A review of the literature with discussion of its implications for the UK National Health Service as an example of a public health care system. In recent years, due to the government's support, South Korea is becoming one of the top 10 destinations for medical tourism globally, with a focus on promoting its high-quality clinical medicine, technical proficiency of its physicians, and cutting-edge medical technology [14,15,16,17]. Following these adjustments, the number of new foreign patients taking part in South Koreas healthcare system has continued to fluctuate. 1994;272(2):1336. Inherently there remains an underlining tension between medical tourism policy goals of economic growth and the need to maintain resilience and equity in domestic public health systems. different types of room accommodations, food and beverage services, etc. undefined; 2012. p. 240. Accessed 13 Apr 2020. Our literature search was limited to the academic databases PubMed and JSTOR and the grey literature search was limited to search results prioritized by the Google search engine. Bero LA, Glantz SA, Rennie D. Publication Bias and public health policy on environmental tobacco smoke. There was a lack of studies, analytical or commentary-based, conducting in-depth analysis of the healthcare impact of these . The rationale for this ongoing support was reflected in an official 2014 brief titled Medical Globalization, the Benefits Go to Citizens, where the MOHW argued the following: The benefits of medical globalization go back to all people. Gill S, Sumant O. This piece is not under consideration in any other forum. Hunter WC. For other types of studies, we qualitatively evaluated the influence of biases which have been previously cited as being influential in health policy research. Otherwise, the health needs and wellbeing of South Koreas own citizens will likely be compromised along with national goals of maintaining UHC [56]. In contrast to public health financing through national health insurance, healthcare delivery is quite dependent on the private sector despite some public health facilities available for poorer and disadvantaged populations at the local level [61]. Welcome to South Korea This destination is one of 46 global destinations ranked within the 2020-2021 Medical Tourism Index. South Korea is emerging as a new medical tourism destination but ranks sixth among nine major Asian destinations; Thailand, Singapore, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel [15,50]. However, there is limited literature discussing medical tourism policy specific to the experience of South Korea, despite the fact that the country offers an important case study for this topic. Critical in this approach should be an honest assessment of how medical tourism not only contributes to national economic output, but also how it can negatively impact domestic healthcare costs, access and affordability to treatment, and South Koreas commitment to UHC. In addition, the review also provides critical analysis of South Koreas medical tourism industry compared to other Asian destination countries including Thailand, India, and Singapore, which the South Korean government considers as regional rivals. South Korea: inbound visitor arrivals 2021 | Statista Published 2016. undefined. Satisfaction of medical services among foreign patients South Korea 2019, by sector, Distribution of medical tourists in South Korea in 2018, by province, Medical tourists who made a tour during the visit South Korea 2019, Per capita spending of inbound medical tourists South Korea 2019, by age group, Number of hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants South Korea 2001-2020, Number of doctors per 1,000 inhabitants in South Korea 2000-2022, Facebook: quarterly number of MAU (monthly active users) worldwide 2008-2023, Quarterly smartphone market share worldwide by vendor 2009-2023, Number of apps available in leading app stores Q3 2022. South Korea has been steadily advancing in the industry of medical tourism. South Korea: inbound medical tourists by department 2021 - Statista The effects of Price and health consciousness and satisfaction on the medical tourism experience. We did not exclude literature on the basis of specific content types or study design. Lack of standardized approaches across selected studies presented challenges in assessing the potential influence of bias on the cumulative evidence for this body of literature. undefined. https://www.imtj.com/news/378967-medical-tourists-south-korea-2018/. Asia Pac J Tour Res. The website was specifically designed to introduce and promote services from South Korean hospitals and medical facilities to prospective foreign patients and has been translated into 5 different languages including English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Arabic. The same keywords in the literature review were used in structured web search queries with the addition of the equivalent Korean language terms: , , , . These estimates are based on projections that include patients traveling across international borders for both critical and less critical but still necessary procedures in addition to elective out-patient single day procedures (e.g. 1). undefined. Medical Tourism. Additionally, the potential negative impacts of investing in medical tourism did not appear to be factored into the governments analysis. Among these countries, a number of these key destinations are countries in Asia that have instituted aggressive policy initiatives seeking to promote medical