Medical Tourists: Incoming and Outgoing

Dalen, James E.; Alpert, Joseph S.

doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2018.06.022

Cited by 47 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The global medical tourism market was valued at US$36.9 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach US$179.6 billion by 2026 (Grand View Research, 2019). The growth of this category of tourism is expected to continue because of the increasing interest in health, the rise in the elderly population, and the growth of low‐cost airfares (Dalen & Alpert, 2019; Eom, Yu, & Han, 2019). Medical tourism has a few characteristics that distinguish it from other types of tourism, however, medical tourists are especially concerned about receiving trustworthy information on the potential risks involved in medical procedures (Abubakar & Ilkan, 2016; Connell, 2013).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between the motivation of medical tourists and the quality of medical services

Lee

Lim

Kim

2020

Journal of Tourism Research

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This study aims to: (a) identify the motivation to travel for medical reasons and the quality of the medical services received; and (b) examine the relationship between the quality of medical services and the attitudes held by tourists about these. It fills the gap in the literature by contributing to our knowledge of medical tourists' behavior. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed at 25 hospitals and travel agencies within Korea. The results deliver insightful messages in the fields of travel behavior and motivation in the medical tourism industry, and for health marketers and planners of medical tourism services.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between the motivation of medical tourists and the quality of medical services

Lee

Lim

Kim

2020

Journal of Tourism Research

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“…In recent years, due to the government's support, South Korea is becoming one of the top 10 destinations for medical tourism globally, with a focus on promoting its high-quality clinical medicine, technical proficiency of its physicians, and cutting-edge medical technology [14][15][16][17]. This emergence was catalyzed in 2016 when the South Korean government launched the "1 st Comprehensive Plan to Support Overseas Expansion of the Healthcare System and Attraction of International Patients" (the "Comprehensive Plan").…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A bilingual systematic review of South Korean medical tourism: a need to rethink policy and priorities for public health?

Purushothaman

Cuomo

et al. 2021

BMC Public Health

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Background In 2016, the “Act on Support for Overseas Expansion of Healthcare System and Attraction of International Patients” was enacted by the South Korean government in an attempt to accelerate growth of its medical tourism industry. However, only a few years after its implementation, the benefits are not well understood, nor have the positive or negative impacts of expanding Korea’s medical tourism sector been properly evaluated. Objective We aimed to systematically review and summarize existing literature describing South Korea’s medical tourism policy and legislative history, while also assessing the impact of this domestic policy approach on the country’s public health systems. Methods A bilingual systematic literature review was conducted per PRISMA guidelines for all South Korean medical tourism legislative and policy literature using MeSH terms and other related keywords in two academic databases, PubMed and JSTOR. Published studies were included if they directly addressed South Korean medical tourism policy. To supplement results from the peer-review, the grey literature was also searched using Google search engine for relevant policy documents, information from government websites, and national statistics on medical tourism-related data. Results This review included 14 peer-reviewed journal articles and 9 websites. The majority of literature focused on the legislative history of South Korea’s pro-medical tourism policy, economic considerations associated with industry growth, and the specific experiences of medical tourists. There was a lack of studies, analytical or commentary-based, conducting in-depth analysis of the healthcare impact of these policies or comparing benefits and costs compared to other medical tourism destinations. Proponents of medical tourism continue to advocate the government for increased deregulation and investment in the sector. Conclusion This systematic review suggests that policy decisions may prioritize economic growth offered by medical tourism over negative effects on the healthcare workforce, access and equity, and its potential to undermine Universal Health Coverage. South Korea continues to examine ways to further amend the Act and grow this sector, but these actions should be taken with caution by critically examining how other countries have adapted their policymaking based on the real-world costs associated with medical tourism.

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“…They decided on medical treatment abroad because other countries can offer cheaper healthcare than in the United States, and several treatment procedures can save up about 30% to 65% in comparison with the similar ones in the U.S. This endowment is difficult to find in the U.S. healthcare system, which is considered to have the most expensive medical costs in the world [4]. In comparison, only 2.2% of Chinese travel abroad (about 3.5 million people) for medical treatment purposes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grey System Theory in the Study of Medical Tourism Industry and Its Economic Impact

Dang

Nguyen

Wang

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The Asia-Pacific region is known as a favorite destination for global medical travelers due to its medical expertise, innovative technology, safety, attractive tourism destination and cost advantage in the recent decade. This study contributes to propose an approach which effectively assesses performance of medical tourism industry based on considering the economic impact factors as well as provides a conceptual framework for the industry analysis. Grey system theory is utilized as a major analyzing approach. According to that, factors impact on the sustainable development of medical tourism in Asia-Pacific region could be identified. The performance of each destination in this region was simultaneously revealed. The results presented an overall perspective of the medical tourism industry in the scope of the Asia-Pacific region, and in Taiwan particularly. Data was collected on six major destinations including Singapore, Thailand, India, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. The results proved that tourism sources and healthcare medical infrastructures play a crucial role in promoting the healthcare travel industry, while cost advantage and marketing effectiveness were less considered. In addition, performance analyse indicated that Thailand has a good performance and stands in the top ranking, followed by Malaysia, India, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, respectively. The revenue of Taiwan has increased slowly in the last six years, with a market worth approximately NT$20.5 billion, and the number of medical travelers is expected to increase to 777,523 by 2025. The findings of this study are expected to provide useful information for the medical tourism industry and related key players in strategic planning.

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Medical Tourists: Incoming and Outgoing

Cited by 47 publications

References 4 publications

Relationships between the motivation of medical tourists and the quality of medical services

Relationships between the motivation of medical tourists and the quality of medical services

A bilingual systematic review of South Korean medical tourism: a need to rethink policy and priorities for public health?

Grey System Theory in the Study of Medical Tourism Industry and Its Economic Impact

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