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

Medical Tourism 1
MEDICAL TOURISM
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Medical Tourism 2
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.

Medical Tourism 3
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