Professor Russell Manion is part of a team of researchers led by Dr Neil Lunt at University of York which has been exploring the economic and social impact of medical tourism. In an article published in the journal Policy & Politics, the researchers challenge the idea that ever greater numbers of patients are prepared to travel across national borders to receive medical treatment.
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HSMC's Professor Russell Manion is part of a team of researchers led by Dr Neil Lunt at University of York which has been exploring the economic and social impact of medical tourism. In an article published in the journal Policy & Politics, the researchers challenge the idea that ever greater numbers of patients are prepared to travel across national borders to receive medical treatment.
‘Medical tourism’ is where people leave their own country to seek medical treatment abroad. They are typically treated as private patients and the costs are fully recouped. This is distinct from ‘health tourism’ where there is not always an intention to pay.
In the article, the authors, who include academics from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Royal Holloway University, and the University of Birmingham, looked beyond the NHS and the UK to address the wider international issues of medical tourism, examining how other countries are addressing this global phenomenon.
They describe ‘three myths’ of medical tourism: the rise and rise of medical tourism; enormous global market opportunities; and that national governments have a role to play in stimulating the medical tourism sector through high-tech investment.
The researchers say these three widely-held assumptions cannot be backed up with hard evidence but are encouraged by interested parties such as healthcare providers, and brokers and facilitators who act as intermediaries between providers and patients.
Lead author Dr Neil Lunt, from the University of York’s Department of Social Policy and Social Work, said: “In the past decade or so, the global health policy literature and consultancy reports have been awash with speculations about patient mobility, with an emphasis on how ever greater number of patients are travelling across national jurisdictions to receive medical treatments.Yet authoritative data on numbers and flows of medical tourists between nations and continents is tremendously difficult to identify. What data does exist is generally provided by stakeholders with a vested interest rather than by independent research institutions. What is clear is that there exists no credible authoritative data at the global level, which is why we are urging caution to governments and other decision-makers who see medical tourism as a lucrative source of additional revenue. Our message is: be wary of being dazzled by the lure of global health markets, and of chasing markets that do not exist.”
The paper was informed by a research project funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research (NIHR HS&DR) Programme. It uses the findings from a two-year study into the impact of medical tourism on the UK’s health system to make broader observations which the researchers believe apply to medical tourism globally.
The report authors argue that in terms of medical tourism, a level playing field does not necessarily exist and they challenge the view of open and global markets. Networks, history and relationships, they say, may explain a great deal about the success of particular destinations.
"Dr Daniel Horsfall, from York’s Department of Social Policy and Social Work, who carried out the statistical analysis for the study, said: “We found that historical flows between different countries and cultural relations account for a great deal of the trade. The destinations of medical tourists are typically based on geo-political factors, such as colonialism and existing trade patterns. For example, you find that medical tourists from the Middle East typically go to Germany and the UK due to existing ties, while Hungary attracts medical tourists from Western Europe owing to its proximity.”
The article ‘Market size, market share and market strategy: Three myths of medical tourism’ is published online in the journal Policy and Politics.
The project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme (project number 09/2001/21). The National Institute of Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research (NIHR HS&DR) Programme was established to fund a broad range of research. It builds on the strengths and contributions of two NIHR research programmes: the Health Services Research (HSR) programme and the Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) programme, which merged in January 2012. The programme aims to produce rigorous and relevant evidence on the quality, access and organisation of health services, including costs and outcomes. The programme will enhance the strategic focus on research that matters to the NHS. The HS&DR Programme is funded by the NIHR with specific contributions from the CSO in Scotland, NISCHR in Wales and the HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland.
