• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.333-341
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• 2015

This article aimed to investigate problems relating to medical tourism based on a review of medical tourism reports and statistics in the global healthcare industry. To be a leading nation in the global healthcare industry, the needs and culture of many peoples, including Muslims, should be considered. Qualified medical services by JCI certification, including nutrition services, will provide opportunities to participate in the international and Asia medical tourism markets. In this article, the definitions of medical tourism, medical service, Halal and Haram, nutrition service for inbound Muslim patients, and Halal food supply in Korea were examined for medical service improvement. Mutual assistance between the government and private enterprise, sharing of medical service information, and construction of a cooperative network system are needed and should be supported by the government.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.373-385
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• 2022

Due to the lack of information, medical tourists are regarded to be at high risk. Prior medical tourism research has found that various types of perceived risks have a significant impact on medical tourists' purchase behavior. Even though medical tourism is predicted to increase, there is a lack of behavioral research to explain how perceived risks affect medical tourists' purchase behavior. In the context of Korean medical tourism, this study attempts to evaluate the effects of multi-level (macro, organizational, and personal) factors on medical tourists' perceived risks and purchase intentions. A conceptual model and hypotheses were built and empirically validated to investigate links between multi-level characteristics, perceived risks, and purchasing intentions. The data for this study was collected from Chinese tourists using a questionnaire. The impact of cognitive country image, affective country image, and medical service quality on fundamental risk is confirmed by statistical testing. Surprisingly, expectancy discrepancy risk is influenced only by cognitive country image and information search capabilities. Both fundamental and expectation discrepancy risks lower medical tourists' purchase intentions. The findings of this study show that a multi-level strategy is required to investigate the links between perceived risks and medical tourism purchasing intentions based on macro, organizational, and personal factors.

• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.115-120
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• 2018

Current medical tourism is focused on the services of large hospitals and it is hard to find ways to attract the users. Users collect information for medical tourism through various paths in order to receive the medical consultations and customized tour services. To expand medical tourism to small and medium sized hospitals, it is necessary to have the customized medical consultations, tours and interpreter services, which are the key elements of medical tourism. This study suggests ways to provide the services based on information on medical consultations, tours and interpreter services that users had experienced directly, and also based on the platform for the essential items integrated from users, hospitals and guides' viewpoints. With information on hospitals that provide medical consultations and guides who are able to provide professional services in translation, interpretation and customized tour, users may accumulate and share the information about hospitals and customized tours verified by other users from the integrated platform. To match the contents provided by hospitals and guides with information experienced by users into a system, this study suggests the construction plan for the service model that can match the experience information between users and hospitals, between users and guides and between hospitals and guides systematically by operating the data in the universal container.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.193-207
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• 2010

This paper examined the impact of medical esthetic tourism and the recognition of Halleu consciousness (Korean wave) on tourism image, Korean food consciousness, tourist satisfaction and tourist behaviour intention to achieve the aimed purpose of the paper, pre-tested questionnaire that distributed by pre-arranged MA students to deluxe hotels and plastic surgery hospitals was questioned and filled up by Japanese and Chinese tourists who visited Korea for a medical-related purpose. For sampling technique and size, random sampling was used and 211 copies of the questionnaire were collected. Linear regression through PASW 18.0 as a main statistical analysing method was used to examine the hypothesis and the result showed that medical esthetic tourism and recognition of Halleu had positive effects on tourism image, Korean food consciousness, tourist satisfaction and tourist behavioral intention(p<0.001). In particular, the result revealed that esthetic tourism and the recognition of Halleu as the main key factors had strong effects on Korean food consciousness even though there were a number of variety components in tourism. Therefore, to make inbound medical esthetic tourism and the recognition of Halleu more stable and sustainable and make Korean food world-wide recognized, more strategic policies for a specific tourism market are required.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.78-97
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to analyze activating factors of medical tourism at Busan, and then decide on priority on the factors. As research methods, this study deduced priority of specialists' opinions by AHP analysis technique through structuralized questionnaire on the medical tourism's factors having been suggested from existing prior studies. The analysis results were same as followings. First, as a result of analysis on the main criteria, relative levels of importance were appeared high such as 'competitiveness', 'policy assistances from the government', 'medical care's infrastructure', and 'connectedness with regions' in order. Second, as a result of integrated results analyzing detailed criteria on the main evaluation standards, relative levels of importance were appeared high such as 'medical quality', 'health-related institution's improvement', 'medical infrastructure', 'medical charge', 'tourism-related institution's improvement', 'convenience', 'medical cooperation possibilities', and 'local industry compliance' in order. In conclusion, it is judged that activation of medical tourism shall be propelled after considering relative levels of importance on many policies or activating factors same as suggested in this study.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.137-157
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• 2020

