DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

A Framework of Medical Tourism as a Niche Trade Item: A System Approach

  • Kho, Tae-Gyou (Department of Business Management, Hallym University)
  • Received : 2020.09.02
  • Accepted : 2020.11.20
  • Published : 2021.04.30

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to develop two medical tourism system models which explain medical tourism phenomenon with a systemic approach. Design/methodology - This research was conducted by using a qualitative data analysis which mainly refers to previous references of medical tourism in the areas of tourism and medicine. Leiper's tourism system model was utilized as a conceptual framework. In-depth interviews with experts in the field were conducted in order to pretest the models. Findings - This research suggests a medical tourism system framework and a medical service provision framework. The first model presents medical tourism components and their relationships within a framework presented in a diagram. The second model shows the relationships among medical services required by medical tourists, the service providers, and service human resources along with movements of medical tourists. Originality/value - The first model presents a spatial composition of medical tourism components and their relationships, whereas the second model shows the linkage among medical services, the service providers, and relevant service human resources along with time sequential steps of medical tourists. These two models are complementary and may be used as useful tools to observe medical tourism phenomenon with a systemic and holistic approach. These two models may enable stake holders avoid unnecessary confusions and conflicts that result in duplication of government policies and a waste of budget and human resources.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was conducted by the 2020 Hallym Research Fund (HRF-202008-007).

