Mexico

At first blush, Mexico is a mystery to the aspiring health traveler. Few world-class hospitals exist in Mexico, unlike less developed India. In recent years Mexican accreditation standards have strengthened, and there are now seven JCI-accredited hospitals, with prospects continuing to improve rapidly for US and Canadian health travelers.

Along the US-Mexican border, by the beautiful Mexican coast, or in developed expatriate communities, you'll find dozens of smaller, established clinics that reliably treat tens of thousands of Americans each year. Many of these patients return annually for checkups, dental cleanings, physicals, and a host of other treatments that can be had far less expensively than in Europe and many Asian countries—without the rigors of transoceanic travel.

Mexico-bound health travelers usually encounter smaller clinics run by two or three physicians, often second- and even third-generation families in the same practice. Unassuming yet clean and efficient, these clinics are often as not run by either expatriate US physicians or practitioners trained in the US or Europe.

Quality clinics are located in nearly every major city and resort; yet, finding them can be fraught with frustration. Most Web sites throughout Mexico remain in Spanish, and English-speaking physicians are not always available, nor are translation services. The health traveler, in fact, is likely to encounter less English in Mexico than in Malaysia or South Africa, tens of thousands of miles away. English-speaking patients may need to enlist the assistance of health travel agencies to arrange the care they are seeking in Mexico, but be forewarned: many of the health travel agents serving Mexico are partnered with a single clinic or hospital.

Geographical convenience is the big motivation for most Mexico-bound health travelers, and it's no wonder that more than 70 percent of Mexico's US patients reside in California, Texas, or Arizona. Nearby patients from San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, and Brownsville simply make the two- to six-hour drive across the border to their clinic of choice, stay a night or two in a hotel, and then drive back. As one veteran multinational patient comments, "A three-hour drive across the border saves me $700 in physicals and dental work every year. That’s a no-brainer."

Yet, for folks farther away from the border, and particularly those east of the Mississippi, Mexico may be a less attractive option, unless you have plenty of time to search for a dentist or cosmetic surgeon, or you are traveling to Mexico anyway.

At a Glance

•   Language   Spanish (some English)
•   Time Zone   GMT -6 and GMT -5
•   Country Dialing Code   66
•   Electricity   127V, plug type A
•   Currency   Mexican peso
•   Recommended Immunizations   Hepatitis A, Typhoid Booster
•   Treatment Specialties   Cosmetic, Dental, Ophthalmology
•   JCI-Accredited Hospitals   Guadalajara: Hospital Mexico Americano   Hermosillo: Hospital CIMA Hermosillo  Mexico City: American British Cowdray Medical Center IAP—Observatorio Campus; American British Cowdray Medical Center IAP—Santa Fe Campus  Monterrey: Christus Muguerza Alta Especialidad; Hospital San José Tec de Monterrey; OCA Hospital  San Pedro: Hospital CIMA Monterrey
•   Standards and Accreditation   Mexican Academy of Dermatology; Mexican Association of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery; American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD); American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID); JCI

 

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