Factors influencing inbound medical travel to India

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the demand-side factors that influence the inbound medical tourists’ (MTs) decision to travel abroad for medical treatment/surgery. Design/methodology/approach The researchers conducted thematic analysis of in-depth interviews in India with 24 foreign MTs’ to generate the themes, identify factors and propose a model with hypothesis for future quantitative survey. Findings The findings conclude that patients ranked in ascending order less waiting time for surgery, healthcare quality and accreditation, staff/surgeons expertise, healthcare information, hospital facilities and services, patient safety, travel risk, surgical costs and holiday opportunity as important factors that influence the decision to travel abroad for medical treatment/surgery. Research limitations/implications Foreign patients from six private hospitals were willing to be interviewed with the permission of the hospital. Due to confidentiality and privacy policy, many hospitals declined interviews with foreign patients. Practical implications The findings are generalised in case of foreign patients as MTs and all private hospitals treating foreign patients in India and other global healthcare destinations. Policy implications suggest that private hospitals in developing countries need to provide first-class quality of healthcare as foreign patients look for internationally accredited quality, no waiting time, patient safety, qualified and experienced surgeons, healthcare workers education and experience hospital facilities and post-surgery care with positive healthcare outcomes. Originality/value There is little empirical research on the views of inbound MTs, about factors influencing their decision to travel abroad for surgery to India.

Medical Tourism: The Critical Role between Taiwan and Mainland China.

“…However, there is little empirical research on the virus of inbound MT, and due to confidentiality and privacy policy, many hospitals declined interviews with foreign patients. 10 There are shared factors shaping the development of MT in Asia countries that help explain why it is being pursued by my hospitals and governments in the region. Development of the sector is primarily being driven by public investment promotion agencies and the private health sector seeking economic benefits with limited consideration and planning for the health equity concerns MT raises.…”

Decoding the Relationship of Service Operations Enablers in Healthcare Industry

“…The healthcare is not only about the interaction between doctor and patient but also includes the admission, billing, management of medical records, transportation, and ambulance facility along with insurance (Baalbaki, Ahmed, Pashtenko, & Makarem, 2008; Dean et al, 2001; Paim, Travassos, Almeida, Bahia, & Macinko, 2011). The healthcare system performance is evaluated on its ability to manage the crowd and how they reduce the turnaround time for incoming and outgoing patients (Medhekar, Wong, & Hall, 2019; Sahoo & Ghosh, 2016). The operations managers’ role in healthcare systems lies in the identification of gaps and solving them with a robust approach.…”

Health-care providers perspective on value in medical travel to India

“…International trade and travel in global health-care has grown exponentially in the twenty-first century, as patients seek affordable quality and "value-in-medical-travel" to developed and developing countries (Carrera, 2012;Hall, 2011;Medhekar et al, 2019;Wang, 2012). Travelling abroad for health tourism has two segments, namely, wellness (traditional-yoga, herbal-medicine and ayurveda) and medical (allopathy medicine, diagnostic and complex-surgery) (Medhekar et al, 2014).…”

“…Popularly, travelling abroad for surgery is known as medical travel/tourism (MTm) or medical outsourcing to developing countries (Sandberg, 2017;Seguoin et al, 2005). Currently, developing countries such as Thailand, India, Turkey and Costa Rica are popular MTm destinations and have the ability to deliver on value, affordable quality and timely access to health-care to global patients/MT, to improve their quality of life, health and well-being (Burns, 2015;Carrera, 2012;Hall, 2011;Horowitz et al, 2007;Khan et al, 2017;Medhekar, 2012;Medhekar et al, 2019;Turner, 2010).…”