Article pdf available october 2018 with 1,411 reads. The factors in development of health tourism in iran. The case of guatemala is used to explore how the regulatory challenges posed by medical tourism should be dealt with in countries seeking to grow this sector. Globalization has further boosted the growth of medical tourism and its found to be complimenting the growth of hotel and travel industry business in india. The authorized source of trusted medical research and education for the chineselanguage medical community. Outbound medical tourism in 2007, an estimated 750,000 americans traveled abroad for medical care. Medical tourism, also called health tourism, surgical tourism, or medical travel, international travel for the purpose of receiving medical care. It is also estimated that medical tourism in india will receive around 1.
Medical tourism is the term commonly used to describe international travel for the purpose of receiving medical care. An analysis with special reference to india babu p george, lecturer g. Sustainability free fulltext advancing medical tourism. Wealthy citizens can afford to buy immediate access to care, while poorer citizens wait in queues. On the other hand, the knowledge of developing competitive medical tourism destinations is still limited. Patients who travel abroad for medical treatment do so for a variety of reasons. Pdf determinants of medical tourism destination selection process. Jul, 2017 the goal of the forum was to discuss the role of the state in regulating and supporting the development of medical tourism. International medical travel journal imtj provides a platform for expert opinion and commentary on the health tourism and medical travel industry.
The financial benefits are well known, but the downsides can be significant, even deadly in some cases. Private actors and governments in southeast asia are promoting the medical tourist industry, but the potential impact on health systems, particularly in terms of equity in access and availability for local consumers, is unclear. Lack of communication from providers to the medical tourists home health care system results in fragmented care. Medical tourism is a boon to those seeking treatment at reasonable costs, however it comes with some pros and cons that all medical tourists must consider seriously. Empirical evidence regarding health and safety risks facing medical tourists is limited. The elite from developing countries seek treatments not available in their own countries. In addition to, other major firms in the medical tourism industry include medretreat and planet hospital. Developing countries that promote medical tourism, such as. Medical tourism introduces a range of attendant risks and opportunities for patients. Sep 20, 2018 regulation of the medical tourism and public health sectors overlap in many instances, raising questions of how patient safety, economic growth, and health equity can be protected. However, singling out data for medical tourists is difficult because thailand breaks. Medical tourism in india has gained momentum over the past few years. Medical tourism involves patients leaving their country of residence outside of established crossborder care arrangements with the intent of accessing medical care, often surgery, abroad. This study models a conceptual framework on novel ways of sustaining the united arab emirate uae vision 2020 with reference to the existing models on behavior.
Medical tourism is a multibillion dollar industry today and continues to grow. Broadly speaking, medical tourism is the act of traveling to obtain medical care. Orgmedical tourism, or global healthcare as its increasingly called, involves traveling to a foreign country for a medical procedure. The study was conducted using secondary data and reports. As described in figure 1, there are three categories of medical tourism.
Unregulated, promotional medical tourism websites can present a skewed view of the true risks of surgery. Pdf the significance of medical tourism researchgate. I wanted a topic that was new and understudied so that i. The authors of this article, for the most accurate definition of medical tourism chose. Medical tourism is growing and diversifying on a global level. Medical tourism is a growing phenomenon with policy implications for health systems, particularly of destination countries.
Medical tourism has only recently attracted significant attention as a niche market worthy of independent study. Medical tourism is a new form of niche tourism increasingly becoming popular in the current world and india has emerged as a popular destination for providing global standards of health care at affordable costs. Consideration of this issue is dominated by speculation and lacks meaningful input from people with specific expertise in patient health and safety. Travelers can thus take advantage of their visit by. Pdf this study empirically examines the effects of medical tourists experience of the. Still, medical tourism seems destined to follow other major industries into greater public acceptance. India has wrapped its mind around stroke if you need an acute stroke brain attack program, head to apollo hospitals, hyderabad in india. Medical tourism market size, global industry report, 2027. We feature insightful articles from leading members of the industry. Medical tourism refers to the activity where patients travel across borders for the purpose of better health and treatment. Interaction of economic indicators and medical tourism industry. Objectives medical tourism involves patients intentional travel to privately obtain medical care in another country.
