Development Of Medical Tourism Research Articles

Barriers of medical tourism development in Iran

ABSTRACT This study aimed to provide an overview of obstacles of medical tourism development in Iran. In a systematic review through searching online database including PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and Persian databases using related keywords, all qualitative and mix method studies published in English and Persian were selected, and the data were analysed using content analysis. Fourteen studies were analysed, and main obstacles were categorized into three main themes and 12 sub-themes including infrastructure factors (4 sub-themes), government-related or inter-sectoral factors (5 sub-themes) and health sector related or intra-sectoral factors (3 sub-themes). Developing marketing, improving international relations, supporting the capabilities of private sectors, and developing guidelines for insurance and tariffs are suggestions that can be helpful in reducing existing problems.

ŞABRAN RAYONUNUN TƏBİİ ŞƏRAİT VƏ EHİYATLARININ TƏSƏRRÜFATIN İNKİŞAFI BAXIMINDAN İQTİSADİ – COĞRAFİ XARAKTERİSTİKASI

The article assesses the natural conditions and resources of Shabran region in terms of economic development and analyzes its economic and geographical characteristics. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the region has a very high natural resource potential. In particular, its coastal strip creates favorable conditions for the development of the tourism complex, and mineral water fields create favorable conditions for the development of medical tourism. Although the total area is 108.8 thousand , 52.2 thousand or more than 48% of the total area is agricultural land. Analysis of the complex of natural conditions shows that the region has a natural resource potential that can affect the development of a very high economic complex. In the near future, we have recommended the inclusion of this potential in the development cycle of the economy as a key strategic direction. Also, specialization of the agriculture in accordance with the natural potential of the altitude zones should be considered as a necessary condition. Key words: natural conditions, resource potential, elevation zones, water resources, minerals, vegetation, ground cover

Medical Tourism: Analysis of the State of International Tourism and Prospects for Domestic Development

Medical tourism is a relatively popular area of tourism, and the primary purpose is to organize the treatment of a patient abroad. It differs from usual tourism in that rest abroad is combined with medical services, which are ready to provide the world's leading centres and clinics. The study is devoted to developing recommendations for ensuring the sustainable development of Ukrainian medical tourism, based on the analysis of international tourism achievements. In their study, the authors similarly considered the very concept of medical tourism, its features and main directions, namely, the authors deemed such directions as diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitation, health-improving and non-traditional tourism. The authors examined the leading countries of inbound medical tourism, as well as the key incentives for such tourists. Analysis of the growth dynamics of medical tourists by year and the main directions of medical tourism in Ukraine allowed the authors to highlight the most promising Ukrainian medical tourism destinations. In conclusion, the authors analyzed the benefits of international and Ukrainian medical tourism. Summing up, the authors concluded that medical tourism in Ukraine is only at the initial stage of its development; however, certain regions have significant potential for its successful formation.

The trends and perspectives of development of medical tourism

The article demonstrates that over the past few years medical tourism market goes through significant changes . This especially relates to regional economy and its aspects in the field of tourism. The article presents an important conclusion that nowadays the top-priority factor in the development of medical tourism is a number of crisis points in provision of health tourism services both in the regions of Russia and in the capital region that are related to pandemic and its consequences. The article considers complex of factors related just to epidemiological crisis and its consequences? including economic and social factors related to health-preserving technologies of medical tourism industry. The actual condition of tourism industry, as a branch of the Russian economy,demonstrates that it was among the first ones hit by the pandemic. The article emphasizes that due to emerging problematic trends during epidemics and their aftermaths the possibilities of providing medical tourism services and their concentration in the country, costs and conditions are changing that undoubtedly impact the economic component and health ecology aspects. The conclusion is made that among main conditions of adjustment of medical tourism industry to the new economic conditions are to be truly multidimensional and structured directions and tools that can be applied to look for way out of difficult situations when sales of medical services have fallen to zero, and companies are forced to work out on solutions emerging problems and to make plans of operational way out of existing crisis.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on medical tourism development

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted tourist business on global scale dramatically. The medical tourism always was considered as the most stable and the least subjected to external circumstances. However, spreading of coronavirus infection shortened both number of arrivals and volume of medical services provided within the framework of their export. The article presents data reflecting COVID-19 pandemic impact on development of medical tourism market.

