But the spokeswoman, who said she was authorized to speak only on background, said that Americans traveling to Cuba were required to keep records of their trip for five years and could be subject to audits to show that their travel met the guidelines.

Jonathan Edelheit, the chief executive of the Florida-based Medical Tourism Association, said some hospitals in the United States had expressed interest in forming partnerships with Cuban medical institutions, which could include the training of Cuban doctors. Such partnerships in other countries often go hand in hand with medical tourism, and that could eventually be the case in Cuba, he said.

“You’re going to see a tremendous amount of movement, whether it’s travel agents or medical tourism facilitators, so once it does normalize, they can start sending patients over there,” Mr. Edelheit said.

Cuba made health care a priority after its 1959 revolution, and it has earned a reputation for providing good, mostly free care to its people. Thousands of Cuban doctors also work abroad, in Venezuela, Brazil and other developing countries, in an exchange that provides the government of President Raúl Castro with hard currency or goods, such as oil, in return.

Mr. Edelheit said Cuban health care would be likely to appeal to some Americans because the island is so close, about an hour’s flight from Miami to Havana.

But for now, the most popular destinations for Americans who travel abroad for health care are Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, Singapore and Costa Rica, according to a study by the Medical Tourism Association. It found that some of the most common procedures included spinal, weight-loss and cosmetic surgery, and cancer treatment.

Ms. Agrawal said she had been speaking to a Cuban health care facility for months, anticipating an eventual opening between the two countries.