Status, growth and impact of medical tourism in india. Medical tourism is not very popular in the country, nevertheless, you can take advantage of cheapest dental treatments in europe. Yet, there has been little effort to systematically synthesize what is known about the effects of this. The top five burning issues in medical tourism imtj. Tourism and development in the developing world 2nd. The impact of healthcare reform on the usas medical tourism. For example, in india, some argue that a policy of medical tourism for the classes and health missions for the masses will lead to a deepening of the inequities already embedded in the health care system.
Medical tourism market growth, trends, forecast 2020 2025. Innovative ideas apollo tie up with american international medical university aimu for developing medical tourism projects in the bahamas and st lucia. Medical tourism, synonymous with the words like health tourism, medical travel or global healthcare and has become a universal concept gaining importance. Typically, medical tourism involves residents of developed countries seeking medical treatment in developing countries. An important consideration in medical tourism is the potential impact on the residents of destination countries. While medical tourism is targeted as a growth industry in some developing countries, there is concern that it will result in a brain drain, where doctors migrate from public hospitals to private. Challenges and opportunities for developing countries from. Medical tourism a case study for the usa and india, germany and hungary 140 medical tourist flows are poor. Medical tourism a case study for the usa and india. Capitalizing on the trend of patient travel, real estate developers are building hotels near major medical facilities, according to the new york times these hotels may offer special. Nov 21, 20 medical tourism in developing countries. Nov, 2007 an important consideration in medical tourism is the potential impact on the residents of destination countries.
Niche tourism and the challenges of developing medical. He reports an estimated 400,000 patients coming to united states annually to obtain medical care. The travelling for health report assesses data from 60 countries to pinpoint which countries offer the best combination of the. Facilitation centers in selected countries industry tie ups global medical travel brokers, hotels, hospitals delivering packaged services. Tourism is widely considered as an effective contributor to socioeconomic development, particularly in less developed countries. Growth in the popularity of this practice has resulted in a significant amount of attention being given to it from researchers, policymakers, and the media.
Introduction growing demand for health services is a global phenomenon, linked to economic development that generates rising incomes and education. Medical tourism in developing countries by milica zarkovic. Mar 26, 2009 while medical tourism is targeted as a growth industry in some developing countries, there is concern that it will result in a brain drain, where doctors migrate from public hospitals to private. Medical tourism involves patients intentionally leaving their home country to access nonemergency health care services abroad. Cuba, bolivia, brazil, hungary, costa rica, lithuania, malaysia, india. Demographic change, especially the ageing population and older peoples requirements for more medical services, coupled with rising incidence of chronic conditions, also fuel demand for more and better health services. However, despite the almost universal adoption of tourism as a. Some private clinics can offer one a medical plan, built in up to three business days. The potential and implications of this international trade in medical services is explored in this book through analysis of the market.
Medical tourism and its potential for developing countries. Medical tourism, alternatively called health tourism and wellness tourism, is a term that has risen from the rapid growth of an industry where people from all around the world are traveling to other countries to obtain medical, dental, and surgical care while at the same. There are large cost imbalances that exist between rich countries and poor ones, and medical tourism seeks to take advantage. In one of the articles they point out that such a potential exist in thailand, india, malaysia, chile, argentina, cuba, philippines, jordan, south africa and costa rica. Therefore medical tourism is quite important for developing countries. Dec 19, 2007 but clearly the rise of medical tourism traveling to different countries to have a medical procedure done less expensively, more expediently, and in some cases more expertly is on the rise.
Western patients are increasingly traveling to developing countries for health care and developing countries are increasingly offering their skills and facilities to paying foreign customers. Mattoo and rathindran suggest that revenue generated by developing countries providing medical services to foreign patients creates opportunities to improve the access and quality of care available to the citizens of these countries. To provide valuable information to airlines, hotels, travel agents of which are the most important medical tourism destinations in order to support medical tourism by adapting their products and. Some medical travelers seek help from medical tourism facilitators to coordinate their journey. Medical tourism is part of health tourism and it has a longstanding history, going back to thousands of years. The word was first used by travel agencies and is today used by media, government, tourism development corporations etc. Medical tourism definition, history, types, importance. Records show that in greece, thousands of years ago, patients came to the healing god asklepios in epidauria. Medical tourism is growing and diversifying on a global level. The current healthcare system in the usa offers citizens with low quality high cost care. Western patients are increasingly travelling to developing countries for health care and developing countries are increasingly offering their skills and facilities to paying foreign customers. In many of these developing countries, medical tourism represents a lucrative and growing source of economic revenue. Medical tourism is a growing concept worldwide where people travel to another country for medical treatment at lower cost or to enjoy a vacation along with their treatment. Medical and wellness tourism lessons from asia 23apr2014.
It conveys an image of people from a cold climate flying off to some warm beach resort for a bit of nip and tuck, some dental repair or a few weeks of health spa. Less developed countries could benefit from such a market such as creating jobs and increase income. The travelling for health report assesses data from 60 countries to pinpoint which countries offer the best combination of the factors that drive the medical tourism business. Simon hudson and xiang li 201212 to date, the literature on medical tourism have focused almost. Sep 01, 2009 medical tourism fills a valuable niche that is desperately needed in countries with bureaucratically flawed or unaffordable healthcare. Travelling for health report the economist intelligence unit. At the imtj medical travel summit in london, april 15th16th, were aiming to focus on some of the key issues that face the developing medical tourism market. Health tourism is the phenomenon of people traveling to foreign countries for medical treatments and healthcare that is specialized and affordable. Therefore, one has to rely on surveys to estimate the flows as well as the economic might of the medical tourism industry.
