Insights on medical tourism: markets as networks and the role of strong ties

TY - JOUR

T1 - Insights on medical tourism

T2 - markets as networks and the role of strong ties

AU - Lunt, Neil

AU - Jin, Ki Nam

AU - Horsfall, Daniel Gary

AU - Hanefeld, Johanna

PY - 2014/6

Y1 - 2014/6

N2 - Despite a huge amount of speculation and expectation surrounding medical tourism hard empirical evidence is only now beginning to emerge. This paper widens the focus of discussion by contrasting two country experiences (UK and Korea) which on the surface illustrate the diversity of medical tourism and little else. However, considered more comparatively the accounts contribute towards wider, albeit tentative, theoretical understandings and insights. The paper is drawn from two broad programmes of empirical study conducted over three years in UK and Korea respectively. The article is structured in three parts: first, a brief overview of policy, legislative and accreditation frameworks that exist to govern medical tourist flows. Second, we present evidence around flows, demographics, treatment and medical tourism for Korea and UK (both for supply and demand). Third, we examine conceptual and theoretical implications of this evidence. We argue that: viewing medical tourism as a global market is problematic; some medical tourist markets are best viewed as networks with long term exchange relationships; some specific areas of activity do function more strongly as price-related; decision making around medical tourism frequently involves a range of information and social networks (economic action as embedded social structure); and medical tourism is a function of globalisation.

AB - Despite a huge amount of speculation and expectation surrounding medical tourism hard empirical evidence is only now beginning to emerge. This paper widens the focus of discussion by contrasting two country experiences (UK and Korea) which on the surface illustrate the diversity of medical tourism and little else. However, considered more comparatively the accounts contribute towards wider, albeit tentative, theoretical understandings and insights. The paper is drawn from two broad programmes of empirical study conducted over three years in UK and Korea respectively. The article is structured in three parts: first, a brief overview of policy, legislative and accreditation frameworks that exist to govern medical tourist flows. Second, we present evidence around flows, demographics, treatment and medical tourism for Korea and UK (both for supply and demand). Third, we examine conceptual and theoretical implications of this evidence. We argue that: viewing medical tourism as a global market is problematic; some medical tourist markets are best viewed as networks with long term exchange relationships; some specific areas of activity do function more strongly as price-related; decision making around medical tourism frequently involves a range of information and social networks (economic action as embedded social structure); and medical tourism is a function of globalisation.

KW - Medical tourism; medical travel; globalisation; UK; Korea; comparative analysis; networks

U2 - 10.1007/s40483-014-0012-7

DO - 10.1007/s40483-014-0012-7

M3 - Article

SN - 1225-0368

VL - 41

SP - 19

EP - 37

JO - Korean Journal of Social Science

JF - Korean Journal of Social Science

IS - 1

ER -