'Medical Tourism' - the phenomenon of people travelling abroad to access medical treatment - has received increasing attention in academic and popular media. This paper reports findings from a study ...examining effect of inbound and outbound medical tourism on the UK NHS, by estimating volume of medical tourism and associated costs and benefits. A mixed methods study it includes analysis of the UK International Passenger Survey (IPS); interviews with 77 returning UK medical tourists, 63 policymakers, NHS managers and medical tourism industry actors policymakers, and a review of published literature. These informed costing of three types of treatments for which patients commonly travel abroad: fertility treatment, cosmetic and bariatric surgery. Costing of inbound tourism relied on data obtained through 28 Freedom-of-Information requests to NHS Foundation Trusts. Findings demonstrate that contrary to some popular media reports, far from being a net importer of patients, the UK is now a clear net exporter of medical travellers. In 2010, an estimated 63,000 UK residents travelled for treatment, while around 52,000 patients sought treatment in the UK. Inbound medical tourists treated as private patients within NHS facilities may be especially profitable when compared to UK private patients, yielding close to a quarter of revenue from only 7% of volume in the data examined. Costs arise where patients travel abroad and return with complications. Analysis also indicates possible savings especially in future health care and social costs averted. These are likely to be specific to procedures and conditions treated. UK medical tourism is a growing phenomenon that presents risks and opportunities to the NHS. To fully understand its implications and guide policy on issues such as NHS global activities and patient safety will require investment in further research and monitoring. Results point to likely impact of medical tourism in other universal public health systems.
Abstract The review focuses on one growing dimension of health care globalisation – medical tourism, whereby consumers elect to travel across borders or to overseas destinations to receive their ...treatment. Such treatments include cosmetic and dental surgery; cardio, orthopaedic and bariatric surgery; IVF treatment; and organ and tissue transplantation. The review sought to identify the medical tourist literature for out-of-pocket payments, focusing wherever possible on evidence and experience pertaining to patients in mid-life and beyond. Despite increasing media interest and coverage hard empirical findings pertaining to out-of-pocket medical tourism are rare. Despite a number of countries offering relatively low cost treatments we know very little about many of the numbers and key indicators on medical tourism. The narrative review traverses discussion on medical tourist markets, consumer choice, clinical outcomes, quality and safety, and ethical and legal dimensions. The narrative review draws attention to gaps in research evidence and strengthens the call for more empirical research on the role, process and outcomes of medical tourism. In concluding it makes suggestion for the content of such a strategy.
To investigate the magnitude and characteristics of medical tourism in Thailand and the impact of such tourism on the Thai health system and economy.
In 2010, we checked the records of all visits to ...five private hospitals that are estimated to cover 63% of all foreign patients. We reviewed hospital records of foreign patients and obtained data on their countries of origin, diagnoses and interventions. We surveyed 293 medical tourists to collect demographic characteristics and information on their expenditure and travelling companions. To help understand the impact of medical tourism on the Thai health system, we also interviewed 15 hospital executives and 28 service providers from the private hospitals.
We obtained 911,913 records of hospital visits, of which 324,906 came from 104,830 medical tourists. We estimated that there were 167,000 medical tourists in Thailand in 2010. Of the medical tourists who attended our study hospitals, 67,987 (64.8%) came from the eastern Mediterranean region or Asia and 109,509 (34%) of them were treated for simple and uncomplicated conditions - i.e. general check-ups and medical consultations. The mean self-reported non-medical expenditure was 2750 United States dollars. According to the hospital staff interviewed, medical tourism in 2010 brought benefits to - and apparently had no negative impacts on - the Thai health system and economy.
We estimate that the total number of medical tourists visiting Thailand is about 10% of previous national government estimates of 1.2 million. Such tourists appear to bring economic benefits to Thailand and to have negligible effects on the health system.
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. The ...potential and implications of this international trade in medical services is explored in this book through analysis of the market.
Bibliometrix analysis of medical tourism Campra, Maura; Riva, Patrizia; Oricchio, Gianluca ...
Health services management research,
08/2022, Volume:
35, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Medical tourism is an expanding phenomenon. Scientific studies address the changes and challenges of the present and future trend. However, no research considers the study of bibliometric variables ...and area of business, management and accounting. This bibliometric analysis discovered the following elements: (1) The main articles are based on guest services, management, leadership principles applied, hotel services associated with healthcare, marketing variables and elements that guide the choice in medical tourism; (2) The main authors do not deal with tourism but are involved in various ways in the national health system of the countries of origin or in WHO; (3)cost-efficiency and analytical accounting linked to medical tourism structures and destination choices are not yet developed topics.
To develop an efficient medical tourism system, it is currently necessary to identify the main participants in the system and clearly define their activities and interactions. The article determines ...the main participants in the system of medical tourism organization, describes their characteristics in terms of functions and objectives, and proposes the organisation concept of the interaction with international medical institutions and the scheme of the interaction between the main participants of medical tourism. The authors consider the main trends and prospects of the development of medical tourism on the basis of digital platform enabling to render the services for search and provision of quality medical services.
Innovation is an important issue for any business and especially vital concept for the establishment and growth of a successful health tourism businesses for gaining business improvement and ...differential advantage in competition. Purpose of this study is to figure out gaps in the innovation in health tourism entrepreneurship literature, show the comprehensive whole situation, areas where the related areas focused on and indicate the related promising areas for research in health tourism innovation. Thus, the significance of this study lies in 2 sub topics as; 1) providing a brief literature review on health tourism innovation 2) indicate the research gaps in health tourism innovation. Results indicate that there is a serious research gap in the innovation studies in spa and wellness tourism, since studies are concentrated on health and medical tourism. Moreover, it is understood that qualitative research is preferred by the majority of the authors followed by the mixed methods which leads to a research gap for quantitative studies in the area.
Malaysia had big plans for its medical tourism industry in 2020—only for the pandemic to hit. Megan Tatum reports on a sector full of profit and promise that is now full of uncertainty.
Objectives
Little is known about the experiences of women who travel within Europe for abortion care from countries with relatively liberal laws. This paper aims to assess the primary reasons for ...travel among a sample of women who travelled from European countries with relatively liberal abortion laws to obtain abortion care mainly in the UK and the Netherlands.
Design
Multi‐country, 5‐year mixed methods study on barriers to legal abortion and travel for abortion.
Setting
UK, the Netherlands and Spain.
Population or Sample
We present quantitative data from 204 surveys, and qualitative data from 30 in‐depth interviews with pregnant people who travelled to the UK, the Netherlands and Spain from countries where abortion is legal on broad grounds within specific gestational age (GA) limits.
Methods
Mixed‐methods.
Main outcome measures
GA when presenting at abortion clinic, primary reason for abortion‐related travel.
Results
Study participants overwhelmingly reported travelling for abortion because they had exceeded GA limits in their country of residence. Participants also reported numerous delays and barriers to receiving care.
Conclusions
Our findings highlight the need for policies that support access to abortion throughout pregnancy and illustrate that early access to it is necessary but not sufficient to meet people’s reproductive health needs.
Funding
This study is funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
Tweetable
This study shows that GA limits drive women from EU countries where abortion is legal to seek abortions abroad.
Tweetable
This study shows that GA limits drive women from EU countries where abortion is legal to seek abortions abroad.
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