Shaping the sustainable development of medical tourism in Ukraine

Due to the growing impact of tourism on the economy and the fact that tourism and medicine have become the leading industries in the world, there is a need to study and justify the prospects for development, areas of state support, and solutions to various problems in this industry. This article considers the relevance of medical tourism in Ukraine, reveals the very concept of medical tourism, its potential, popularity, and realities of implementation. The ideas of improving medical tourism and overcoming problems in their implementation are highlighted, as well as compared to the experience of foreign medical institutions. Based on the analysis of international experience, the most popular types of treatment and rehabilitation among medical tourists, as well as the main reasons for the huge gap in the cost of medical services in leading countries and countries with emerging markets are identified. The prospects of medical tourism development on the basis of state support are outlined and the solutions to various problems of this industry in the perspective for the future in Ukraine are suggested. It should be noted that the relatively low price compared to European countries is the biggest advantage of medical tourism in Ukraine. The cost of medical services in Ukraine in most cases is much lower than the cost of similar treatment in other countries. The ways to develop the medical tourism market to address economic, political, and social issues, reorganize all systems of rendering medical care, change the structure of medical education in Ukraine are offered. The following main tasks are defined: to improve the quality of domestic medical care and treatment efficiency; to improve the work of staff in providing quality services; to revise the legislative base of Ukraine, to develop the law "On Medical Tourism"; to develop the departmental regulatory framework for cooperation with foreign clients in medical institutions, primarily in the state and municipal domains; to promote Ukrainian medical tourism in the world.

The Natural Potential of the Sharyn River Basin as the Basis for Developing Health Tourism in Kazakhstan

The paper analyzes the tourist and recreational potential of the Sharyn River basin, which can serve the basis for further development of health tourism centers. The research is based on field studies of landscapes conducted in summer 2019 in the Sharyn River basin. Four key sections were laid along the Sarytugay, Moyyntukay, Temirlik, and Shonzhy routes. A digital thematic map was created in ArcGIS 10.1. The landscapes of the Sharyn River basin have a significant natural potential for developing a combined type of tourism, which includes the medical and recreational aspects of providing tourism services. Transport accessibility, a long warm season, the prevalence of clear weather in summer, attractive landscapes and water bodies, and significant biodiversity make this territory a very promising place for organizing ecological, educational, and recreational tourism. The authors note that the Sharyn State National Natural Park and the UNESCO Sharyn Biosphere Reserve are located in the studied region, and this fact guarantees preserving natural recreational resources and developing tourist routes. The sparsely populated area allows to observe animals and plants in their natural habitat. The complex of the piedmont plain Ketmen allows providing a wide range of sanatorium services, including thermal waters for heating buildings and organizing greenhouses. To prevent negative consequences of unorganized tourism and justify further investments in recreational resources development, the authors provided recommendations that would ensure the sustainable development of medical tourism. This fact creates prerequisites for forming a new health and tourist cluster of international importance in Kazakhstan.

Barriers to Medical Tourism Development in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Medical tourism is a thriving industry. Many destinations now seek to attract more medical tourists. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is no exception. As one of the most important pillars of the UAE’s economy, tourism is considered a high priority. However, medical tourism in the UAE is still developing. This paper addresses the main challenges for medical tourism in the UAE and proposes methods to enhance its development. This research utilized qualitative analysis. Twelve professionals in medical tourism were interviewed to provide data. The data were then analyzed using NVivo 12 software. Our results indicate that the key barriers to medical tourism development in the UAE are high costs of medical tourism services, lack of marketing activities, lack of collaboration between medical and tourism service providers, and so forth. Although initiatives from the UAE government are very encouraging, more efficient medical care supply networks, tourism suppliers and intermediaries should be established to ensure its growth. This research could influence national tourism policies in the UAE as well as regional alliances in all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries.

Creatividad e innovación en estrategias y políticas públicas para el desarrollo de destinos en turismo médico y de salud ante la pandemia

La comercialización de los servicios de salud en los mercados internacionales ha generado un fenómeno denominado turismo médico y de salud (TMyS) En sentido es estudio exploratorio con enfoque cualitativo que busca, a través de entrevistas a profundidad como estrategias de recolección de información, construir una red de oportunidades de desarrollo del turismo médico y de salud en la ciudad de San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora. Los informantes son actores gubernamentales, prestadores de servicios turísticos y de salud e investigadores del área, cuyas aportaciones se analizan bajo la metodología de interpretación del discurso con apoyo cualitativo del software Atlas.ti. Las conclusiones permiten demostrar el interés de los actores del sistema turístico y de salud en aplicar diferentes acciones de creatividad e innovación para el desarrollo de la actividad económica, en esta época de pandemia que requiere el diálogo entre las instituciones de poder y los sectores involucrados en su crecimiento.

