Patients Beyond Borders
Patients Beyond Borders is a private medical travel publisher and consulting firm founded in 2007, serving governments, international hospitals, employers, and individual patients with the flagship 'Patients Beyond Borders' guidebook, a vetted clinic directory, and bespoke medical tourism consulting services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersChapel Hill, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Patients Beyond Borders does
Patients Beyond Borders is a privately held medical travel publishing and consulting firm founded in 2007 by Josef Woodman and operated under Healthy Travel Media, with its 'Patients Beyond Borders' service mark registered to Calvander Communications, Inc. (a North Carolina corporation). Headquartered operationally in Alachua, Florida, the company serves three core customer segments: (i) government health ministries and tourism authorities seeking to establish or promote national medical tourism industries, (ii) international hospitals and clinics seeking third-party-validated visibility to attract foreign patients, and (iii) individual medical travelers and employers seeking impartial information on cross-border care.
The company's product portfolio centers on (a) the flagship book 'Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Healthcare,' now in its Fourth Edition and sold through Amazon and the company's website, with 150,000+ copies cumulatively in print; (b) 'PBB Picks,' a curated, criteria-based directory of internationally accredited hospitals and clinics across roughly a dozen destinations; and (c) bespoke consulting services delivered directly by Woodman and a small team to governments and leading medical facilities. Underlying assets include 18 years of proprietary editorial content, 35-country facility-tour experience, and a dataset on medical tourism market size ($63-88B in 2023), cross-border patient flows (21-22M), and per-procedure cost benchmarks that is licensed to media, academic, and research communities.
Revenue is generated through three streams: one-time book sales (print and digital editions), professional-services consulting fees from enterprise and government clients (Cleveland Clinic, Bumrungrad, Asan Medical Center, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Dubai Healthcare City, Singapore Medicine, and others), and licensing of comparative cost and market data. The company plans to release an AI-driven, personalized Fifth Edition of the guide in Spring 2026 as its next material product extension. With 11-50 employees, no institutional funding, and no mobile application, Patients Beyond Borders operates as a content- and relationships-driven boutique in a growing but fragmented medical tourism market.
Patients Beyond Borders firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Patients Beyond Borders
- Legal name
- Calvander Communications, Inc.
- Website
- https://patientsbeyondborders.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Patients Beyond Borders is a private medical travel publisher and consulting firm founded in 2007, serving governments, international hospitals, employers, and individual patients with the flagship 'Patients Beyond Borders' guidebook, a vetted clinic directory, and bespoke medical tourism consulting services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Patients Beyond Borders industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Medical Tourism Consulting and Publishing
- NAICS
- Travel Agencies (56151)
- SIC
- Services-Health Services (8000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Outbound Medical Tourism Facilitators (THAKAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Insurance, Employer & Government-Sponsored Medical Travel Administrators (THAKAIAO), Cross-Border Telemedicine, Second Opinion & Care Navigation Facilitators (THAKAIAM), Cross-Border/Medical Travel Telehealth Marketplaces (HLALALAE)
Keywords
Where Patients Beyond Borders is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chapel Hill
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Patients Beyond Borders business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Publishing Sales: Sale of print and digital editions of the 'Patients Beyond Borders' guide. Fourth Edition currently available on Amazon; Fifth Edition (AI-driven, customized guide) planned for Spring 2026 release.
- Consulting Services: Custom consulting services for government organizations, corporations, leading medical facilities, and international stakeholders. Programs designed to extend visibility, attract patients, expand online search and credibility, and assist with strategic planning.
- Media and Market Research Data: Provision of comparative cost data, market statistics, and research findings to media, research, and academic communities upon request. Detailed country and procedure cost data available for purchase.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Fourth Edition Book (Amazon) |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Patients Beyond Borders product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Patients Beyond Borders publishes the consumer guidebook 'Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Healthcare' (currently in its Fourth Edition) and provides custom B2B consulting and strategic advisory services to government health ministries, tourism authorities, hospitals, and corporations. The company also curates a vetted directory of internationally accredited clinics (PBB Picks) across 12+ destinations and supplies medical tourism market research data and comparative cost benchmarks to media and academic communities.
Product overview
Patients Beyond Borders is a publishing and consulting company focused on medical tourism. The core offering consists of the Patients Beyond Borders book ('Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Healthcare') currently in its Fourth Edition, with a Fifth AI-driven Edition in development. The portfolio includes medical travel consulting services for governments, corporations, and healthcare facilities, plus a curated directory of internationally accredited hospitals and clinics called 'PBB Picks.' These products work together to guide patients through informed medical travel decisions while helping healthcare providers extend their reach to international patients.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Patients Beyond Borders Book ('Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Healthcare') Impartial, extensively researched consumer guide to affordable medical travel, covering destinations, hospital vetting criteria, cost comparisons (45-90% savings benchmarks across multiple countries), and step-by-step planning advice for becoming an informed medical traveler. Targets individual patients and family decision-makers evaluating cross-border procedures.
- Medical Travel Consulting Services Custom B2B consulting engagements that help government health ministries, tourism authorities, hospitals, and corporations reach healthcare consumers, top media and research organizations, and industry leaders through an independent, trusted third-party channel. Engagements extend visibility, attract international patients, expand online search credibility, and assist with strategic planning in the medical tourism sector.
- PBB Picks - International Medical Centers Directory Directory of pre-vetted international hospitals and clinics that meet Patients Beyond Borders' quality criteria (global accreditation, English-language website, identifiable international patient services, listed physicians, full contact information). Provides medical travelers with a curated shortlist of destinations and facilities across 12+ countries.
