An evidence-based policy for improving choice in global health access through medical travel

Kai Ruggeri, Nevena Ivanović, Josip Razum, Ondřej Kácha, Igor G. Menezes, Zafar Zafari and Eduardo Garcia-Garzon

Health Policy, 2018, vol. 122, issue 12, 1372-1376

Abstract: Global medical travel has had an increasing trend without a comprehensive, evidence-driven policy to ensure safe and effective practice. To identify key factors that influence medical travel, we conducted a series of studies culminating with a preference and decision-making component of over 500 prospective medical travelers from a number of countries. Results indicated that quality of care was the most critical factor in the decision, followed by lower costs of procedure and shorter waiting times. Lower costs were less of a factor if the procedure was more invasive, which also increased the importance of waiting time in the decision. The most desired destinations for care were in Europe (United Kingdom, Germany) and North America (United States). Building on these insights and previous literature, we present a model that implements applications from these factors and additional insights generated across the series of studies toward an effective policy framework.

Keywords: Medical travel; Global health policy; Medical tourism; Health economics; Evidence-based policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:122:y:2018:i:12:p:1372-1376

DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.09.017

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