Medical tourism provides an essential advantage for destinations. Obtaining a medical procedure or treatment abroad that lacks scientific evidence clearly raises ethical concern. Medical tourism your digital destination for healthcare. In this short report article, we identify key lessons from the forum that can inform the direction of future scholarly engagement with medical tourism. The best practices in medical tourism publications from the medical travel quality alliance are written to educate and inform health care and service providers in the medical tourism supply chain, in order to focus attention on quality and safety practices in the treatment and care. The 10 most popular worldwide destinations for medical tourism are from left to right india, malaysia, thailand, turkey, costa rica, mexico, taiwan, south korea, singapore, and brazil. The medical tourism calculator mtc is an adaptable tool used by all industry stakeholders to demonstrate the total economic impact of a medical travel program. The medical tourism industry has experienced massive growth over the past decade. Many patients engage in medical tourism because the procedures they seek can be performed in other countries at relatively low cost and without the delay and inconvenience of being placed on a waiting list. It is necessary to clearly define the status, growth and impact of medical tourism in india t research article. Medical tourism, hospital care, health care quality, access and evaluation, crossborder medical tourism, push and pull factors. Understand the risks before you travel to get medical care. Medical tourism has captured the interest of the media. In the current study, the theory of planned behavior tpb.
Article regarding medical tourism for joint replacement with an example of what problems can arise in the medical journal of australia. Pdf this article seeks to shed light on a question. Jennifer whitlock, rn, msn, fnpc, is a boardcertified family nurse practitioner. Journal of hospitality application and research johar. Further information regarding medical tourism can be found on the centers for disease control website. International journal of travel medicine and global health.
Nov 25, 2008 a large percentage of todays medical tourism is for dental work, as much as 40% by some estimates. She has experience in primary care and hospital medicine. Status, growth and impact of medical tourism in india. Aug 23, 2018 what really puts the word tourism in medical tourism concept is that people often stay in the foreign country after the medical procedure. He helped write the earliest documented spa guide in medical tourism history. One of the most important factors shaping medical tourism is the price differences between countries chuang et al.
And apollo hospitals group in india, which was one of the first to. The percentage ranges above each bar indicate the average cost savings of receiving medical treatment in each country compared with the cost in the united states. That number grew to an estimated 750,000 in 2007 and could reach as high as 6 million by 2010. Today, there is a trend of medical tourism in india. Mar 10, 2017 medical tourism is big business but still an emerging market. Patients have rated the system so highly that there are similar plans afoot for 1,000 more sites in 21 provinces. Medical tourism is a multibillion dollar industry promoted by governments and the medical and tourism industries.
Articles, guidebooks, and broadcasts on medical tourism are being published and produced with increasing frequency. Scan this with your phone to connect to more articles and videos on hip and knee care. Medical tourism and policy implications for health systems. The phenomenon of the industry is the amount of resources countries around the world are putting into attracting the medical tourist by offering high quality, low. Frequently asked question medical tourism association. Globalization of capital funding and advancement in medical technology has led to the betterment of international healthcare services. Thus private hospitals in india are seeing an influx of.
Important factors such as job creation and tax revenues as well as the impact to hospitality and tourism have been less emphasized in medical tourism forecasts. This industry has been growing rapidly over recent years as more and more people seek faster or cheaper alternatives to the healthcare offered in their own countries. Ethical and legal implications of the risks of medical. Medical tourism can be a dangerous way to seek surgeries and other treatments. Availability of additional benefits including better healthcare, latest technologies, innovative medicines, modern devices, better hospitality, and personalized care are some of the drivers of this market. Aug 20, 20 medical tourism and policy implications for health systems.