РЕЄСТРАЦІЙНІ ТА ДОЗВІЛЬНІ ПРОЦЕДУРИ У СФЕРІ МЕДИЧНОГО ТУРИЗМУ

The article is focused on studying such means of administrative and legal guaranteeing as registration and authorization procedures. The purpose of the article is to provide characteristics to authorization and registration procedures as type of administrative and legal means to guarantee the development of medical tourism on the basis of the analysis of the current legislation in the field of medical tourism. The objective of the scientific research is to prepare recommendations for further improvement of the current legislation on the researched issue in the tourist and health care sectors. To achieve scientific objectivity the author has used both general and special legal research methods; the methodological basis of which was universal dialectical methods used to reveal the nature and content of authorization and registration procedures as administrative and legal means of guaranteeing the development of medical tourism. The current regulatory legal acts regulating authorization and registration procedures in the field of tourism operations and health care sector related to medical tourism have been analyzed. It has been stated that the current legislation in the field of tourism operations and health care, regulating authorization and registration procedures, requires further improvement in order to ensure the efficient development of medical tourism, the effective attraction of investment in this area. Thus, the legislation on licensing activities in the field of medical tourism should be improved due to the peculiarities and specifics of medical services as an element of the tourist product, because the activities of travel agents under the current Ukrainian legislation are not subject to licensing, as well as the operations of the companies that are providers of medical services, where licensing of travel agencies’ operations is carried out without taking into account the peculiarities of medical tourism in terms of the content of this activity. Taking into account the conflicting provisions of the current legislation regarding the nature of accreditation of health care institutions, the author has offered to establish their mandatory accreditation at the legislative level, taking into account the risk of medical activities for health and life of consumers of health care services and in order to have real quality staffing, logistical and organizational provision of such services. Visa-requiring procedures need to be simplified in order to ensure the effective development of inbound medical tourism. The formation of the Unified Information Register of Medical Institutions (national and foreign), which have agreements (concluded agreements) in the field of medical tourism acquires special significance among registration procedures.

MEDICAL TOURISM AS A CURRENT TREND OF MODERN DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF UKRAINIAN TOURISM

The article substantiates and highlights the theoretical principles and mechanisms of medical tourism development as a current trend in the modern development of tourism in Ukraine. It is noted that medical tourism is one of the most important factors in the development of health care, replenishment of the state budget, attracting foreign investment and creating a positive image of the country. The functions and classification of medical tourism as one of the types of tourist activity are studied. The preconditions and history of its development are analyzed. It is noted that since the 18th century, wealthy patients from developing countries have traveled to medical centers and resorts in Europe and the United States for treatment. And thanks to the globalization of communication and transport technologies in the late 20th century, trends began to change and less affluent people began to travel from developed countries to developing countries for treatment. The current state of development of medical tourism in the world and Ukraine is assessed. It is emphasized that Ukraine has a high potential of medical, health and recreational resources, competitive advantages in terms of price parameters and today has become one of the world leaders in medical inbound tourism in such areas as reproduction, dentistry, cardiac surgery, cell therapy, rehabilitation, including postcovid, and ophthalmology. The main directions of outbound medical tourism from Ukraine are listed. Direct participants of the medical tourism market are characterized. The geography of medical tourist flows has been studied. The functions that medical tourism plays in terms of different areas are listed. Current problems and prospects for the development of medical tourism in Ukraine are identified. A SWOT analysis of the medical tourism market in Ukraine was conducted in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the formation process and development of medical tourism also to identify threats and obstacles. The Top 10 medical institutions of Ukraine were selected according to consumer feedback and the ability to treat foreign visitors at the highest level. The ways to implement developments for the full functioning of medical tourism as a priority sector of the economy are proposed.

Russian healthcare in the development of medical tourism

The authors consider the possibilities of national health care in the context of the export of medical services. The methodology of the work is based on an approach based on different specifics of medical and healthcare tourism and their correlation. The forms of state support are described in the article. The assessment of the plan for the development of the export of medical services and the ways of its implementation are given. The following pointes are highlighted: trends in the commercialization of medical tourism, business strategy, social, economic and technological risks in the development of medical tourism, and the prospects of development. The most attractive areas of medical care in Russia for foreigners are explicated. The financial benefits of exporting medical services and the issue of Russia’s international cooperation in this area are considered.. It is done for a comparative analysis of the achievements in different countries in the medical and tourism industry. The forms of cooperation with the Joint Commission International (JCI) in promoting the export of medical services in Russia were noted. The article also deals with the problems and barriers to the development of the export of medical services and possible ways to solve them.

