“This Is Why I Love Health Tourism” — Woman Gets Full Health Scan in Turkey, Less Than an iPhone

Tons of Americans are opting for medical tourism to keep their health in check just because it's so much cheaper than the cost of insurance-less care in the United States.

TikToker Bryn Elise (@bryn.elise) uploaded a video demonstrating this fact, highlighting how she was able to get a myriad of tests in Turkey for only $810.

Comparatively, the influencer states, she would've spent "thousands" for the same level of care in the United States and these tests, coupled with the cost of her flight, not only allowed her to get a full medical evaluation of her body but a nice vacation to boot.

She posted about her experience in a viral TikTok (and it seems the hospital did too, leading some to question if this was a pay-to-play type deal).

"I flew to Turkey to get the most in-depth check up of my life and it was the greatest thing I've ever done for my health and my bank account," she states at the top of her video that shows snippets of her trip to Turkey.

Bryn went on to state why she decided to travel across the world on a big jet plane in order to get a full health check up.

"Doing this in the U.S. would have cost me thousands and taken months to line up, but in one day we're doing it all: scans, tests, meetings with specialists, and the price of everything is jaw-dropping," she states, looking into the camera with her mouth open after showing more travel montage shots.

The video then cuts to the imagery of what looks like some type of futuristic medical facility straight out of a science fiction film: "I'm here at the fanciest hospital I've ever seen with a list of mysterious ailments to get to the bottom of so, let's go. I was met by Sam, my amazing translator/coordinator for the day," Bryn narrates as she posts shots of herself walking through the facility.

"First thing you'll do is get your blood drawn so they can start running tests. You'll also do an EKG, you'll take your blood pressure, your height, and weight. And now we're off to radiology for a chest x-ray and an abdominal ultrasound. We also did a thyroid ultrasound, and some more tests, and then we went over to nuclear medicine and did a bone density scan."

Let's take a pause here to break down the tests Bryn mentioned thus far and how much they would cost in the United States — bloodwork costs anywhere from $30-$120.

A chest x-ray will run you about $370, and an abdominal ultrasound hovers around $315 on average. Thyroid ultrasounds, according to MDSave, cost about $280-$1,011 stateside, and bone density scans range from $309 to $568 according to MDSave as well.

But those weren't the only assessments Bryn said she underwent, but before further texting, she said that the facility actually has an amazing restaurant, feeding patients who come in with some great food, not the Panera-level stuff you're probably used to in a lot of United States medical facilities.

"Next, you'll break for lunch and they've really taken hospital food to a whole other level here. They actually brought in a popular Turkish restaurant to handle all the meals and patients can literally order it to be delivered to their rooms. It's unreal."

And for anyone who is worried about engaging in medical tourism outside of the United States and being treated in a foreign land, Bryn explained how she mitigated her trepidation in this regard.

"I did a lot of research for this trip and ended up choosing a Memorial Group Hospital because they're accredited by the Joint Commission International and I have never seen a hospital with so many amazing reviews," she says, posting a screenshot of the reviews in her video.

She then cuts to her walking back inside of the hospital: "Now it's time to meet with the internal medicine doctor and go over my test results," she states.

"I was trying to play it cool but I was nervous. We went over, one by one the 30+ scans tests, and cancer markers I was tested for in-depth and I got to ask all my pressing questions about my health. Now time to visit the gynecologist and do a pap smear and I was like CUT the cameras."

She still wasn't done with her day of medical scans: "After that, ophthalmology, the doctor said okay this is how you see now, and this is how the world should look," Bryn narrates as she sits in the assessment chair and a device is placed in front of her eyes to see how her vision could be corrected.

It's at this point in the clip that there's a break in the narration and we can hear her exclaiming from the chair in what sounds like an impressed tone: "Turns out I have astigmatism and your girl needs glasses."

Oral care was up next, which she didn't take, explaining why: "Then you'll normally go to a dental examination but I actually just did one so we skipped it.

Heart health was the next stop on the docket, which shows her walking on a treadmill: "Now cardiology so I did a stress test and a chest ultrasound which have been my favorite part of the entire day. I got to see my heart beating in my chest, it was incredible," she said, showing off the screen of her organ pumping blood in and out of her body on the doctor's device's screen.

"This is why I love health tourism because I would never be able to afford this level of care in the United States. And this entire full-day package only cost $810. Personally, I'd rather spend $700 on a flight to Turkey, get dozens of tests there, and take a whole vacation then spend the thousands that this would have cost in the United States."

There have definitely been instances where folks have stated that their medical tourism dream trips have turned into bonafide nightmares.

The TikToker stated that the healthcare facility has great reviews, but a search on Google reviews for the Memorial Hospitals Group showed some assessments that were less than favorable.

Out of 11 reviews on the page, there were several 1-star markings, including one person who said: "A bad hospital for thieves. I do not advise Arabs and foreigners to come to it because they do not care about the patient’s health. A commercial hospital that only cares about money and the theft of foreigners, especially a big star on you, you greedy people."

The business has accrued some 431,000 Instagram followers and posts extensively about the services it provides for customers, and it appears that the hospital group is leaning into its JCI accreditation along with the fact that tourists are heading over to its facilities for assessments.

The hospital even posted Bryn's video natively to its account here, writing in a caption for the video: "Ever thought about combining a vacation with top-notch medical care? Bryn Elise has just experienced the best of both worlds! Watch her amazing journey at Memorial Hospital in Turkey in this video! From expert medical care to the beauty of Istanbul, it's a journey worth watching."