Understanding Medical Tourism

Abstract

This article aims to provide an understanding of medical tourism. The section Growth of Medical Tourism provides a background about the growth of medical tourism and insight into the historical development of this concept. The section Medical Tourism through a Systems Thinking Perspective provides a systems view of medical tourism. Utilizing systems thinking approach, the role of medical tourism in the overall system of healthcare is presented. A special focus is on the markets and resources responsible for propelling this process. The section Economic Drivers of Medical Tourism, with illustrative graphs and figures encourages one to understand the advanced concepts of demand and supply for medical tourism and role of health insurance in its long and short run. The last two sections, Health Policy Issues in Medical Tourism and The Future of Medical Tourism discuss some of the policy issues and future of medical tourism.