Most health-care tourists to Cuba come seeking cures they don't believe they can find elsewhere. They know there are good doctors here and 40 years of development of a strong medical system. Hospital shortages Cuba, despite its famed legions of highly trained doctors, is no health-care paradise. Most hospital facilities for Cubans have peeling paint, missing light bulbs, and electrical and water outages. Doctors, short on supplies, are forced to reuse latex gloves, and patients bring their own sheets for beds.
Medicines are scarce, in part because of the long-standing United States embargo against the island.
The island's tourist facilities, however, are another world. Nurses stroll to piped-in music, and the receptionist offers brochures in Spanish, French and English. On average, prices are about a third lower than in the United States, Prado said. Cira Garcia's most sought-after service, he said, is plastic surgery. About 80 percent of patients come from Latin America and the Caribbean, but the facility has attracted clients from as far away as Japan and Finland.