The United States has the highest number of medical tourism visitors per capita in the world, according to a new report from the World Health Organization.
The United States also has the lowest number of licensed medical professionals per capita, with only a handful of the world’s best-known centers offering the ability to practice medicine.
A report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that U.N. data shows the number of doctors and registered nurses practicing in the U-verse system in the United States had nearly doubled from 2011 to 2015, as well as in Canada and Mexico.
“There’s no doubt that U-visa has increased dramatically in the last few years,” said Dr. Richard Pate, a physician and the president of the Medical Tourism Association of America.
“But we’re also seeing that in some other countries as well.
So, we need to think about the implications of U-VISA in our own country.”
U-visas are essentially free-of-charge trips to the United Nations, often with the exception of health care.
While there is no shortage of people seeking the benefits of U.K. and Swiss medical tourism, the U.-verse system has been criticized by advocates for the country’s public health.
U.S.-based medical tourism advocates say it is a valuable source of income, especially for people who are traveling from abroad.
There are more than 7.5 million U.