Abstract
Introduction: The State of Kuwait spends large sums of governmental funds on sending patients abroad to receive medical treatment. This study aimed to explain the rationale behind receiving primary medical care overseas, given the expense and inconvenience, from the perspective of Kuwaiti patients whose applications were approved. Methods: The survey was designed based on recommendations from an expert panel of physicians working in Kuwait and aimed to give insight into outbound medical services as perceived by the Kuwaiti population. Using Google Forms, the survey was sent electronically to 1067 patients who received treatment abroad sponsored by the government in the year 2018, and 590 responses were returned. The study itself explored reasons for seeking treatment abroad, finances, preferred countries, and whether there were touristic reasons behind such practice. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: Overall, males (52.3%) and females (47.7%) were equally represented in the study sample. The mean age for the study sample was 41±13.4 years. Approximately 45.3% of the respondents were married and had children. Of the remaining respondents, 21.9% were married with no children and 23.8% were single without children. All respondents received medical treatment abroad, and 52.3% of the married respondents and 47.7% of the single respondents stated that they received treatment once and more than once, respectively. Conclusion: Most Kuwaiti citizens do not have faith in the Kuwaiti medical system. Therefore, heavy investments are needed to send patients abroad.
Highlights
The State of Kuwait spends large sums of governmental funds on sending patients abroad to receive medical treatment
Despite many claims that there is a decline in outbound medical tourism, given submissions to Parliament revealed that the trend of traveling overseas for medical treatment increased astronomically in 2017.6,7 To slash the cost of sponsoring Kuwaitis abroad for medical treatment, new regulations for overseas treatment was endorsed by the Minister of Health in 2017
Survey Validity and Reliability In this study, domestic issues in Kuwait, costs of treatment abroad, language barrier, level of complications, and perceived experience abroad were considered to be factors that could determine the attitude of Kuwaitis toward health tourism
Summary
The State of Kuwait spends large sums of governmental funds on sending patients abroad to receive medical treatment. Citizens of various countries have the leverage to seek medical care in any country of their choice, even in non-emergency conditions.[1] The practice of seeking medical care abroad in non-emergency situations is known as medical tourism.[2] No general term has yet been coined for patients seeking healthcare elsewhere. They are generally referred to as “medical tourists” or “health tourists.”. In a step toward eradicating corruption and political influence, the use of public funds for overseas treatment was made subject to approval by an independent medical board before the release of funds.[6,7,8]
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