tourism as a critical part of their national economic development strategy (see Table6 for summary). In February 2013, 140 national priorities were announced by former president Park Geun-hye, with global healthcare being named one of them [38]. Implications for the medical tourism sector in South Korea during the pandemic . Visitor arrivals in South Korea have shown an overall growth since year 2000. The Singaporean government helped their domestic hospitals to secure international accreditation that can help attract foreign patients as it provides an additional measure of healthcare quality and regulatory oversight [15]. Published studies were included if they directly addressed South Korean medical tourism policy. Medical Tourism in Developing Countries; 2007. p. 2139. Korea seeks to boost medical tourism as future growth engine After excluding one duplicate, 21 published articles were returned on PubMed and JSTOR that were then reviewed for relevance to the study inclusion and exclusion criteria. In 2016, based on legislative goals set by the Act, the Comprehensive Plan projected a substantial increase in the number of foreign patients that would use South Korean medical services from 0.3 million in 2015 to 0.8 million in 2021, with related revenues increasing from 666.4 billion won ($0.55 billion) to 1700 billion won ($1.40 billion) [47]. ABSTRACT. Woodman. Medical treatment in South Korea: Immediate access to the top clinics and hospitals in South Korea for international patients. Virani A, Wellstead AM, Howlett M. Where is the policy? Medical Tourism in South Korea - Medical Tourism Guide, Magazine Turner R, Freiermuth E. Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2016 Singapore. Jun J, Oh KM. J Health Commun. Int J Environ Res Pu. Dang H-S, Nguyen T-M-T, Wang C-N, Day J-D, Dang TMH. The authors declare that they have no competing interests. An English education perspective. PubMed However, this calculation did not factor in more optimistic projections of rapid growth of foreign patients hoped for to calculate this same ratio [38]. Xu, Q., Purushothaman, V., Cuomo, R.E. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Nearly 400,000 medical tourists visited South Korea in 2013, a number which was projected to rise to 1 million by 2020. All of these sources were included on the basis of being primary documents or information sources having direct relevance to recent South Korean public policy decisions on medical tourism. Despite optimistic economic growth projections, there is local opposition to the South Korean governments efforts to promote its medical tourism industry. 2020;49(2):26773. Accessed 10 Feb 2021. Despite data generally pointing to economic growth of the South Korean medical tourism industry, the 2016 Comprehensive Plan highlighted some key challenges for the sector moving forward, including low overseas awareness of South Korean medical care [33], lack of professional personnel and expertise in attracting foreign patients, cultural differences with foreign patients that impacted service appeal [21, 25], lack of customized medical services for foreign patients, and declining credibility of services due to cases of illegal and unsanctioned activities [24]. And about 65% of the people traveled to Seoul. Springer Nature. In Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions version 5.0 (eds J. Higgins & S. Green). This is particularly important in countries like South Korea, which have committed to Universal Health Coverage (UHC). ), while also allowing them toprovide various types of medical services in the role of a healthcare facility [43,44,45]. Kellley E. WHO patient safety Programme- medical tourism. Int Med Travel J. https://www.imtj.com/news/12-fewer-medical-tourists-south-korea-2017-0/. Following the impeachment of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and election in 2017 of opposition party candidate and current President Moon Jae-in, past policy positions that have continuously promoted medical tourism over the past decade need rethinking. Website results in English included 2 government websites, 5 news articles, 2 online articles, and 23 advertisement websites; Korean websites included 2 government websites, 18 news articles, 9 online articles, and 9 advertisement websites. Mapping the market for medical travel. We are happy to help. Accessed 13 Apr 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2012.658416. Korean Federation of Medical Activists Groups for Health Rights, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2015.1018574. when domestic healthcare workers leave rural areas to practice in areas with more coverage and higher income potential or when they leave public practice for private practice) to the more lucrative medical tourism market. Yu J, Lee TJ, Noh H. Characteristics of a medical tourism industry: the case of South Korea. Article Guiry M, Vequist DG. . Accessed 13 Apr 2020. The Post Pandemic Revitalization Plan for the Medical Tourism Sector in Based on this evaluation, the report recommended several additional policy actions to secure South Koreas competitive advantage in the global medical tourism industry with a focus on implementing extensive deregulation by: (a) improving investment conditions by allowing establishment of open investment (similar to for-profit) medical corporations; (b) allowing remote medical services between physicians and patients; (c) expanding the number of beds for foreign patients in hospitals; and (d) attracting large numbers of foreign patients