Los Cabos to establish a medical cluster

Despite the fact that medical tourism has contributed significantly to the country’s foreign exchange earnings, foreign visitors have frequently criticized hospitals and doctors for charging exorbitant fees. Additionally, the head of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Regional Control recently reported more than 400 investigations into the supply of fentanyl, underscoring the fact that medical tourism is used to profit from these drugs in regions like the northwest of Mexico.

In this regard, Mauricio Salicrup, a representative of the National Council of Tourism Entrepreneurs (CNET) Los Cabos chapter, noted that they recently met with the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) to create a Medical Cluster for the destination, allowing travelers to experience safe and orderly medical tourism in comparison to other tourist destinations.

A group of organizations known as a medical cluster collaborate to advance shared goals in the field of medicine. Medical clusters are groups of clinics, hospitals, and occasionally hotels that aim to serve the needs of tourists in the medical field.

The representative of the tourism industry noted that although it was unclear whether the Board of Medical Surgeons of Baja California Sur would participate, a group of private physicians and hospitals, assisted by the State Health Secretariat (SSA), are working to present to the US Ambassador the Medical Cluster that will allow them to be certain of the locations that are endorsed so that their citizens can receive medical attention.

According to the Medical Tourism Association, surgical procedures offered in Mexico in fields like oncology, cardiology, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, and dentistry, among others, are largely responsible for the surge in medical travel. These procedures result in total savings of between 35% and 85%, depending on the procedure and timing.