Medical Tourism: A Growing Industry for Cost-Effective Healthcare Services

Medical tourism has emerged as one of the fastest advancing industries across the globe, offering cost-effective healthcare services for patients seeking treatment abroad. This article explores the benefits of medical tourism, popular destinations, and the effectiveness of seeking healthcare services overseas.

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MEDICAL TOURISM
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Medical Tourism
Medical tourism has emerged as one of the fastest advancing industries across the globe.
However, Han and Hyun (2015) reveal that travelling to seek for healthcare attention is not a
new phenomenon as it has been considered as one of the factors that drive people to visit the
healing features provided in various coastal locations and thermal springs. Fetscherin, and
Stephano (2016) explain that while conventional ideologies uphold the truism that tourism
should be aimed at fostering relaxation and human pleasure, medical tourism is stirred by the
need to find cost effective and fulfilling healthcare services across international borders. Patients
from developed economies have continuously resorted to overseas remedies for their health
condition as a result of the sky rocketing medical costs in their home countries.
Traveler Touch Points
Medical tourism has undergone massive developments despite the minimal healthcare
costs sought by travelers. Abubakar and Ilkan (2016) explain that Cuba emerged as the first
economy to imposed deliberate frameworks of encouraging foreign patients as a strategy of
earning foreign exchange. Currently, major economies in Asia such as India, Singapore,
Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Korea and Malaysia have emerged as central
destinations for medical travel. Lunt, Horsfall and Hanefeld (2016) attribute the emergence of
Asian medical tourism industry to the aftermaths of the financial crisis of 1997. Different
destinations attract health tourists for the effective and cost friendly services they provide. For
instance, Noree, Hanefeld and Smith (2016) explain that India and Thailand record the highest
population of medical tourists in need of serious and high-tech services such as cardiac surgeries,
hip and knee replacements. The researchers explain that health clinics in countries such as
Argentina and Brazil are highly preferred for cheaper and effective cosmetic surgery services.

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On the other hand, Ormond and Sulianti (2017) reveal that Mexican healthcare facilities thrive
their enterprises by offering international retirees with cost effective drugs, physician services
and dental care amenities. The scholars explain that cash paying uninsured retirees from
countries such as the United States and Canada run for the better deals provided in Mexico which
include package prices and price quotes that are not offered in their domestic markets.
Central Issues
India is considered as the most effective contemporary international destination for
medical tourists. According to Moghavvemi et al. (2017), India is highly preferred for its ability
to avail its clients with the Ayurvedic therapy as an alternative to other complex procedures such
as kidney transplants, cosmetic surgery bone marrow transplants, and coronary bypasses.
Currently, the country has increased the attractiveness of its healthcare services by upgrading its
technological platforms, putting a lot of emphasis on low cost services and reduced patient wait
times while incorporating western medical protocols. Crush and Chikanda (2015) explain that
most medical tourists prefer India as their destination as they are presented with the comfort
associated with the facilities that meet international qualifications.
The fact that most of the tourist destinations have incorporated proper strategies of
tackling communication challenges has enhanced the attractiveness of most of the targeted
healthcare facilities in Asian economies. Lee, and Fernando (2015) reveal that most of the
principle corporate hospital chains have increased their levels of attractiveness by implementing
ample strategies of recruiting teams of interpreters to offer guidance. For instance, Phuket
Hospital in Thailand boasts of its multiple teams of interpreters who offer their services in fifteen
languages to over 20,000 medical tourists on a yearly basis. On the other hand, the scholars