References

  1. Aizura, A. Z. (2010), "Feminine Transformations: Gender Reassignment Surgical Tourism in Thailand", Medical Anthropology, 29(4), 424-443. https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2010.501314
  2. Alizadeh, K. (2019), "Commentary on: Surgical Management of Cosmetic Surgery Tourism-Related Complications: Current Trends and Cost Analysis Study of the Financial Impact on the UK National Health Service (NHS)", Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 39(7), 792-793. https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjz061
  3. Balaban, V. and C. Marano (2010), "Medical Tourism Research: A Systematic Review", International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 14(1), 135.
  4. Beladi, H., C. C. Chao, M. S. Eh and D. Hollas (2019), "Does Medical Tourism Promote Economic Growth? A Cross-Country Analysis", Journal of Travel Research, 58(1), 121-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287517735909
  5. Bell, S. and S. Morse (1999), Sustainability Indicators: Measuring the Immeasurable, London: Earthscan.
  6. Bird, D. K., G. Gisladottir and D. Dominey-Howes (2010), "Volcanic Risk and Tourism in Southern Iceland: Implications for Hazard, Risk and Emergency Response Education and Training", Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 189(1-2), 33-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.09.020
  7. Bies, W. and L. Zacharia (2007), "Medical Tourism: Outsourcing Surgery", Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 46, 1144-1159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcm.2007.03.027
  8. Bull, A. (1992), The Economics of Travel and Tourism, Melbourne: Pitman.
  9. Caplan, A. I. (2019), "Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine", In A. I. Caplan (Ed.), Principles of Regenerative Medicine, NY: Academic Press, 219-227.
  10. Capra, F. (1983), The Turning Point: Science, Society and the Rising Culture, NY: Bantam Books.
  11. Capra, F. (1991), The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, 3rd ed., Boston: Shambhala Publications.
  12. Capra, F. (1996), The Web of Life: A New Synthesis of Mind and Matter, London: Harper Collins.
  13. Chinai, R. and R. Goswami (2007), "Medical Visas Mark Growth of Indian Medical Tourism", Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 85, 164-165. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.07.010307
  14. Clayton, A. M. H. and N. J. Redcliffe (1996), Sustainability: A System Approach, London: Earthscan.
  15. Cohen, C. B. and P. J. Cohen (2010), "International Stem Cell Tourism and the Need for Effective Regulation: Part I: Stem Cell Tourism in Russia and India: Clinical Research, Innovative Treatment, or Unproven Hype?", Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 20(1), 27-49. https://doi.org/10.1353/ken.0.0305
  16. Connell, J. (2006), "Medical Tourism: Sea, Sun, Sand and Surgery", Tourism Management, 27, 1093-1100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2005.11.005
  17. Connell, J. (2013), "Contemporary Medical Tourism: Conceptualization, Culture and Commodification. Tourism Management, 34, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2012.05.009
  18. Cormany, D. (2008), "Taking a Pulse on Potential Medical Tourism", Medical Tourism, 7, 34-37.
  19. Crush, J. and A. Chikanda (2015), South-South Medical Tourism and the Quest for Health in Southern Africa", Social Science & Medicine, 124, 313-320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.06.025
  20. Dalen, J. E. and J. S. Alpert (2019), "Medical Tourists: Incoming and Outgoing", The American Journal of Medicine, 132(1), 9-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2018.06.022
  21. Deora, H. (2019), "Emerging Legal Issues in Medicine and Health-Care", Neurology India, 67(2), 626. https://doi.org/10.4103/0028-3886.257997
  22. Dogru, T., C. Isik and E. Sirakaya-Turk (2019), "The Balance of Trade and Exchange Rates: Theory and Contemporary Evidence from Tourism", Tourism Management, 74, 12-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.01.014
  23. Edelheit, J. S. (2008), "Defining Medical Tourism or Not?", Medical Tourism, 5, 9-10.
  24. Edelheit, J. S. (2019), State of the Medical Tourism Industry. Avail from https://www.medicaltourismmag.com.
  25. Gaines, J. and C. V. Lee (2019), "Medical Tourism", In J. Gaines (Ed.), Travel Medicine, Oxford: Elsevier, 371-375.
  26. Garcia-Altes, M. (2005), "The Development of Health Tourism Services", Annals of Tourism Research, 32(1), 262-266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2004.05.007
  27. Gauthier, S., J. Mausbach, T. Reisch and C. Bartsch (2015), "Suicide Tourism: A Pilot Study on the Swiss Phenomenon", Journal of Medical Ethics, 41(8), 611-617. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2014-102091
  28. Getz, D. (1986), "Models in Tourism Planning: Towards Integration of Theory and Practice", Tourism Management, 7(1), 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/0261-5177(86)90054-3
  29. Goeldner, C. R. and J. B. R. Ritchie (2008), Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies, 11th ed., NY: John Wiley & Sons.
  30. Goodrich, J. N. and G. E. Goodrich (1987), "Healthcare Tourism - An Exploratory Study", Tourism Management, 8(3), 217-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/0261-5177(87)90053-7
  31. Gunn, C. A. and T. Var (2002), Tourism Planning: Basics, Concepts, Cases, 4th ed., NY: Routdge.
