Medical Tourism Challenges

I had written this list of challenges for Medical Tourism in 2008 from a US perspective. I am revisiting it: Though Medical Tourism from US never happened but the same challenges still remains valid. I am surprised no one have really filled the gaps in the medical value travels yet.

1. A reliable intermediary is missing in the Medical tourism business. Mostly the patient himself/herself or a relative or a clinician friend acts as the intermediary to negotiate a host of things that need to be done for the patient to go offshore and get a treatment done. Will a intermediary agency ever be able to develop the credibility to deliver on Medical Tourism promise? 

Interpreters or better known as healthcare facilitators are becoming the marketing middle-men to strike deals with the Doctors and ferry the patient around. This is not how Medical Tourism was intended to operate! 

2. A host of service providers are required to come together to offer a reliable Medical Tourism service. Service providers such as Hospitals, Insurance, Telemedicine, HIS/EMR, Call centres, Data processing KPO and Travel agencies are so diverse and different that they have nothing in common; yet they have to come together to deliver on Medical Tourism promise. Will this ever happen? I dont know!

3. All the Medical Tourism is coming from GCC and Afghanistan. Patients from Russian union, Europe, US still remains at large.

4. Most of the funding is out-of-pocket cash. Hawala galore! Where are the Insurance payers?