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explain that the Bumrungrad International Hospital that is based in Bangkok offers employment
to over 70 interpreters with 200 surgeons who studied in the United States.
Price differentials attributed to the cost of acquiring healthcare services through domestic
means and seeking such amenities on foreign soils coupled with the increasing population
pressures in western economies act as essential contributors to the increasing number of medical
tourists internationally. Wongkit and McKercher (2016) reveal that initially, the Japanese
government was unwilling to allow immigration. As a consequence, the country’s healthcare
system is faced with immense pressure particularly due to the aging population. The fact that
Japan does not benefit from the services of migrant health workers like other developed
economies increases he efficacy of the notion of medical tourism. Beladi et al. (2015) reveal that
most of the Japanese corporations send their employees to foreign countries such as Singapore
and Thailand for annual physical examination. The researchers explain that such a trend
emanates from the fact that the savings incurred on medical costs and high quality care provided
overseas make the associated airfare inconsequential. On the other hand the scholars explain that
patients from Japan prefer the medical services offered in Bangkok since most of the facilities in
this economy incorporate exclusive wings targeting Japanese medical tourists.
Effectiveness
Medical tourists consider the services offered overseas to be highly efficient and cost
effective. Lunt, Horsfall, and Hanefeld (2016) explain that while a heart surgery costs over
$70,000 in the United States, medical tourists acquiring similar services in healthcare institutions
located in Bangalore, India incur a cost of $4500. The researchers further reveal that while open
heart surgeries cost $150,000 in the United States, Indian hospitals charge a cost ranging
between $4000 and $10,000. On the other hand, the cost of cosmetic surgeries in Asian

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economies is about a quarter of that charged among medical facilities in Western economies
while face lifting in Costa Rica is about a third of that charged in Britain and less in South
Africa. Lunt, Horsfall, and Hanefeld (2016) explain that while privacy could not be necessarily
considered as a crucial aspect in the provision of healthcare services, hair grafting clinics in
Mauritius foster optimal levels of discretion when dealing with people of international fame.
In conclusion, medical tourism is one of the fastest advancing industries across the globe.
Clients drawn from Western economies resort to overseas remedies for their health condition as
a result of the sky rocketing medical costs in their home countries. Price differentials attributed
to the cost of acquiring healthcare services through domestic means, efficiency of the services
offered by overseas medical institutions, availability of support services and higher levels of
privacy account for the rapid growth revealed in this industry.

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References
Abubakar, A.M. and Ilkan, M. (2016). Impact of online WOM on destination trust and intention
to travel: A medical tourism perspective. Journal of Destination Marketing &
Management, 5(3), pp.192-201.
Beladi, H., Chao, C.C., Ee, M.S. and Hollas, D. (2015). Medical tourism and health worker
migration in developing countries. Economic Modelling, 46, pp.391-396.
Crush, J. and Chikanda, A. (2015). South–South medical tourism and the quest for health in
Southern Africa. Social Science & Medicine, 124, pp.313-320.
Fetscherin, M. and Stephano, R.M., 2016. The medical tourism index: Scale development and
validation. Tourism Management, 52, pp.539-556.
Han, H. and Hyun, S.S. (2015). Customer retention in the medical tourism industry: Impact of
quality, satisfaction, trust, and price reasonableness. Tourism Management, 46, pp.20-29.
Lee, H.K. and Fernando, Y. (2015). The antecedents and outcomes of the medical tourism supply
chain. Tourism Management, 46, pp.148-157.
Lunt, N., Horsfall, D., and Hanefeld, J. (2016). Medical tourism: A snapshot of evidence on
treatment abroad. Maturitas, 88, 37-44.
Noree, T., Hanefeld, J., and Smith, R. (2016). Medical tourism in Thailand: a cross-sectional
study. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 94(1), 30.

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Ormond, M. and Sulianti, D. (2017). More than medical tourism: lessons from Indonesia and
Malaysia on South–South intra-regional medical travel. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(1),
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Moghavvemi, S., Ormond, M., Musa, G., Isa, C.R.M., Thirumoorthi, T., Mustapha, M.Z.B. and
Chandy, J.J.C. (2017). Connecting with prospective medical tourists online: A cross-
sectional analysis of private hospital websites promoting medical tourism in India,
Malaysia and Thailand. Tourism Management, 58, pp.154-163.
Wongkit, M. and McKercher, B. (2016). Desired attributes of medical treatment and medical
service providers: A case study of medical tourism in Thailand. Journal of travel &
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