  32. Habibi, A. and A. A. M. Ariffin (2019), "Value as a Medical Tourism Driver Interacted by Experience Quality", Anatolia, 30(1), 35-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2018.1496122
  33. Horowitz, M. D. (2007), "Medical Tourism-Health Care in the Global Economy", Physician Executive, 33(6), 24.
  34. Horowitz, M. D., J. A. Rosensweig and C. A. Jones (2007), "Medical Tourism: Globalization of the Healthcare Marketplace", Medscape General Medicine, 9(4), 33-42.
  35. Jaramillo, J., D. Goyal and C. Lung (2019), "Birth Tourism among Chinese Women", The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 44(2), 94-99. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMC.0000000000000500
  36. Kavenska, V. and H. Simonova (2015), "Ayahuasca Tourism: Participants in Shamanic Rituals and Their Personality Styles, Motivation, Benefits and Risks", Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 47(5), 351-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2015.1094590
  37. Kunwar, R. R. (2019), "Medical Tourism and Hospitality in Hospital", Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, 10(1), 67-123.
  38. Lautier, M. (2008), "Export of Health Services from Developing Countries: The Case of Tunisia", Social Science & Medicine, 67, 101-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.01.057
  39. Leiper, N. (1979), "A Framework of Tourism", Annals of Tourism Research, 6, 390-407. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(79)90003-3
  40. Leiper, N. (1995), Tourism Management, Melbourne: Collingwood, RMIT Press.
  41. Lunt, N. and P. Carrera (2010), "Medical Tourism: Assessing the Evidence on Treatment Abroad", Maturitas, 66(1), 27-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2010.01.017
  42. Market & Research (2019a), Medical Tourism: Market Outlook and Trends. Avail at https://www.reportlinker.com.
  43. Market & Research (2019b), Asia Medical Tourism Market and Forecast to 2022. Avail at https://www.reportlinker.com.
  44. Market & Research (2019c), Global Health and Wellness Tourism. Avail at https://www.reportlinker.com.
  45. Mathijsen, A. (2019), "Home, Sweet Home? Understanding Diasporic Medical Tourism Behavior: Exploratory Research of Polish Immigrants in Belgium", Tourism Management, 72, 373-385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.12.009
  46. Medhekar, A., H. Y. Wong and J. E. Hall (2019), "Factors Influencing Inbound Medical Travel to India", Journal of Health Organization and Management, 33(2), 155-172. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-08-2018-0234
  47. Medical Tourism Association (2010), "Patient Survey - Bumrungard International", Medical Tourism, 14, 22-25.
  48. Mill, R. C. and A. M. Morrison (2009), The Tourism System, 6th ed., Dubuque: Kendall Hunt.
  49. Ministry of Health and Welfare (2018), 2018 Report of Statistics for Foreign Patients Attraction. Avail at http://www.mohw.go.kr/react/index.
  50. Nikbin, D., A. Batouei, M. Iranmanesh, K. Kim and S. S. Hyun (2019), "Hospital Prestige in Medical Tourism: Empirical Evidence from Malaysia", Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(4), 521-535. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2019.1582397
  51. Pratt, S., D. Tolkach and K. Kirillova (2019), "Tourism & Death", Annals of Tourism Research, 78, 102758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2019.102758
  52. Reed, C. M. (2008), "Medical Tourism", The Medical Clinics of North America, 92(6), 1433-1446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2008.08.001
  53. Sadeh, E. and M. Garkaz (2019), "Interpretive Structural Modeling of Quality Factors in Both Medical and Hospitality Services in the Medical Tourism Industry", Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(2), 253-267. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2018.1527273
  54. Sethna, C. and M. Doull (2012), "Accidental Tourists: Canadian Women, Abortion Tourism, and Travel", Women's Studies, 41(4), 457-475. https://doi.org/10.1080/00497878.2012.663260
  55. Smith, M. and L. Puczko (2009), Health and Wellness Tourism, Oxford: Elsevier.
  56. Stephano, R. M. and J. Edelheit (2010), Medical Tourism: An International Healthcare Guide for Insurers, Employers and Governments, Global Health Insurance Publications.
  57. Ten Brink, B.J.E., S. H. Hosper and F. Colijn (1991), "A Quantitative Method for Description and Assessment of Ecosystems: the AMOEBA - Approach", Marine Pollution Bulletin, 23, 265-270. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-326X(91)90685-L
  58. Veal A.J. (1997), Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism: A Practical Guide, 2nd ed. London: Pitman.
  59. UNWTO (2007), Tourism Highlights 2007 Edition, Madrid: UNWTO.
  60. UNWTO (2018), Tourism Highlights 2018 Edition, Madrid: UNWTO.
  61. UNWTO (2019), Tourism Highlights 2019 Edition, Madrid: UNWTO.
  62. Watsom, E. (2008), "Accreditation of Overseas Hospitals: JCI or ISQua", Medical Tourism, 2, 12.
  63. Wilson, A. (2011), "Foreign Bodies and National Scales: Medical Tourism in Thailand", Body & Society, 17(2-3), 121-137. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034X11400923
  64. Woodman, J. (2008), Patients Beyond Borders: Everybody's Guide to Affordable World-class Medical Tourism, NC: Healthy Travel Media.
  65. Zarei, A. and F. Maleki (2019), "Asian Medical Marketing: A Review of Factors Affecting Asian Medical Tourism Development", Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 20(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008x.2018.1438959