Management of sustainable development of medical and health-improving tourism in Ukraine

Methods.The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists related to various issues of the development of the field of medical and health-improving services, the prospects for the development of health tourism, the study of health tourism as an important area of activity in the regions; legislative and regulatory acts of Ukraine in this area, materials of specialized scientific conferences and symposia. Results. It is established that medical and health-improvingtourism is a promising and effective direction in the territorial aspect, in this regard, this type of tourism is proposed to be considered as a priority area of regional tourism policy. Specifics of formation of the system of organizational-economic and institutional conditions and factors of sustainable development of medical and healthimproving tourism are considered. The problems and prospects of functioning and further development of the sphere of medical and health-improving services in Ukraine are analyzed, and also the basic principles of the state management of medical and health-improving tourism for its sustainable development are formulated. Novelty.Practical recommendations for public administration, promotion and sustainable development of health tourism in the region are substantiated and developed, taking into account its interaction with other subsystems of tourism. Practical recommendations for the formation of strategic goals and objectives aimed at the sustainable development of medical and health-improving tourism have been formulated. Practical value. The results of the study are the basis for the sustainable development of medical and health-improving tourism, which is able to strengthen the health of the population, improve the quality of life and demographic situation in the country; to develop the infrastructure of medical and health-improving territories; to provide economic stability and profitability of all medical and health-improving complex.

The role of ethnocultural factors in the development of medical tourism

The subject of this research is the eth0culture of medical tourism. On December 17, 2020, during a large press conference, the Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the importance for the development of domestic tourism. There is much concern about the citizens’ health, which raises the question on the promotion of domestic and inbound medical tourism, which is many ways lags behind the outbound medical tourism. Attraction of foreign citizens to the healthcare centers in Russia is one of the priority tasks of the National Project “Healthcare”. In this regard, there are new approaches that are not yet implemented. It implies that medicine is a part of culture, thus cannot but be unaffected by traditions and national mentality. To a great extent, the development of positive attitudes towards medical treatment in Russia depends on ethnocultural adaptation of medical tourists. Moreover, there is a consistent group of patients oriented towards the services of ethnomedicine. There are virtually no research dedicated to ethnomedicine within the framework of sociological interest in Russian literature, which actualizes the projection of approaches presented in the foreign sources onto polyethnic diversity of Russia. The aforementioned arguments stress the need for scientific examination of the possibility of using ethnocultural factors in promotion of medical and healthcare tourism. In the categorical field of medical sciences it cannot be implemented due to the absence of the corresponding problematic and terminological apparatus. However, the sociology of culture allows studying the problem from medical, culturological, and ethnological perspective, since it possess the methodology of scientific synthesis of all listed areas of knowledge. The research of ethnocultural factors of medical domestic and inbound tourism, which suggests not only a geographical change, but a change of ethnic environment as well, defines the novelty of this work and actualizes the conclusions on the proposed measures with regards to utilization of ethnocultural component in this sphere.

Управление инфраструктурой как системой обеспечения развития медицинского туризма

The purpose of the work is to develop recommendations in the field of infrastructure management in the context of directions for the development of medical and health tourism. Infrastructure as a system is considered from the standpoint of ensuring the conditions for the implementation of an effective main (core) activity of medical organizations. The conclusions and recommendations presented in the article are based on the research results obtained using the methods of system analysis, formalization, classification, and expert assessment. The implementation of the recommendations outlined in the article will contribute to the development of medical tourism in the domestic and foreign markets of medical services.

