The phenomenon of Medical Tourism is rapidly spreading around the globe thanks to the easy availability of information on the internet and the increasingly low costs of travel. For many people in the US, Mexico has long been their destination of choice for medical care thanks to the high standard and low cost of the treatments available there.
The Mexican border with the USA is one of the world’s first and busiest Medical Tourism destinations.
Tijuana, in the Baja California Peninsula, offers some of the best medical facilities in the Americas, with high tech eye-surgeries and some of Mexico’s top quality hospitals. The border areas are where a traveller is most likely to encounter English-speaking care, but if Spanish isn’t an issue Mexico also offers a number of other possibilities, including some highly respected hospitals in Mexico City. Tijuana’s top facilities include Obesity Control Center, which specializes in bariatric surgery; Hospital BCN, which offers bariatric and plastic surgery; and NewCity Medical Plaza, where the team of specialists include cardiologists, oncologists, dermatologists and plastic surgeons, to name a few.
Baja California is an ideal example of Mexico’s appeal for medical tourism. The region is convenient for travelers from the western U.S. and is easily accessible for those flying into nearby San Diego International Airport.
Medical facilities that focus on international travelers sometimes help with travel plans, as well. Hospital BCN and NewCity Medical Plaza, for example, offer free private transportation from the San Diego airport. Obesity Control Center offers free shuttle service between a client’s hotel and the hospital. NewCity Medical Plaza even has its own affiliated hotel, Quartz Hotel & Spa, which is located within the same business complex.
Meanwhile, in the city of Rosarito, Sanoviv Medical Institute specializes in chronic and degenerative diseases. Set on a verdant campus with a swimming pool, the facility resembles a resort hotel but offers treatments for cancer, Lyme disease, long COVID-19 and other medical issues. Sanoviv also offers pickup from various locations in San Diego, including the airport.
Those looking for hair and skin treatments, meanwhile, may want to consider Timeless Hair and Skin Medcenter, a facility in Mexicali that offers hair transplants, brow lifts and eyelid lifting, among other services.
Options in Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and Mexico City
While the northern part of the Baja California peninsula may attract a large number of medical tourists, several other destinations in Mexico offer options, too. In Los Cabos, for example, facilities include Hospital H+ Los Cabos, which is a member of the Canadian Healthcare Council and has units for endoscopy, surgery and intensive care. Nearby, BlueNet Hospitals offers a staff of medical tourism executives that serves as a contact point for trip and treatment planning.
Among the hotels in Los Cabos that target medical tourism travelers is Alegranza Resort, which touts its proximity to multiple medical facilities in the San Jose del Cabo area.
Farther south along the Pacific coast, Puerto Vallarta is home to Hospiten, which has a team of specialists focused on cardiology, nephrology, dermatology, neurology and other specialties.
Mexico’s larger cities also offer myriad healthcare options.
“To the people looking to have a procedure done in Mexico, I would recommend going to a major metropolitan area that has good medical schools and good hospitals,” said Paul Hudson, a San Diego native who operates a travel blog called Playas y Plazas and who has lived in Guadalajara since 2009.
In Mexico City, one of the largest facilities specializing in medical tourism is MedicaSur, which is part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. The hospital has an agency that takes care of ground transfers to and from the airport, and it’s also affiliated with Holiday Inn & Suites Mexico Medica Sur, which is conveniently located adjacent to the medical center.
As a Guadalajara resident, Hudson is well-versed in the offerings in that city; his son was also born there.
“Guadalajara is famous for its excellent doctors,” he said. “We have some of the best medical schools in Mexico, and students move here from all over Latin America to study medicine.”
Hudson recommends San Javier Hospital, a 91-room facility that has a gastro and obesity center, a neuro-radiology center, spine and orthopedics clinics and a variety of other units.
Proximity to a large number of American patients has led to a proliferation of dentists, plastic surgeons and private clinics along Mexico’s northern border. Staff members have often completed training in the USA and many continue to update their training with US organizations. The Hospital Angeles group – the largest in Mexico – has an impressive facility in Tijuana, with over half its staff members US or UK Medical Board certified.
