Canada’s inbound and outbound medical tourism is convulsing and could come to a complete halt as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government comes under heavy pressure to continue to close air and land borders to international travel. Medical tourism to and from Canada is unlikely to return until 2022.
Ottawa continues to strongly advise Canadians to cancel or postpone any non-essential travel outside of Canada. Foreign citizens must also postpone or cancel their travel plans to Canada. The travel ban from the United States to Canada has been renewed.
Medical tourism is a global phenomenon that, prior to the pandemic, had a great boom in Latin America, due to two main factors: the moderate prices of care and the proximity of many countries to the United States and Canada, from where many clients travelled.
Latin America, the favourite destination
According to the consulting firm Deloitte, in 2019 the volume of patients and companions who travelled for health reasons increased between 25% and 30% annually and revenues rose between 37% and 40%, compared to 2018.
Among the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that promoted medical tourism prior to the pandemic are Colombia, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, among others.
In Central America, the study indicates, Costa Rica stands out. They are followed by Panama and El Salvador; the first seeks to attract the US market that is familiar with the canal country, and the second, the large community of Salvadorans residing in the United States and Canada.
What are Canadians looking for outside their country?
Canada has one of the most reputable healthcare systems. What is it that drives your citizens to seek medical care abroad? Immediate attention and a wider range of services.
Bacchus Barau, associate director for health policy studies at the Fraser Institute, explains in the study that one of the main reasons Canadians might seek treatment abroad is long wait times in the Canadian healthcare system.
Barau notes that wait times vary within the country, with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick being some of the worst provinces to wait, and Quebec and Ontario are some of the best.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the average Ontario patient stayed in the emergency room for 5.3 hours in January 2018. The average patient waited 63 days between being referred and their first surgical appointment.
For its part, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, says in a 2018 study that 70% of local doctors said they thought that their patients often experience long waiting times to see a specialist, the highest of 10 countries compared in the study.
Aesthetic healthcare also has huge fans among Canadians. Among the medical services most sought by Canadians are cosmetic surgery (breast augmentation, buttocks, eyelids or liposuction), as well as dental work and orthopedics.
A study by the Fraser Institute shows that between 2016 and 2018 the number of Canadians who left the country for medical care increased. In 2015, almost 46,000 Canadians were medical tourists, while in 2016, this number increased to almost 64,000 and in 2018, 72,000.
This increase has raised ethical questions, not only in relation to Canadians travelling abroad but also around potential impacts on destination countries and the Canadian healthcare system.
The federal government has repeatedly ensured that Canadians who choose to receive care abroad go “on their own if they choose,” and warns about different health standards in other countries. Ottawa also does not track the number of citizens travelling abroad for treatment, nor does it offer follow-up care to patients.
A complicated entrance
For months, Health Canada has kept its entry rules in place. “Anyone travelling to Canada across the land border with the United States by air, including returning Canadians, must submit a negative PCR test prior to departure no later than 72 hours prior to entry,” says the national health agency.
And all travellers entering Canada must take a COVID-19 test upon arrival in the country and a third test on Day 8 of their 14-day quarantine period.
Additionally, all travellers, whether arriving by land or air, must submit their travel and contact information, including an appropriate quarantine plan, electronically through ArriveCAN prior to crossing the border or boarding a flight. All air passengers must be quarantined in a government authorized hotel for at least three days, with the remaining time until the 14th at home.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents returning to Canada by air or land are subject to strict quarantine measures. This means that if Canadians go to Cuba, the Cayman Islands, the United States, or Mexico for medical treatment, they must self-quarantine upon their return. This has drastically reduced the number of departures.
A 30-day ban was imposed on all flights to Canada from India and Pakistan. Flights from Mexico and Caribbean countries are already suspended.
There are exceptions for incoming and outgoing urgent medical treatment, but the rules are very strict and so complex that even physicians are confused as to what is or is not essential. Opposition leaders and some provincial leaders are calling on the federal government for a total ban on international travel.
Many politicians and health officials have also expressed concern about continued travel within Canada. British Colombia now restricts non-essential travel between three provincial health zones, while Atlantic Canada continues to be closed to the rest of Canada.
By Silvia Méndez
