International patients on operation vacation – perspectives of patients travelling to Hungary for orthopaedic treatments

Abstract

Based on the findings, patients from neighbouring regions are increasingly seeking orthopaedic care in Hungary. Patients having orthopaedic care are highly satisfied with the quality of care, the whole treatment process from the availability of information to discharge summaries and would consider returning for further treatments.

Health Resorts and Multi-Textured Perceptions of International Health Tourists

“…Tourism has been changing its nature rapidly in recent years due to the amalgamation of the health and medical industries in tandem with tourists' complex quests for rest, relaxation, leisure, fun, and sustainable tourism attractions in order to find overall improvement in their quality of life [1,2]. It is noted that many individuals are moving across national borders to find their optimal health status [3][4][5]. While this style of human movement is similar to tourism, it is different from conventional traveling in terms of pleasure and rest, and is commonly termed medical tourism [6,7].…”

Interregional Patient Mobility in the Italian NHS: A Case of Badly-Managed Decentralization Comment on "Regional Incentives and Patient Cross-Border Mobility: Evidence From the Italian Experience"

“…Although it has been extensively studied in international literature [1][2][3][4] further research is required. The article by Brenna and Spandonaro,5 dedicated to interregional mobility for acute hospital care in Italy, is an important contribution in this respect, as it raises critical issues that go well beyond the Italian case, concerning social and territorial equity as well as the role of central and regional government within a National Health Service (NHS) system.…”

Medical sociology as a heuristic instrument for medical tourism and cross-border healthcare Comment on "International patients on operation vacation – perspectives of patients travelling to Hungary for orthopedic treatments"

“…K ovacs et al (1) presented an empirical account of patient mobility in the European Union (EU). They offered insight on a particular form of patient mobility: cross-border healthcare (89% in the sample were Romanian patients, crossing the border to Hungary), seen as a good -but challenging -practice of patient mobility within cross-border regions in the EU (2).…”

“…These characteristics lead to health behaviors (personal health practices/process of medical care/use of personal health services) which then lead to outcomes (perceived health/evaluated health/consumer satisfaction) (7,8). Applying this model to the case study of Kovacs et al (1) suggests that the Romanian health system as a contextual/ environmental factor is urging patients to go abroad whereas the Hungarian health system is perceived as offering greater quality of care (58.7% in the sample) as well as attractive individual characteristics, such as financial situation and demographic status (83% is middle class in the sample). Such characteristics lead to transnational health behaviors in which patients travel across the border to receive healthcare in a border region hospital.…”

“…A reasonable scale of measurement is still lacking in cross-border healthcare and medical tourism. The study of Kovacs et al (1) could be seen as a pilot study in examining the factors/variables in Andersen's model. Further empirical research could unravel the mobile health system and its transnational health users using measurement and longitudinal research designs.…”