Development of medical tourism in foreign countries

Development of medical tourism in foreign countries

СТВОРЕННЯ ТА РОЗВИТОК ТРАНСКОРДОННИХ МЕДИЧНИХ КЛАСТЕРІВ ЯК ІНСТРУМЕНТ АКТИВНОСТИ ЄВРОРЕГІОНІВ

The article substantiates the objective necessity of introducing cross-border medical clusters in the euroregions of Ukraine. Clusters are a community of firms, closely related industries that complement each other and contribute to the growth of their competitiveness, and thus they serve as "points of growth" in the development of the domestic market and the economy of the euroregions. Innovative development of the world economy, associated with progressive changes in technology and in the forms and methods of labor organization, requires new approaches to production management and significant expenditures of material, intellectual and financial resources. In modern theories of development, more and more attention is paid to problematic issues of organizational and economic classification. This will improve the level of health, maintain social stability in society, and improve the quality of medical care to the level of world standards, optimizing public spending. Innovation clusters have become the object of close attention due to the increasing role of innovation in the competition of global markets for medical services. The cross-border medical cluster provides for the creation of a strategic unit in the structure of the euroregion, which will coordinate the implementation of the strategy for the development of medical tourism, improving the collection and processing of information on incoming tourists, conducting a promotional campaign of the city in key markets and improving the tourist infrastructure and measures to support it. This type of cluster is particularly relevant for Ukraine, which has taken a course to modernize the national economy based on the priority development of high-tech and high-tech industries. Diversification of the economy of the Euroregions through the cluster approach is one of the main solutions to this problem. High-quality provision of medical services, the creation of joint clinics, can become one of the ways to diversify the economy, using the growing potential of cross-border cooperation and the flow of medical tourists.

Assessment of the quality of work of personnel in russian health resort institutions

The article substantiates the relevance of the activities of sanatorium-resort enterprises due to the pandemic. The dynamics of development of medical tourism is provided. The role of personnel in business efficiency is highlighted. Methods and indicators for analyzing the quality of personnel work are provided. A quantitative review of the sanatoriums of the Republic of Bashkortostan is provided. The intangibility of the spa service makes it impossible to study and evaluate before its receiving. This leads to difficulties in managing a specific service. Direct contact between the personnel and the guest is key for the enterprises of the spa industry. Therefore, the quality assessment will depend on many subjective and objective factors. On the example of a particular sanatorium, the quality of the work of the personnel was assessed and the factor analysis of the dissatisfaction of the clients with the work of the personnel with the Pareto diagram was carried out. Three main problems fell within the 80 % range. Measures are proposed to improve the quality of work of personnel in sanatorium-resort institutions.

The Interaction System of the Main Participants of Medical Tourism

To develop an efficient medical tourism system, it is currently necessary to identify the main participants in the system and clearly define their activities and interactions. The article determines the main participants in the system of medical tourism organization, describes their characteristics in terms of functions and objectives, and proposes the organisation concept of the interaction with international medical institutions and the scheme of the interaction between the main participants of medical tourism. The authors consider the main trends and prospects of the development of medical tourism on the basis of digital platform enabling to render the services for search and provision of quality medical services.

КУРОРТНО-ОЗДОРОВЧІ ТЕРИТОРІЇ СХІДНИХ РЕГІОНІВ УКРАЇНИ ЯК ОСНОВА РОЗВИТКУ ЛІКУВАЛЬНОГО ТУРИЗМУ

The article deals with the possibility of developing health tourism on the basis of existing resort and recreational territories in eastern Ukraine. It is established that the eastern territories of Ukraine are considered exclusively as an industrial component of our state, so they have a low level of development of medical tourism. The resort and resource base of the eastern territories, which can be used for the development of health tourism in the region, is studied. The analysis of the current state of Sanatorium-resort enterprises in the region is carried out. The problems of development of health tourism in the region are identified, including: military instability, which causes a feeling of fear of tourists about travel; stereotypical information and ideas about the Donbass; inconsistency of pricing policy with the quality of services; neglect and low competitiveness of accommodation facilities; lack of information interaction with other regions of the country and advertising of resort enterprises in the tourism market. It is established that in the region there was a sharp decrease in the number of Sanatorium-resort institutions due to long-term instability and temporary unavailability of some Resort and recreational facilities. Possible ways to overcome the problems of developing medical tourism in the resort and recreational territories of the region are proposed. It is recommended to use more intensively the existing resort and recreational potential in the form of therapeutic mineral waters and therapeutic mud used in balneology, natural and climatic features, such as access to the sea, significant forest stands, steppe expanses. It is noted that a special feature of the region is the presence in Solidar of a unique speleosanatorium, which is located underground and specializes in the treatment of diseases of the respiratory system and thyroid gland. Treatment and recovery take place in special salt rooms. The territory of our state has a unique natural and recreational potential, and the population (both local and foreign) is becoming more and more interested in the services of Sanatorium-resort enterprises.