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Friday, January 6, 2017

4 COUNTRIES WITH THE BEST HEALTH CARE IN THE WORLD 2017


One of the main concerns of any person looking to retire overseas is the quality of healthcare. Is it possible to get medical treatment as good as what's available in the U.S. and Canada? The answer…a resounding yes. Sometimes it's even better than what's on offer at home, and at a more affordable price too.

Measuring the quality of healthcare is difficult, and it's hard to put a number on it. We can, however, put a number on the price of medical procedures. And these costs (as well as quality) helped us score each of the 24 countries in the healthcare category of International Living's 2017 Global Retirement Index.

Read on to learn more about the top five countries in the world for healthcare. In each of these countries you'll find clean, excellent hospitals, highly trained doctors, and very affordable care.

1. Malaysia: Medical tourism is booming

A stronger U.S. dollar, cheaper air travel, mounting healthcare costs in Western countries (and long waiting lists), have all contributed to the Malaysian medical tourism boom in the past decade. Medical tourists arriving in Malaysia have increased on average by 100% in the last five years.

George Town and Kuala Lumpur are the main two medical centers in Malaysia, and both cities are serviced by a multitude of international airlines from around the world.

Malaysia has some of the best-trained doctors in Asia–and the majority of them were trained in the U.S., Australia, or the UK. All of them speak English too, and that takes a lot of the stress away from what is already a stressful situation.


Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur City
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Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur City

A stronger U.S. dollar, cheaper air travel, mounting healthcare costs in Western countries (and long waiting lists), have all contributed to the Malaysian medical tourism boom in the past decade. Medical tourists arriving in Malaysia have increased on average by 100% in the last five years.

George Town and Kuala Lumpur are the main two medical centers in Malaysia, and both cities are serviced by a multitude of international airlines from around the world.

Malaysia has some of the best-trained doctors in Asia–and the majority of them were trained in the U.S., Australia, or the UK. All of them speak English too, and that takes a lot of the stress away from what is already a stressful situation.

Western accreditation is also a vital component for confidence in undergoing foreign medical treatments. Numerous hospitals in Penang and Kuala Lumpur are among Southeast Asia's first recipients of the United States' prestigious Joint Commission International (JCI) certification. Seen as the gold standard for healthcare service providers around the world, Malaysia has no less than eight JCI-accredited hospitals.

That being said, there are also some very good "not for profit" hospitals here too. One of best is The Lam Wah Ee Hospital in Penang. I've had two operations there, and I can't say enough about their professionalism.

The most popular areas of treatment across the board in Malaysia include cosmetic surgery, dental work, and dermatology. In 2016 Malaysia was visited by more than 1 million medical tourists from around the globe, a figure that is certain to rise in 2017.

Other considerations to take into account are that there is little to no waiting time when you arrive. It's as simple as registering at the hospital of your choice and then waiting for that particular specialist to see you. You also don't need to be referred to that particular specialist by a General Practitioner. – Keith Hockton 

Read the rest here