals to treat international medical tourists should not be taken lightly. Treating private international patients in Canadian public hospitals may result in negative health-equity implications for Canadian patients.

Medical tourism is a global practice that also involves Canadian patients travelling to other countries for medical care. It must be acknowledged that the impact of inbound medical tourism to Canada, which you identify in your editorial, also holds true for many of the host of countries to which Canadian patients travel.

We call for dialogue among Canadian medical and health-professional groups about medical tourism. These groups must consider the implications for their members of Canadian patients’ involvement in medical tourism. Speaking up only about international patients coming to Canada is to ignore the full scope and health-equity impact of this global health services practice.