Medical Tourism: A Conceptual Framework for an Innovation in Global Healthcare Provision

Medical Tourism: A Conceptual Framework for an Innovation in Global Healthcare Provision

Anita Medhekar, Ho Yin Wong, John Hall
ISBN13: 9781466665439|ISBN10: 1466665432|EISBN13: 9781466665446
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6543-9.ch013
Cite Chapter Cite Chapter

MLA

Medhekar, Anita, et al. "Medical Tourism: A Conceptual Framework for an Innovation in Global Healthcare Provision." Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, edited by Information Resources Management Association, IGI Global, 2015, pp. 198-220. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6543-9.ch013

APA

Medhekar, A., Wong, H. Y., & Hall, J. (2015). Medical Tourism: A Conceptual Framework for an Innovation in Global Healthcare Provision. In I. Management Association (Ed.), Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 198-220). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6543-9.ch013

Chicago

Medhekar, Anita, Ho Yin Wong, and John Hall. "Medical Tourism: A Conceptual Framework for an Innovation in Global Healthcare Provision." In Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, edited by Information Resources Management Association, 198-220. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2015. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6543-9.ch013

Export Reference

Mendeley
Favorite

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to establish a conceptual model that can potentially fill research gaps in the literature about medical tourism as an innovative concept in global healthcare provision by developing emerging economies as they are providing low cost alternatives in medical treatment at internationally accredited medical facilities to treat patients from developed countries. Major databases such as Ebscohost and Emerald have been used to search relevant literature. The literature on medical tourism is reviewed so as to understand the key drivers of medical tourism as well as research gaps in the existing literature. Three major drivers of medical tourism have been identified, namely cost, waiting time, and perceived quality. Further empirical research is needed to test the conceptual model in order to better understand what drives a decision to engage in medical tourism. This chapter makes three major contributions; firstly, the identification of the medical tourism literature from the service marketing and management perspectives; secondly, to propose a conceptual model representing innovation in medical tourism for global healthcare by developing emerging economies; thirdly, the identification of research gaps in the medical tourism literature through which future research can further the knowledge of why people travel to developing countries for medical treatment.

Request Access

You do not own this content. Please login to recommend this title to your institution's librarian or purchase it from the IGI Global bookstore.