through insurance companies [62]. The partnership is aimed at building key international collaborations in healthcare, securing investments in its medical . Medical tourism refers to the phenomenon of travelling across national borders intentionally to access a variety of medical treatments, especially modern medical treatment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.05.011. Estimating the market size and scope of this specific sector of the international healthcare industry can be challenging as there is generally no universally agreed upon definition of what constitutes medical tourism or travel and there is also a lack of verifiable data at the national level due to each governments reluctance to share information due to market competition concerns [2, 3]. Medical Tourism Guide To South Korea - IVisitKorea 2019;19(1):197. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-3965-9. Accessed 13 Apr 2020. Specifically, the South Korean government analyzed the policy and economic strategies of Thailand, Singapore and India, major competitor countries in the sector, and reported findings in its 2011 Economic Policy Coordination Committee report titled Performance of and Promotion Measures for Medical Tourism Industry [39,40,41]. RESERVE Choose your medical procedures and get ready for Korea 3. K-pop and the big 4 entertainment agencies in South Korea, Get the best reports to understand your industry, Coronavirus: impact on the tourism industry worldwide. However, only a few years after its implementation, the benefits are not well understood, nor have the positive or negative impacts of expanding Koreas medical tourism sector been properly evaluated. Eur J Pub Health. Specifically, the Thai, Indian, and Singaporean governments have provided official government support for their medical tourism industries as part of a broader agenda of economic development and tourism expansion by way of various policy initiatives, including taking part in large international trade conferences and actively advertising the attractiveness of their respective medical tourism services [24, 29, 32]. Our grey literature review provided additional details on the specific motivation, rationale, and strategy of the South Korean government in pursuing its medical tourism policy that was not available in the literature. Google Scholar. Skip to content English (Russian) WhatsApp: +82-10-2449-0215 Korean Office: +82-2-6336-6767 2005;41(3):24-6. By 2017, attracting 1.5 million overseas patients will result in medical revenues of 3.6 trillion won ($2.97 billion) and will increase the number of jobs of 28,000 (as of 2017). World Hosp Health Serv. South Korea aims to boost its medical tourism industry as a key driver of future growth, with a target of attracting 700,000 foreign patients annually from 2027. Critical success factors of medical tourism: the case of South Korea. IJERPH | Free Full-Text | The Future of Medical Tourism for - MDPI Shin J, Lee YJ, Shin J-S, Lee J, Kim H, Kim M, et al. The Moon administration should leverage its mandate for change and reform, including plans to reform and expand the countrys healthcare system, by looking carefully into the potential benefits and perils of continuing on the pathway of medical tourism expansion [69]. Hanefeld J, Smith R, Horsfall D, Lunt N. What do we know about medical tourism? In July 2011, in order to make it easier for foreign patients to take action against potential medical errors and to reduce financial risk for foreign patients, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) developed medical malpractice insurance policy covering domestic and foreign patients [42]. This review included 14 peer-reviewed journal articles and 9 websites. Medical Tourism to South Korea Thecollection of these policy recommendations by proponents in favor of increasing investment in medical tourism heavily focuses on deregulation and increasing access for foreign patients to South Korean health services despite potential negative impacts for domestic patient access. Labont R, Crooks VA, Valds AC, Runnels V, Snyder J. In addition to Google keyword searches, we also reviewed and examined documents from select South Korean government websites (Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Tourism Organization), which contained information specific to the legislative process and policy language of the Act, the Plan, and the Enforcement Plan. 2013;35:1008. Ehrbeck T, Guevara C, Mango PD. Medical Tourism Magazine. Other policy changes included giving permission to allow medical advertisements in foreign languages, representing a clear departure from strict regulations on marketing within its own national health care system [42]. Find your information in our database containing over 20,000 reports. By using this website, you agree to our Virani A, Wellstead AM, Howlett M. The north-south policy divide in transnational healthcare: a comparative review of policy research on medical tourism in source and destination countries. Cite this article. PubMed Horowitz MD, Rosensweig JA. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckt044. Published January 29, 2015. Stephano R-M. Top 10 Medical Tourism Destinations in the World. Turner R, Freiermuth E. Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2016 India. Health Care in South Korea World Travel & Tourism Council; 2016. https://www.coursehero.com/file/30357268/India2016pdf/. World Health organization; 2013. https://www.who.int/global_health_histories/seminars/kelley_presentation_medical_tourism.pdf. concluded that the Thai health system has suffered from a shortage and inequitable distribution of physicians due to shifts from public to private hospitals and that increased numbers of medical tourists are worsening this situation [38]. In 2018, the number of medical tourists had again increased to 378,967, reflecting a more modest 17.8% increase from 2017 [50]. Medical treatment in South Korea | Medical Avenue Int J Equity Health. The results of these evaluations are reflected in policy decisions pre- and post-the Act that will be discussed [26]. Prior publications have suggested that publication bias [34], surveillance bias [35], context bias [36], and omission bias [37] may be relevant to health policy research. J Healthc Manag. Your US state privacy rights, However, only two years after the Act, the adjusted plan (i.e., the Enforcement Plan) retargeted the projected goals by substantially lowering initial estimates anticipating an influx of new foreign patients. Barriers of Developing Medical Tourism in a Destination: A Case of Though a number of countries, including South Korea, have made significant economic and policy commitments to grow their medical tourism industries with the aim of promoting their domestic healthcare service and tourism sectors, the benefits remain unclear, particularly in the context of the possible negative impacts of promoting this form of domestic and international healthcare policy [58, 59]. Discover Medical Tourism to South Korea - us-uk.bookimed.com They plan to increase healthcare facilities offering e-visa applications and offer tailored packages leveraging K-pop and TV dramas. South Korea. http://medicalkorea.khidi.or.kr/I/I_02.aspx. PubMed Kwon S, Lee T, Kim C. Republic of Korea health system review. PubMed Central https://doi.org/10.1111/jtm.12147. 2007;11(08):4937. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219030307000560. South Koreas medical tourism destination brand personality and the influence of personal values. Based on our Google online search methodology, we reviewed the first 100 results returned (50 in Korean, 50 in English). Part of Int J Hosp Manag. Compared to procedures done in the US, patients can save between 30 and 85% if they have the treatment in South Korea. Accessed 13 Apr 2020. This manuscript has been seen by all authors, who have approved its content. Kim S, Lee J, Jung J. Cookies policy. Park J-K, Ahn J, Han S-L, Back K-J, An M. Exploring internal benefits of medical tourism facilitators satisfaction: customer orientation, job satisfaction, and work performance. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czl017. Following these early minor policy actions to promote medical tourism, in 2016, the Act was signed into law as a response to industry criticism that there was still insufficient legal and institutional support to grow the medical tourism industry [46]. However, lessons discussed in this review from the South Korean policy process, as well as other top destination countries, including Mexico, India, Thailand, and Malaysia, where policymaking is mostly focused on developing supply-side capacities and increasing competitiveness, often to the detriment of local and community health needs in absence of regulatory controls [56], should be acted upon with caution. The country implemented a new visa category - an M (medical) visa - to attract a growing number of medical tourists through streamlining the convenience of the immigration entry process [15]. Medical Tourism in South Korea is now an international brand: The East Asian state is among the world's best in attracting medical tourists, here's why. Among these studies we found that existing literature primarily focused on the legislative history and rationale for South Koreas enactment of pro-medical tourism policy, economic considerations and opportunities associated with growth of the industry, and the specific experiences of medical tourists visiting South Korea. McKinsey & Company; 2008. https://www.heal-wheel-india.com. Choi WA, Kim H, Lee S-C. Word-of-mouth in medical tourism: the major determinant for Emirati patients to visit Korea. Patients beyond borders: Everybodys guide to affordable, world-class medical travel. Although the number of healthcare professionals has continuously increased in response to growingdemand for healthcare services resulting from expanding health insurance coverage under UHC, the number of South Korean healthcare professionals is still below the average of other OECD countries [61]. From 2009, 630,000 foreign patients visited Korea for five years. Medical tourists in South Korea in 2021, by country of origin Health Professionals & Hospitals Distribution of medical tourists in South Korea in 2021, by department Health. Plos Med. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date Medical Tourism Market by Treatment Type (Dental Treatment, Cosmetic Treatment, Cardiovascular Treatment, Orthopedic Treatment, Neurological Treatment, Cancer Treatment, Fertility Treatment, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20182025. Critically, overreaction by acquiescing to strong demands to relax regulations and expand government support through revision of the Act from proponents of further medical tourism expansion, such as hospitals and insurance companies, needs to be carefully critiqued. Status of Inbound International Patients. Healthcare in South Korea - Wikipedia 2019;48(11):198896. For example, one policy mechanism the report identified as a means to encourage medical tourism included the creation of a medical visa system to enable foreign patients easier entry and access to the South Korean healthcare system. Seoul Guide Medical - Korea's Largest Medical Tourism Provider https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1994.03520020059016. statement and Medical tourism in Korea has become popular as the country's reputation for using innovative and cutting-edge technology and techniques has grown. These include Key Destination countries of Thailand, India, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, with South Korea being classified as an Emerging Destination. [7,8,9,10,11,12] Collectively, these rival regional economies set the stage for South Koreas own domestic approach to medical tourism policy reform that will be described and explored in this review [13]. https://doi.org/10.1097/JHM-D-18-00168. Gangnam in Seoul is a mecca of medical tourism, with the number of medical tourists reaching more than 130,000 (as of 2019). Kim M, Koo D-W, Shin D-J, Lee S-M. From Servicescape to loyalty in the medical tourism industry: a medical Clinics service perspective. BMC Public Health Seoul TouchUp is a government-approved medical tourism agency in Korea. undefined. https://www.imtj.com/news/12-fewer-medical-tourists-south-korea-2017-0/, https://www.imtj.com/news/378967-medical-tourists-south-korea-2018/, https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2011.623052, https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=fvwCvwUsIn0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR15&dq=Patients+Beyond+Borders+Malaysia+Edition:+Everybody%27s+Guide+to+Affordable, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-00566-3, https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2014.889516, https://apps.searo.who.int/PDS_DOCS/B5326.pdf, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-018-0866-1, https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2012.658416, https://www.imtj.com/news/study-details-medical-tourism-potential-and-problems, http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190702000796, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. There are many reasons as to why South Korea promotes medical tourism, as explained in the research on the rise of foreign medical tourists since 2009. www.training.cochrane.org/handbook. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. Article About South Korea Providers Barosun Hospital Dobong-gu, Korea Banobagi Seoul, Korea Answer Plastic Surgery Seoul, South Korea 97.7 B&H Hospital 2012;29(1):6986. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2014.889516. 2007;7:12940. Rokni L, Avci T, Park SH. Therefore, it was not possible to engage in conventional techniques used to assess for these biases. Throw in endless sightseeing opportunities that blend ancient customs with cosmopolitan culture and the price is right in Seoul. Reluctance to vaccinate: omission bias and ambiguity. Iran J Public Health. :1116. Together, the Act and the Comprehensive Plan are the result of concerted efforts by the South Korean government to promote and globalize its domestic healthcare industry by intensifying its competition in attracting foreign patients for the global medical tourism market, which is considered a high value-added industry. A list of the 10 top medical tourism destinations around the world includes the following countries: India, Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Mexico, Costa Rica, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore [52]. 2009;6(7):e1000097. 2016. https://kto.visitkorea.or.kr/kor/notice/data/report/org/board/view.kto?id=427142&instanceId=127. South Korea an established leader in medical tourism Event Highlights Global Healthcare - Changes, prospects and challenges Trends and Strategies of Medical Tourism Marketing for the Post Covid-19 era - Insights by Dr Prem Jagyasi Travel has dipped but not the healthcare demand Medical and wellness tourism will evolve in an integrated model Half of medical tourists visiting Korea inspired by K-culture Based on excellent medical technology, manpower, and high-tech facilities, Gangnam provides the best medical services, featuring the even distribution of medical . Hence, an influx of business activity for medical tourism can heavily skew the distribution and availability of the domestic healthcare workforce if internal brain drain is not properly managed [60]. https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/medical-tourism-market. PAR_MENU_ID=03&MENU_ID=0319&CONT_SEQ=337640&page=1. Check the 46 destinations. J Travel Tour Mark. Although national governments are expected to play a critical role in regulating the private healthcare sector (including the medical tourism industry), state interventions or remedial actions by the South Korean government that have been implemented thus far appear to be minimal. http://wk.ixueshu.com/file/652af9c937e3f90b.html. An D. Understanding medical tourists in Korea: cross-cultural perceptions of medical tourism among patients from the USA, Russia, Japan, and China. In: Hall CM, editor. Towards assessing the knowledge gap in medical tourism. Though continuing to receive national support, policy to specifically address challenges associated with the potential negative impacts of South Koreas medical tourism industry (such as theinternal brain drain of healthcare workers and privatization of the public healthcare sector) have received less attention in the literature and in formal government documents.