Hello 2022

 Global Travel has been significantly impacted by COVID-19 for the past two years. We have all experienced traveling difficulties, vaccine mandates, and isolation when traveling nationally or internationally. These difficulties are compounded for people in need of medical procedures as healthcare facilities are stretched thin due to overwhelming number of patients suffering COVID-19.

 The demand for medical tourism stayed high during the last two years as hospitals shut-down operating rooms (OR) for both critical and elective surgeries. The Journal of American Medical Association has showed a decrease in procedures from 905,444 to 458,469 when comparing 2019 to 2020. Surgical procedures decreased by 48% since March 2020, while 2021 saw an improvement in backlog as large hospitals adapted to new normal for surgical procedure.  

Developed healthcare systems in North America and Europe suffer shortage of medical professionals and backlog of patients requiring procedures. This shortage and backlog may exacerbate future elective surgery which can push procedural wait times more than two years. 

The U.S. health system had the shortest wait time for procedures excluding insurance requirements at <30 days which is expected to grow as backlogs are filled in the coming year.

 Our research indicates that demand for medical tourism will accelerate in 2022 due to an increase in vaccine uptake, global travel, and domestic waiting periods. Medical tourism will increase due to supply and demand dynamic in the coming years. DrHelps will focus on patient outreach to create a adequate case load for our partner facilities to schedule out.

 As COVID subsides in 2022, Dr.Helps will work to create an easy access to international health providers capable of providing care in a timely manner. We strive to facilitate high quality care at low cost.

Sharmarke Mohamed