This is how i ended up choosing the topic of medical tourism for my dissertation research. The following is a short excerpt into the colorful history of medical tourism. India ranks second for medical tourism in the world. The final section of the paper discusses policy implications and provides some policy recommendations. I posited that this topic had a bright and promising future for both development as an industry, and research. Best practices in medical tourism are few and far between. International journal of quality innovation 2018 4. In so doing, we reference ongoing scholarly debates about this global health services practice that have appeared in multiple venues, including this very journal. We conducted a qualitative case study of the medical. Though medical tourism companies typically broker arrangements through internationally accredited hospitals, quality of health care around the world is. Article pdf available in journal of hospitality marketing. Medical tourism association a global platform for the. Articles are included from bmc public health, bmc health.
Medical tourism chapter 9 2020 yellow book travelers. Medical tourism sounds wonderful, so whats the catch. There is a current competition to see what countries will capitalize on this growing global industry. These time lines indicate that if ever healthcare is in short supply wherever the location or whatever period in time it may be. Unfortunately, there were very few academic articles on medical tourism at that time. The mta works with healthcare providers, governments, insurance companies, employers and other buyers of healthcare in their medical tourism, international patient, and healthcare initiatives with a focus on. This crossjournal thematic series explores medical tourism from an interdisciplinary perspective.
What is known about the effects of medical tourism in. Medical tourism raises concerns about health equity. This paper focuses on the roles played by a central. Impacts, problems, issues, and opportunities of the medical tourism are examined in this article. This treatment can contain a full or a partial scope of medical treatments. Medical tourism, also known as international surgery or surgery abroad, is the. Several foreign and domestic tourist patients prefer indian states of maharashtra, goa, kerala, karnataka and gujarat for taking medical.
Exporting countries may benefit from medical tourism by generating foreign. North korea to launch medical tourism, targeting visitors from china reuters north korea, one of the worlds most reclusive states, plans to branch out into medical tourism next year, offering foreign visitors, most likely from china, treatments including cataract surgery, dental implants and therapy for tumors. Scott sundick, md, is a boardcertified vascular and endovascular surgeon. Risks and benefits of medical tourism verywell health. Reflections on medical tourism from the 2016 global. While many travel brands are attuned to wellness tourism trends their medical travel packages and offerings are lacking, said. Medical tourism journal of travel medicine oxford academic. View pdf promoting social responsibility amongst health care users. The global medical tourism market size was valued at usd 44. Browse research articles from the new england journal of medicine. Medical tourists may pursue medical care abroad for a variety of reasons, such as decreased cost, a recommendation from friends or family, the opportunity to combine medical care with a vacation destination, a preference for. Medical tourismlinked infections global health jama. Trends and opportunities 5 this study will use statistics gathered across multiple disciplines and may therefore include information that is not specific to the hospitality and tourism industry.
Journal of hospitality application and research johar sample article article in association with publishing india group. Mymeditravel articles includes plenty of information about medical tourism, including hospital and clinic profiles, procedure information, and fun facts. Kevins article gives a good overview of the potential benefits and risks of medical tourism. In earlier days, wealthy patients from developing countries have long traveled to developed countries for high quality medical care. The medical tourism association is a global nonprofit association for the medical tourism and international patient industry. Medical tourism is big business but still an emerging market. Medical tourists cross national borders to access care, motivated by health service issues such as high costs, lengthy wait times andor a lack of accessibility in their home systems 24. Medical tourists elect to travel across international borders to receive some form of medical treatment treatments may span the full range of medical services most common. Medical tourism history in fact dates back to ancient times. Medical tourism is complicated by financial, legal, and ethical issues, as well as by health. Anjaneya swamy, professor and head department of tourism studies school of management, pondicherry university, india. The role of medical tourism in the process of a complex satisfaction of the. Subscribe for uptodate medical providers, medical tourism articles, news, and medical promotion.
1160 51 184 10 1135 895 848 9 1350 884 180 569 581 1476 1604 472 192 1321 928 583 21 706 899 392 1598 361 94 500 1447 217 25 1499 1378 1094 557 1049 839 596 365 79 996