The medical tourism industry, a convergence of medical services and tourism, has been getting more and more popularity as a new value-added industry in the 21st century. Accordingly, the number of professional workers within this industry has been increasing, and the role of educational institutions to cultivate well-equipped human resources has also become critical. However, compared to practically activated medical tourism-related education programs, studies investigating the effectiveness of these education programs are relatively rare. Therefore, this study attempts to examine the effect of five dimensions of medical tourism education service quality (i.e., tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy) on learners' education satisfaction and transfer of education training. In addition, the moderating roles of national relations as well as organizational characteristics (i.e., transfer climate and support of supervisors and colleagues) in the relationship between education satisfaction and transfer of education training are further verified. The results of the structural equation model (SEM) using 151 samples from respondents with experience in completing medical tourism education programs reveal that tangibles, reliability, and assurance are found to have a significant impact on education satisfaction, which in turn leads to a high level of transfer of education training. Moreover, it is found that national relations and support of supervisors and colleagues play a moderating role. This study would provide guidelines for improving the efficiency of educational institutions, creating outcomes for learners' affiliated firms (e.g., hospitals), and promoting medical tourism at the national level from the perspective of medical tourism education.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.309-328
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find a way to improve the quality of medical tourism education services in Korea. Methods: This study used a method of conducting a survey of students who have completed medical tourism education and customer satisfaction coefficient and potential customer satisfaction index were calculated by applying the Kano model. Results: The results of this study are as follows; First, Eight medical tourism education service quality factors were classified as an attractive quality attribute. Second, Thirteen medical tourism education service quality factors were classified as an one-dimensional quality attribute. Third, Online education operation factor was classified as an indifferent quality attribute. Fourth, Instructor quality factor and physical environment quality factor showed relatively high better and high worse coefficients. Finally, According to the PCSI index, it was found that the scope of improvement was the largest when focusing intensively on the quality factors of instructors. Conclusion: This study suggests strategic implications for nurturing excellent professional manpower through quality improvement of education services by identifying the quality factors of major medical tourism education services perceived by students.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.78-90
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to propose ways of promoting medical tourism in Busan. For the purpose, this researcher made a questionnaire survey of Japanese tourists who used in Busan International Ferry Terminal between January and April 30, 2008. Findings of the study can be summarized as follows. 86.3% of all respondents had never experienced any medical service in Korea. 57.3% said that the most important thing is the level of medical technology. Most of respondents preferred massage treatment using spa and sea water, followed by Oriental medical services. To make medical conditions(price competitiveness, high-level medical technology, high-quality medical facilities) of Busan properly informed to the outside, it is required to make the city itself more internationally recognized through public relations and strengthening individual medical services provided in the city. It is also required to build up a non-stop service system that helps foreign tourists not only easily use medical institutions, but also better cope with a variety of problems that they might face during stay in the city. To be more trustable to foreign patients, medical services of Busan should be certified by JCI. Furthermore, it is very much needed to develop products which connect medicine with tourism, for example, such programs that combine medical services, tourism, recreation and leisure.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.64-73
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• 2015

Medical tourism in Korea has been rapidly grown for last couple of years, based on exclusive support from Korean government. About 60,000 foreign patients received medial services in 2009, an initial stage of entering medical tourism business, and the number of foreign patients received medical services in Korea hiked to more than 266 thousands in 2014, which is showing 34.7% of annual average increase between 2009 and 2014. Diversification of target markets and service areas contributed on this remarkable growth. This paper describes current status of medical tourism in Korea as well as various supports from government for the growth of medical tourism. In addition, the paper presents approaches for brand marketing, by utilizing 7Ps, the marketing mix (a.k.a. service mix), in order to increase awareness and competitiveness of medical services of Korea in global market.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.99-109
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• 2014

Airline and medical industry in Korea have rapidly grown since 21st century. However, air ambulance service using an aircraft has not as popular as in Japan, Europe or United States. Central government has decided to start emergency helicopter service since 2011 to transport emergency patients transported in the past by fire fighter helicopter. Unfortunately, 32 OECD countries out of 33 have operated emergency aircraft system except Korea. There are more than 25 emergency helicopters in Japan, which can operate within five minutes. Such system could save a lot of social direct or in-direct cost by saving valuable lives of Japan citizens. This paper has tried to research the perception of overseas Russian medical tourists on using Air ambulance for their medical tourism to Korea. Researching air ambulance, this paper expects to find ways to enhance both medical tourism industry and airline, business jet industry. According to research results, it was proven that tangibility of medical tourism service has a positive effect on the human factor of air ambulance. The human factor has also a significant impact on the passenger comfortableness of air ambulance. Such comfortableness increases the overall satisfaction of medical tourism.