Medical Tourism and How It is Advertised for Foreign Patients
Author: Lotta Pauliina Ruuskanen
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Abstract: Medical tourism is a growing business especially in developing countries. This paper concentrates on medical tourism, specially its risks and opportunities for both patients and medical tourism destination countries. Main focus was also to find out how medical tourism destinations advertise and markets their services for westerner patients, using India as an example of a medical tourism country.
Key words: Medical tourism, Risks and opportunities, Health care, India
In medical tourism, people intentionally leave their home country to go non-emergency health care services abroad. (Johnston, R 2010) Medical tourism usually focuses on lower income countries such as China, India or South America. It is not a new trend to travel abroad for surgery or medical care, people have been travelling for better medical care for centuries. According to Snyder (2010) growing and more specific knowledge available for medical tourists draws patients from different countries to medical operations all over the world. It is not only about the medical operation it includes accommodations, transportation and meals all in a same package. (Whittaker, A 2008)
Most common operations that medical tourists search for are for example elective surgery, dental care, organ transplantation, reproductive treatment, cosmetic surgery and medical check-ups. (Smith, R et al. 2011) People are expecting quality treatment with lower prices, and this is how different medical care facilities compete with each other, providing both low prices and qualified staff. Prices varies a lot between countries, for example heart valve replacement surgery would cost at least 200 000 dollars in US when the same operation is around 100 000 dollars which includes the air fare and brief vacation package in India or Philippines. To same extent Lasik eye surgery that is worth 3700 dollars in US, costs only 730 dollars in many other countries. (Badwe, A 2012)
According to Confederation of Indian industries in year 2004 there were 150 000 medical tourists, these numbers have grown rapidly as in 2012 in India there were almost half a million medical tourists. (Badwe, A 2012) Confederation of Indian industries predicts that India's medical tourism sector is worth two billion US dollars in year 2012. (Smith, R et al 2011)
People tend to seek medical treatment abroad mainly because it is more affordable, there might be long waiting list for surgery in medical tourists' own home country or some specific operations might not be available in certain countries (Whittaker, A 2008: 275) Medical tourism will as well provide a good revenue generation for foreign exchange. It will improve the employment situation in local population. And among the other benefits it also gives strong abetment for pharmaceutical industries in terms of development, research and in revenue earnings. (Badwe, A 2012:147) One issue that can be considered as a risk comes with insurance coverage of overseas, because there is no clear settlement that who is in response and which costs belong to insurance in case something happens. (Badwe, A 2012:147) In the majority of medical tourism cases, fears of malpractice has been unnecessary because in order to provide medical tourism services, countries require both appropriate quality and sufficient numbers of workers. (Bookman, M 2007) According to Milica Bookman if insurances would cover medical care outside the country would it increase the number of medical tourist visibly. (2007)
Potential medical tourism patients can find out information about hospitals and its services in a several different ways like through own research that is done in the internet directly via websites, though a growing numbers of medical tourism companies, or through traditional travel agencies. (Whittaker, A 2008) Type 'medical tourism India' into the Google and it will give a number of various websites from private medical tourism service companies to government own companies as a result. (Whittaker, A 2008) Layouts of these webpages are mainly very good and give reliable impression of medical care facilities to patients. Growing global media and internet has made it easy for patients to search specific information concerning medical tourism destinations and vice versa it eases medical tourism destinations and hospitals to bring their services closer to customers from distant countries. (Bookman, M 2007) India's government has introduced a special visa for medical tourists called the "M" or Medial Visa. (Smith, R et al 2011) This medical visa is also offered for person who escorts patient to the operation. (VFS 2013)
References
Badwe, A et al. (2012). Medical tourism in India: a new avenue. International Journal of Biomedical and advanced Research. 3 (3), 144-148.
Bookman, M and Bookman, K (2007). Medical tourism in developing countries. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 12-175.
Johnston, R et al. (2010). What is known about the effects of medical tourism in destination and departure countries? International Journal for Equity in Health. 9 (24), 1-13.
Key words: Medical tourism, Risks and opportunities, Health care, India
In medical tourism, people intentionally leave their home country to go non-emergency health care services abroad. (Johnston, R 2010) Medical tourism usually focuses on lower income countries such as China, India or South America. It is not a new trend to travel abroad for surgery or medical care, people have been travelling for better medical care for centuries. According to Snyder (2010) growing and more specific knowledge available for medical tourists draws patients from different countries to medical operations all over the world. It is not only about the medical operation it includes accommodations, transportation and meals all in a same package. (Whittaker, A 2008)
Most common operations that medical tourists search for are for example elective surgery, dental care, organ transplantation, reproductive treatment, cosmetic surgery and medical check-ups. (Smith, R et al. 2011) People are expecting quality treatment with lower prices, and this is how different medical care facilities compete with each other, providing both low prices and qualified staff. Prices varies a lot between countries, for example heart valve replacement surgery would cost at least 200 000 dollars in US when the same operation is around 100 000 dollars which includes the air fare and brief vacation package in India or Philippines. To same extent Lasik eye surgery that is worth 3700 dollars in US, costs only 730 dollars in many other countries. (Badwe, A 2012)
According to Confederation of Indian industries in year 2004 there were 150 000 medical tourists, these numbers have grown rapidly as in 2012 in India there were almost half a million medical tourists. (Badwe, A 2012) Confederation of Indian industries predicts that India's medical tourism sector is worth two billion US dollars in year 2012. (Smith, R et al 2011)
People tend to seek medical treatment abroad mainly because it is more affordable, there might be long waiting list for surgery in medical tourists' own home country or some specific operations might not be available in certain countries (Whittaker, A 2008: 275) Medical tourism will as well provide a good revenue generation for foreign exchange. It will improve the employment situation in local population. And among the other benefits it also gives strong abetment for pharmaceutical industries in terms of development, research and in revenue earnings. (Badwe, A 2012:147) One issue that can be considered as a risk comes with insurance coverage of overseas, because there is no clear settlement that who is in response and which costs belong to insurance in case something happens. (Badwe, A 2012:147) In the majority of medical tourism cases, fears of malpractice has been unnecessary because in order to provide medical tourism services, countries require both appropriate quality and sufficient numbers of workers. (Bookman, M 2007) According to Milica Bookman if insurances would cover medical care outside the country would it increase the number of medical tourist visibly. (2007)
Potential medical tourism patients can find out information about hospitals and its services in a several different ways like through own research that is done in the internet directly via websites, though a growing numbers of medical tourism companies, or through traditional travel agencies. (Whittaker, A 2008) Type 'medical tourism India' into the Google and it will give a number of various websites from private medical tourism service companies to government own companies as a result. (Whittaker, A 2008) Layouts of these webpages are mainly very good and give reliable impression of medical care facilities to patients. Growing global media and internet has made it easy for patients to search specific information concerning medical tourism destinations and vice versa it eases medical tourism destinations and hospitals to bring their services closer to customers from distant countries. (Bookman, M 2007) India's government has introduced a special visa for medical tourists called the "M" or Medial Visa. (Smith, R et al 2011) This medical visa is also offered for person who escorts patient to the operation. (VFS 2013)
References
Badwe, A et al. (2012). Medical tourism in India: a new avenue. International Journal of Biomedical and advanced Research. 3 (3), 144-148.
Bookman, M and Bookman, K (2007). Medical tourism in developing countries. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 12-175.
Johnston, R et al. (2010). What is known about the effects of medical tourism in destination and departure countries? International Journal for Equity in Health. 9 (24), 1-13.