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About 432,000 Canadians are expected to seek medical care abroad in 2025.Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

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This travel season, Canadians might be headed away for something other than a vacation.

More Canadians are participating in medical tourism, travelling to another country to receive medical treatment, though some question its safety and the threats this poses to Canada’s public health care system.

Sarah Bartnicka, a freelance writer for The Globe, explains the costs, the risks and what Canadians can keep in mind for best practices when travelling abroad for a medical procedure.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com