A combination of several factors has led to the recent increase inpopularity of medical tourism. Medical tourism in developing countries bookman, milica z. The potential and implications of this international trade in medical services is explored in this book. It draws on the experience of four asian countries india, malaysia, thailand and the philippines to extract lessons and the best practices for. Developing countries that promote medical tourism, such as. The number of foreign tourist arrivals to india on a medical visa has increased by about 140% from 20 to 2015.
Healthcare tourism is defined, the sample, methods of data collection, findings, and implications are discussed, and. Foreign tourist arrivals on medical visa increased by 140% in. How developing countries are developing medical tourism cbs. Medical tourism on the rise in central and eastern europe. Medical tourism is on the rise in central and eastern europe it has been growing 1215 per cent annually, according to research published this year by pwc, the consultancy. Jul 15, 2007 medical tourism in developing countries. Developing countries are increasingly offering stateofthe art medical facilities and services to foreign customers.
Top destinations for health tourism medicaltourism. Medical travel and tourism global market report 1st edition resources, 19 january, 2019 special offer. Challenges and opportunities for developing countries from medical tourism 398 their country or to obtain quicker access to services fried, 2009. This represents a huge opportunity for developing countries such as india and china, finds a new report from the economist intelligence unit. Medical tourism may raise broader ethical issues for the countries in which it is promoted.
Medical tourism in developing countries springerlink. The factors associated with the growth of the market include higher treatment cost in developed countries, availability of the latest medical technologies, growing compliance on international quality standards, high quality of service, health insurance portability, and advertising and. The best place to go is bangkoks bumrungrad international hospital. Popular procedures include cosmetic surgery particularly transgender procedures orthopedics, and cardiology. Dec 12, 2012 introduction growing demand for health services is a global phenomenon, linked to economic development that generates rising incomes and education. Medical tourism comprises a phenomenon where over five million patients a year are traveling across international borders to obtain various forms of health care. Medical tourism, alternatively called health tourism and wellness tourism, is a term that has risen from the rapid growth of an industry where people from all around the world are traveling to other countries to obtain medical, dental, and surgical care while at the same time touring, vacationing, and fully experiencing. Medical tourism in developing countries medical tourism. For the most part, medical tourism is happening for all the same reasons that jobs and entire industries are being offshored to other countries. Medical tourism fills a valuable niche that is desperately needed in countries with bureaucratically flawed or unaffordable healthcare.
The process of deciding where to go for medical treatments abroad can be a challenging task, particularly for first time medical travelers. Countries are actually competing for medical tourists. Focusing specifically on the less developed world and drawing on contemporary case studies, this updated second edition questions widelyheld assumptions on the role of tourism in development and seeks to highlight the challenges. Medical tourism to india has seen tremendous growth in the last few years. Medical tourism isnt always a fair deal for developing countries. Close to 23 rd of these tourists came from just the three countries of bangladesh, afghanistan and nigeria. Helps to identify the most suitable countries as medical tourism destinations. From the 18th to the 20th century, mostly wealthy patients from developing 6 countries traveled to medical centers in europe and the u. How medical tourism is helping developing countries medhalt. In japan, the government is instituting new policies that will help increase the number of hospitals accepting foreign patients. One of the original countries for medical tourism, thailand combines excellent, patientcentered care with low costs.
It also includes traveling to countries where treatments for particular conditions are better understood sunrise river press, 2008, reports that over 50 countries have identified medical tourism as a national industry. This industry looks set to expand at a blistering pace over the next decade as more and more people begin to trust the quality and see the advantages of having their surgery performed in developing countries. The global medical tourism market is expected to grow with a cagr of 8. Medical tourism leads to hospitalhotel partnerships. It is a major sector boosting the economy of many developing countries, such as malaysia, singapore and india. Why is research from developing countries underrepresented in. Oct 25, 2011 medical tourism is part of health tourism and it has a longstanding history, going back to thousands of years. Heres my pick of the bunch of the conference topics. This international trade in medical services has huge economic potential for. My research has revealed that the following countries are currently developing medical tourism. The top medical tourism destinations span the globe and many are located in asia where thailand, malaysia, india, singapore, and south korea lead due to worldclass doctors and hospitals. Tourism and development in the developing world offers a thorough overview of the tourism development relationship. This international trade in medical services has huge economic potential for developing countries and serious implications for health care across the globe.
Sociology of health reveals the prevalence of a dominant assumption that low cast medical care and better health services in developing countries. Today, outbound medical tourism is becoming equally. As more individuals opt out of receiving healthcare in their own developed countries and choose to travel abroad to receive healthcare services in developing countries, the risks and benefits of medical tourism are emerging and necessitates consideration of the role medical tourism will play in the future of the healthcare market. Most of these patients travel from developed countries to developing countries, seeking highly invasive medical treatments to less invasive and. According to the medical tourism association, medical tourism is where people who live in one country travel to another country to receive medical, dental and surgical care while at the same time receiving equal to or greater care than they would have in their own country, and are travelling for medical care because of affordability, better access to care or a higher level of quality of care.
But clearly the rise of medical tourism traveling to different countries to have a medical procedure done less expensively, more expediently, and in some cases more expertly is on the rise. Consequently, the popularity of medical tourism has increased significantly in recent years pafhausen et. The potential and implications of this international trade in medical services is. Although american medical tourists have been seeking care that is not covered by insurance, perhaps receiving treatment abroad can also offer the under or unins. There are large cost imbalances that exist between rich countries and poor ones, and medical tourism seeks to take advantage of lower costs and wages in less developed countries.