The short answer: It
depends on who you ask.
The medical fraternity
only understands “Medical Travel”. Patients travel from their home countries to
access affordable, quality healthcare. The Hospitals are geared to provide them
with quality pre and post-operative care. The doctors are there to offer global
standards of healthcare excellence. The facilitators and agents – usually linked
to the Hospital industry – are there to ensure that the whole process of arriving,
getting the procedure done, recuperating and going back to the home country is
as seamless as possible.
The focus is clearly on
treatment as the number one priority. Everything else is secondary. This may
mean diet and movement restrictions, being lonely in a strange country, high
levels of anxiety and anticipation, unfamiliar clinical environment. All of
which makes it a stressful experience that will not be repeated unless
absolutely essential. It obviously doesn’t make for many fond memories.
From the perspective of
the patient, this makes some sense. The primary motivation for travel is to
procure low cost, quality treatment that is unavailable in their home country
due to a variety of reasons. Affordability is not the only driver. In some
cases, patients choose to travel because the waiting period for treatment is
too long. Or the co-payment options are much higher than comparative,
out-of-pocket treatment abroad. In a few cases, it may also be to ensure that
certain procedures, not considered legal or ethical in their home countries,
can only be accessed abroad. Such travelers are surely interested primarily in
the treatment. However that may not be the only thing they are looking for.
Enter “Medical Tourism”. This
is when we take the primary motivations of the medical traveler, add some
frills, relaxation and destination marketing to it and create a more holistic
offering. In addition to the treatment and care we could potentially offer the
following:
- Tourism options at the destination
- Cultural experiences
- Gastronomic discovery experiences
- Relaxation offerings coupled with wellness (think spas, yoga retreats)
Basically anything that
typically goes into offering a great vacation experience and building fond memories. The primary insight
into this is that the patient need not be made to feel like a patient at all
times – even if that is the primary motive for travel. This is especially true
of countries in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe which have a lot to
offer beyond qualified medical professionals and affordable treatment & care.
Think of how a Cultural
immersion would benefit the Medical tourist in countries like Turkey, Brazil
and India. Or how coupling scenic getaways in Thailand and Malaysia could
enhance treatment outcomes! Or even how indulging in a bit of adventure tourism
in scenic Bulgaria or Costa Rica could give the patient an unforgettable
holiday experience – made better by the affordable treatment secured!
The challenge is with
governmental bodies and regulators. In most countries, the Health and Tourism
ministries don’t typically have areas of overlap. Even with countries that have
a record of being Medical Tourism destinations, it is primarily private
Hospital Chains or non-governmental bodies who have cobbled together the
offering. They have not succeeded because of government initiative; rather
despite it!
The question is not
whether the classification should remain a medical traveler or a medical
tourist. Rather, it is the ability to document how pure medicine versus
medicine coupled with relaxation can help produce better outcomes. One the data
reveals a trend, maybe medical practitioners and tourism marketers will finally
see the value in working closely to create, sustain and grow a rapidly
expanding category in tourism.
