Medical tourism comes to the West Coast

Vancouver native Dr. Lauren Bramley talks about her Hong Kong clinic and why she’s expanding to Whistler

Over a decade after opening her Hong Kong practice, Dr. Lauren Bramley is branching out to Whistler. She opened up about her inspiration to move home, and why she thinks Whistler will benefit from preventative medicine.Dr. Lauren Bramley, MDHow do you feel your Vancouver upbringing influenced your interest in health?Having grown up in Vancouver and lived extensively around the world, I believe that Vancouver is one of the healthiest regions. As a Vancouverite I have always been very health conscious and into fitness.You studied in Canada, completed your residency in the United States, spent the most recent chapter of your career in China, and are also licensed to practice in Australia. What made you choose Hong Kong as the location of your first clinic?My first job as a doctor was to do medical evacuations throughout Asia. An opportunity arose in Hong Kong and I obtained my licence there. I started practicing as a family physician and began to embrace preventative health, influenced by the private system in Hong Kong and the prevalence of Traditional Chinese Medicine.More recently, what inspired you to expand, and why to Whistler?It’s a combination of the fact that I love Whistler and that preventative medicine is most relevant for healthy people. I would also like to even the playing field for Canadian athletes. Finally, I have patients from around the world and Whistler is now such a popular destination that I am hoping the practice will stimulate medical tourism, as is happening in many other countries.What can patients expect from your new mountain-village location? I will be setting out to replicate the unique features of my Hong Kong practice; namely a wide range of pro-active medical treatments, in-house laboratory testing, customized nutritional supplements and access to compounded pharmaceuticals such as bio-identical hormones. At my Hong Kong practice we provide paediatrics, dentistry, osteopathy, TCM, acupuncture, naturopathy, psychiatry and are always actively remaining at the forefront of industry advancements.