Real Estate Panama, Investment opportunities

By Dr. Natacha Ford, 2009

In Panama, health and medical tourism is growing rapidly. Many factors are bringing health tourists to Panama. The combination of climate, scenic beauty, cultural diversity, strategic geographical position, one of the world’s key offshore trading centers, the hub of the Americas for international travel, the dollar as the official currency….but most important of all, our medical professionals are well trained around the world, use the latest technologies and medications, and have earned a reputation of quality professionals. Most of Panama’s doctors are bilingual, board certified, and accustomed to working with the same state of the art medical equipment and technology used in the United States and Europe. Medical tourists are coming to Panama to stay at a 5-star hotel during convalescence for prices far below those in the United States and Europe. For example, dental implants costs an average of $2,500 per implant if placed in the US or Canada. In Panama, the same procedure with board & lodging, personal tour guide, and transportation is available at a much lower cost. In addition, if having more than one implant placed you would even go back home saving money. In most procedures (for example: as face/neck lift, in vitro fertilization, hip replacement, and crowns-bridges-dental veneers) Panama offers savings of more than 50% compared to the US and Europe. In addition to lower cost treatment in Panama, your medical and dental expenses (including travel expenses) could be tax deductible under US tax law. These are all appealing factors for the many tourists that visit Panama.

Panama is rapidly becoming the destination of choice for Americans and Europeans to do tourism. Panama is Central America’s most cosmopolitan, international, technologically advanced country, with highly trained physicians. It uses the US dollar as its currency. In recent years, Panama has become the region’s aero hub, with daily direct flights to/from Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, New York, Amsterdam and others. Getting to Panama is easy - just 2 ½ hours from Miami and four from Houston - that is why Panama’s tourism has grown by almost 20% every year for the last five years.

Getting world-class medical service and vacation time in a luxury setting is affordable in Panama. You can find in this country a wide range of health services and experienced specialist physicians in all areas such as in dental implants, plastic surgery, assisted reproduction, cardiology, cosmetic dentistry, orthopedics, etc. You can even have an “extreme makeover” done and go back to your country not just feeling great but looking like a new person. After the surgery or procedure, these medical/health tourists can recuperate in beautiful hotel-spas on the beach, in the rainforest, or in the mountains. People are traveling from around the world looking for high-quality health care at accessible prices as well as discovering Panama’s crystalline Caribbean waters, fascinating indigenous cultures, and deluxe resorts on the beach, in the rainforest, and in the mountains.

Many of these patients that have already come to Panama as health tourists, feel at ease immediately because both staff and doctors speak perfect English. They also report that they have been treated with utmost respect and feel doctors are genuinely interested in the person as an individual instead of feeling like a number. All leave Panama very surprised of our country’s professional doctors, hospitals, and advanced technology. These patients feel very pleased with the treatment or procedure received, especially because of the affordable prices and the wonderful vacation they spent in Panama.