Everyday, i have the chance of having at least 2 to 3 mails from the many entrepreneurs willing to make the jump towards medical tourism. We discuss several issues: what are the margins like, is the service fee enough to cover costs etc etc. At the end of the day I see many people with energy and hope willing to make a living helping out people to maje travel arrangements. Even though I always point ot at the lack of innovation of this sector, I genuinely think that one person will find the right formula at the end of the day.

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Four Entrepreneurs on their way to relaxation…

Actually this is not my point. What is interesting with an entrepreneur is all the stress he is facing and the way he copes with it. How can he be creative under so much pressure? Poor people…. Actually, alternative medicine can help medical tourism prospective entreprneurs to simmer down and gather steam. Which methods are acknowledged as being efficient?

YOGA! Brace up entrepreneurs: Yoga thanks to its breathing techniques has proved through various studies  to be an efficient treatment furthermore if it is combined with aromatherapy (lavender is reputed to soothe anxiety but actually Kava and Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) have proved to be more efficient. However, anxiety is a condition that can be tackled by many other treatments such as Tui Na (reflexology), balneotherapy or at a lesser degree massage. In fact, while people tend to privilege massage, scientists have proved that massage was providing short term relief (a feeling of being relaxed) but does not work durably on the body. Massage is just an erzatz of medical treatment for anxiety (Goffaux-Dogniez C, Vanfraechem-Raway R, Verbanck P. Appraisal of treatment of the trigger points associated with relaxation to treat chronic headache in the adult: relationship with anxiety and stress adaptation strategies. Encephale 2003;Sep-Oct, 29(5):377-390).

The question I am asking myself is why medical tourism is not helping patients to cope with stress through alternative medecine prior to the operation? Three hours of  yoga can provide a placebo effect enough to trigger relaxation fromm the patient… Again, the vision on medical tourism is quaint… Medical Tourism Entrepreneurs should help themselves as they would help stressed patients facing uncertainty or a complicated surgery. or simply the feeling that they are 10000 miles from home, alone, without insurance, no acquaintances to confide in, etc etc. RELAX! YOGA!

Sources:

1. Brown RP, Gerbarg PL. Sudarshan Kriya yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: part I-neurophysiologic model. J Altern Complement Med 2005;Feb, 11(1):189-201. 2. Carlson LE, Speca M, Patel KD, Goodey E. Mindfulness-based stress reduction in relation to quality of life, mood, symptoms of stress, and immune parameters in breast and prostate cancer outpatients. Psychosom Med 2003;Jul-Aug, 65(4):571-581. 3.  Malathi A, Damodaran A. Stress due to exams in medical students: role of yoga. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 1999;43(2):218-224.