MEDICAL TOURISM – A BUSINESS OR A NECESSITY?

Ioana Cristiana PATRICHI, Silvia Patricia DODU

Abstract


Over the past few decades medical tourism has developed a strong international presence. Increasingly more people are turning to this type of tourism and there are already different specialized tourism companies that offer packages according to the needs of patients/tourists. In this context, few destinations have emerged globally by medical interests of patients. Thailand, India, Taiwan, Turkey are some of these destinations for those who are looking for various procedures (surgeries vital to life, aesthetic surgery, dentistry, in-vitro fertilization, etc.). Motivations underlying medical tourism are among the most diverse, from financial reasons to use of the latest medical equipment and specialist physicians. This paper aims to analyze the international medical tourism, from two different points of view: a necessity or a global business.

Keywords


medical tourism; medical services; health tourism

References


Bergmark R., Barr D. and Garcia R., Mexican Immigrants in the US living far from the border May return to Mexico for health services, Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 12 (4): 610-614.

Erdoğan S., Yilmaz E., Medical Tourism An Assessment on Turkey , 10th International Conference on Knowledge, Economy and Management; 11th International Conference of the ASIA Chapter of the AHRD & 2nd International Conference of the MENA Chapter of the AHRD PROCEEDINGS, publicat la adresa http://www.medeniyet.edu.tr/content/userfiles/Medical_Tourism_An_Assessment_on_Turkey_pdf.pdf

Ehrbeck T., Guevara C., Mango P., Mapping the market for medical travel, Health Care, may 2008, published at http://www.lindsayresnick.com/Resource_Links/MedicalTravel.pdf

Fronstin P., Helman R., Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey – 2013 Results, Employee Benefit Research Institute, September 2013, Vol. 34, No. 09, 2013. www.ebri.org/pdf/notespdf/EBRI_Notes_09_Sept-13_WBS-RepRts2.pdf

Garter.W., Trends in outdoor recreation, leisure and tourism, preluat din Strategii de dezvoltare a turismului balnear în perspectiva integrării europene, Ianc, T.P., Bucureşti, 2006

Herrick D, Medical Tourism: Health Care Free Trade, NCPA Policy Report No. 623, 2008 (http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba623)

Lunt N., Smith R, Exworthy M., Green S., Horsfall D. and Mannion R., “Medical Tourism: Treatments, Markets and Health System Implications: A scoping review”, oecd.org, 2012.

O'Brien E., "Obama care isn’t good for your teeth," Market Watch, January 24, 2014, http://www.sec.marketwatch.com/story/obamacare-isnt-good-for-your-teeth-2014-01-23

Oleszczuk L., Central Europe Becoming A Big Destination For Medical Tourism, 2014, http://www.forbes.com/sites/luizaoleszczuk/2014/06/30/polands-foreign-minister-wants-leakers-prosecuted/

Morgan D., The growth of medical tourism, OECD Observer No 281, October 2010, http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/3342/The_growth_of_medical_tourism.html#sthash.N8Mzjjtf.I3ZKRfcG.dpuf

Patrichi I., Turismul Internaţional, Editura Prouniversitaria, 2013.

*** Medical Tourism An Assessment on Turkey , 2013, published online at http://www.medeniyet.edu.tr/content/userfiles/Medical_Tourism_An_Assessment_on_Turkey_pdf.pdf

***Turismul medical, published online at: http://europeanhospital.ro/turism-medical

***Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey – 2013 Results, Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2013 ,September 2013, Vol. 34, No. 09. www.ebri.org/pdf/notespdf/EBRI_Notes_09_Sept-13_WBS-RepRts2.pdf

*** “An Essential Fact Sheet and Guide on Medical Tourism Statistics”, Medical Tourism Statistics and Facts, health-tourism.com

*** “Compare Cost”, published online at http://medicaltourism.com/en/compare-costs.html

*** “Medical Travelers and the American Healthcare System – A Cost Effective Solution”. Provided by Health-Tourism.com, Jan 2009, http://www.techrepublic.com *** Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey – 2013 Results, Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2013 ,September 2013, Vol. 34, No. 09.

***Niche Market Study, Africa de Sud, published online at: http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/tourism/Documents/Niche%20Market%20StudyM_Final.pdf

***Turismul medical global câştigă tot mai mult teren, 2013, articol publicat online la adresa: http://www.eoficial.ro/2013/10/29/turismul-medical-global-castiga-tot-mai-mult-teren/

*** “Turiştii medicali în Turcia”, informaţii prelucrate conform articolului online la adresa http://www.placidromania.com/detail-85/Turisti_medicali_in_Turcia/

***http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/3342/The_growth_of_medical_tourism.html#sthash.N8Mzjjtf.dpuf

*** Evaluation report on medical tourism in Turkey 2012, Ministry of Health 2013

www.frost.com

www.medicanainternational.ro/index.php/2013-07-05-09-25-39/about-turkey


Full Text: PDF



Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.