Quantifiable outcome
- Patients can save 45-65% in Costa Rica, 65-90% in India, 50-75% in Thailand compared to US costs
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Patients Beyond Borders
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Patients Beyond Borders technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
Patients Beyond Borders partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and standard.
- Cleveland CliniccorePast and present client for consulting and visibility services. Cleveland Clinic logo featured prominently on client page as marquee healthcare partner.
- Bumrungrad International HospitalcorePast and present client, featured as marquee partner on website. Thailand's leading medical tourism facility.
- Dubai Healthcare CitymajorGovernment-backed healthcare free zone in UAE, partner for medical tourism development and promotion.
- Global Wellness InstitutemajorCEO Susie Ellis credited Josef Woodman with helping form strategy and create options when GWI first addressed clinical wellness. Ongoing strategic relationship.
- Tourism Authority of ThailandmajorGovernment tourism body partnering to promote Thailand as leading medical tourism destination.
- Turkish Accredited Hospitals AssociationmajorAssociation of accredited Turkish hospitals, partner for promoting Turkey's medical tourism capabilities.
- Asan Medical Center (South Korea)corePast and present client, one of South Korea's leading hospitals. Listed as marquee client on services page.
- Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare (Malaysia)coreBoard Chair Dato' Dr Jacob Thomas stated: 'Josef and Patients Beyond Borders helped put Malaysia on the medical tourism map in our early days of growth.'
- Singapore MedicinemajorSingapore government medical tourism initiative, partner for promoting Singapore's healthcare capabilities internationally.
- Korea Health Industry Development InstitutemajorKorean government agency supporting medical tourism, partnered to advance goals of bringing patients to Korea.
- Association of Private Hospitals of MalaysiamajorNational association of private hospitals, partner for Malaysia medical tourism promotion.
- Taiwan Taskforce on Medical TravelmajorTaiwan government taskforce, partner for promoting Taiwan as medical tourism destination.
- Barbados Fertility CenterstandardPast and present client, featured in Caribbean region clinics listing.
- CODET Vision Institute (Mexico)standardPast and present client, featured as recommended clinic in Mexico.
- Sri Ramakrishna Hospital (India)standardSNR & Sons Charitable Trust hospital, past client for India medical tourism promotion.
- Kameda Medical Center (Japan)standardLeading Japanese hospital, past client for international patient outreach.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Patients Beyond Borders competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Health and Wellness Travel International: Health and Wellness Travel International is a smaller, more recent operator focused on outbound medical and wellness travel facilitation. It overlaps with PBB in serving individual patients seeking cross-border care but with less established brand authority.
Direct peers
- Medical Tourism Association: The Medical Tourism Association is the largest industry body for medical travel, producing the World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress and operating MTA Magazine. It directly overlaps with Patients Beyond Borders in serving governments, hospitals, and buyers seeking cross-border healthcare engagement.
- Bookimed: Bookimed is a digital marketplace that connects patients with internationally accredited clinics and facilitates treatment booking across more than 30 countries. It competes directly with Patients Beyond Borders in patient-facing medical travel discovery and provider matching.
- Medical Departures: Medical Departures (formerly Medigo) is an online medical travel platform listing vetted international clinics with reviews, pricing, and booking support. It directly competes with the PBB Picks directory and book-based patient guidance model.
Others
- Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is an established travel guide publisher whose distribution and editorial model parallel the Patients Beyond Borders book franchise. It is a comparable expert-driven content business in a different (general travel) vertical rather than a direct competitor.
Broad incumbents
- Global Wellness Institute: The Global Wellness Institute produces research, reports, and initiatives across the broader wellness economy including medical/wellness travel. It is a wider, research-oriented peer to PBB's narrower medical-tourism focus and an existing strategic partner.
Regional players
- Global Healthcare Accreditation: Global Healthcare Accreditation provides certification specifically for medical travel programs and serves as a vetting signal that PBB also uses for its clinic directory. Both organizations operate in the cross-border healthcare quality ecosystem and serve overlapping hospital and government clients.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Patients Beyond Borders social profiles
Digital presencePatients Beyond Borders financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Patients Beyond Borders leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Patients Beyond Borders funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Patients Beyond Borders M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Patients Beyond Borders
What does Patients Beyond Borders do?
Patients Beyond Borders publishes the consumer guidebook 'Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Healthcare' (currently in its Fourth Edition) and provides custom B2B consulting and strategic advisory services to government health ministries, tourism authorities, hospitals, and corporations. The company also curates a vetted directory of internationally accredited clinics (PBB Picks) across 12+ destinations and supplies medical tourism market research data and comparative cost benchmarks to media and academic communities.
Is Patients Beyond Borders a public or private company?
Patients Beyond Borders is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Patients Beyond Borders founded?
Patients Beyond Borders was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Patients Beyond Borders based?
Patients Beyond Borders is headquartered in Chapel Hill, United States, in the North America region.
How does Patients Beyond Borders make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Publishing Sales are the primary driver. The others are consulting Services and media and Market Research Data.
Who are Patients Beyond Borders's main competitors?
Health and Wellness Travel International is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Medical Tourism Association, Bookimed and Medical Departures. Lonely Planet is listed as an others. Global Wellness Institute is listed as a broad incumbent. Global Healthcare Accreditation is listed as a regional player.
Does Patients Beyond Borders have an API?
No public API is recorded for Patients Beyond Borders.
What industry is Patients Beyond Borders in?
Patients Beyond Borders's product category is Medical Tourism Consulting and Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKAIAA, Outbound Medical Tourism Facilitators, with a secondary code of THAKAIAO, Insurance, Employer & Government-Sponsored Medical Travel Administrators. Its NAICS code is 56151 and its SIC code is 8000.