Hardback
Health Tourism
Social Welfare through International Trade
9781848448926 Edward Elgar Publishing
In this unique and pathbreaking book, David Reisman examines the relatively new phenomenon of health travel. He presents a multidisciplinary account of the way in which lower costs, shorter waiting times, different services, and the chance to combine recreational tourism with a check-up or an operation all come together to make medical travel a new industry with the potential to create jobs and wealth, while at the same time giving sick people high-quality care at an affordable price.
More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contents
More Information
In this unique and pathbreaking book, David Reisman examines the relatively new phenomenon of health travel. He presents a multidisciplinary account of the way in which lower costs, shorter waiting times, different services, and the chance to combine recreational tourism with a check-up or an operation all come together to make medical travel a new industry with the potential to create jobs and wealth, while at the same time giving sick people high-quality care at an affordable price.
The book illustrates that it is no longer the case that medical attention must be consumed at home. Patients are travelling to Mexico, India and Thailand for a heart bypass. They are going to Hungary, Poland and Malaysia for dentistry. Doctors are migrating to Britain, the USA and Canada for new challenges. Hospitals are opening subsidiaries in Dubai, the Philippines and Costa Rica to see overseas patients on the spot. Integrating academic perspectives from medicine, tourism, health economics, development studies and public policy, the author concludes that the benefits both to the importing and the exporting nations are considerable, but that there are also some costs. He suggests that the new industry should be regulated and supported in order that it can do its best both for the local population and for the sick people who travel abroad for treatment.
This fascinating and highly original book will be of great interest to academics and researchers in areas such as health economics, tourism, social policy, development studies, Asian studies and public policy. It will also prove invaluable to practitioners actively involved in planning and delivering medical attention in the global economic order.
The book illustrates that it is no longer the case that medical attention must be consumed at home. Patients are travelling to Mexico, India and Thailand for a heart bypass. They are going to Hungary, Poland and Malaysia for dentistry. Doctors are migrating to Britain, the USA and Canada for new challenges. Hospitals are opening subsidiaries in Dubai, the Philippines and Costa Rica to see overseas patients on the spot. Integrating academic perspectives from medicine, tourism, health economics, development studies and public policy, the author concludes that the benefits both to the importing and the exporting nations are considerable, but that there are also some costs. He suggests that the new industry should be regulated and supported in order that it can do its best both for the local population and for the sick people who travel abroad for treatment.
This fascinating and highly original book will be of great interest to academics and researchers in areas such as health economics, tourism, social policy, development studies, Asian studies and public policy. It will also prove invaluable to practitioners actively involved in planning and delivering medical attention in the global economic order.
Critical Acclaim
‘The book provides an extraordinary in-depth study of one aspect of globalisation and will be invaluable to anyone interested in developments in health care, international business or possibly geography.’
– Jo Guiver, Journal of Transport Geography
‘Health Tourism is a fascinating read. . . This book provides a unique look at a rapidly emerging issue for social and public policy as well as developmental studies, and would lend itself to animated debates, particularly at the graduate level.’
– Marion Joppe, Annals of Tourism Research
– Jo Guiver, Journal of Transport Geography
‘Health Tourism is a fascinating read. . . This book provides a unique look at a rapidly emerging issue for social and public policy as well as developmental studies, and would lend itself to animated debates, particularly at the graduate level.’
– Marion Joppe, Annals of Tourism Research
Contents
Contents: 1. Introduction 2. A Taxonomy of Trade 3. Price 4. Quality 5. Differentiation 6. Health Tourism: The Benefits 7. Health Tourism: The Costs 8. Health Tourism and Public Policy 9. The Singapore Experience 10. Health Hubs in Asia Bibliography Index
