Medizintourismus und Medizinreisen – eine inter-disziplinäre Betrachtung

Abstract

There is a great need for more scientific research in the field of medical tourism, based on the common knowledge of both disciplines tourism and medicine. First there is neither an internationally agreed definition nor a common methodology for data collection. So the real impact of touristic and medical services both for the source and for the receiving countries is un-known and imprecise. Second the internal processes of the health system have to be adapted to the needs of international patients, e. g., medical fee schedule, billing, language, inter-cultural qualifications of the staff. Moreover the whole service chain has to be taken into account, especially the pre- and post-processes, which mostly start or end abroad. Here quality standards as well as accreditations are current issues. Furthermore, several sociocultural impacts need to be analysed, such as making health care less affordable for local patients and/or moral and ethical concerns about certain treatment methods. Another area concerns the legal questions of risk, liability and malpractice.

Chasing the Cure Around the Globe: Medical Tourism for Cancer Care From Developing Countries

“…The recent commentary by Benedetti et al 1 in Journal of Global Oncology accurately identifies and describes the growing, underestimated, and under-researched area of medical tourism for cancer care 2 and the associated ethical issues arising when patients seek care in international settings. Having been involved on both sides, as the accepting physicians during our practice in the United States and more recently as the referring physicians during our current practice in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, we would like to discuss and clarify some of the ethical and practical issues pertaining to medical tourism for cancer care in our countries.…”

An audit of surgical site infections among Omani travelers to India for spinal surgery

“…Medical tourism is evidently here to stay- at least for some years to come [31] . The increasing cost of health care globally, the advancement of information technology and health awareness, and the availability of state of the art facilities in the developing world will all ensure that this trend remains and will grow in the years to come.…”

Health Tourism—Subject of Scientific Research: A Literature Review and Cluster Analysis

“…In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of people traveling for health reasons [54][55][56][57][58]. Many scientists indicate that domestic and international health destinations are attractive mostly because of the differences in prices of products and services offered [59][60][61][62]. According to [62,63], a broad range of tourism services and products-combined with the patients and their accompanying persons having an enjoyable stay in a tourist destination-has a clear positive effect on their health.…”

“…Many scientists indicate that domestic and international health destinations are attractive mostly because of the differences in prices of products and services offered [59][60][61][62]. According to [62,63], a broad range of tourism services and products-combined with the patients and their accompanying persons having an enjoyable stay in a tourist destination-has a clear positive effect on their health. Another aspect of importance to tourists [63] is the destination itself and its surroundings.…”