جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « گردشگری پزشکی » در نشریات گروه « پزشکی »

As a growing industry, medical tourism includes many economic opportunities. This industry is the largest and most diverse industry in the world, with a foreign currency income which is equal to the automotive and military weapons industries. The aim of the current research is to identify and prioritize economic opportunities related to medical tourism management, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a multi-criteria decision-making tool.

This was a descriptive-survey research with an applied and cross-sectional approach. A survey method was used to collect data, so this study can be classified as field research. The statistical population of the research included 25 people with experience and expertise selected through purposive sampling in the fields of management, tourism, and medicine. The method of collecting data was in the form of library and field studies. The tool for collecting data was a questionnaire of paired comparisons and a check sheet. Data analysis was done with AHP method and Expert Choice 11 software. After collecting the paired comparison questionnaire and calculating the geometric mean, the inconsistency rate of the questionnaires was less than 0.1, which showed that the data had the required validity.

First, using library studies, economic opportunities related to medical tourism were identified. These opportunities included cash generation, technological advancements, job creation, diversification of tourism industry, development of health care infrastructure, knowledge transfer and cooperation, services and ancillary industries, and regional development and diversification of economic activity. Opportunities were prioritized using the AHP method. Cash generation with relative importance of 0.191 was ranked first, job creation with relative importance of 0.162 was second, and technological advances was ranked third with relative importance of 0.131. Diversification to economic activities with a relative importance of 0.45 was ranked ninth which was the lowest.

Strategic marketing, delivering quality healthcare services, competitive pricing, specialized medical care, patient-centered experience, collaboration and partnership, continuous improvement, and strengthening medical tourism infrastructure are the pillars through which medical tourism management can not only generate sustainable revenue but also provide invaluable healthcare services to patients from across the globe.

Medical tourism industry as a service industry needs to take measures including branding to attract and retain tourists. This study was conducted with the aim of improving branding in medical centers active in medical tourism, through the test of the brand citizenship behavior development model of employees, which was calculated from a qualitative research based on the Foundation Data Model.

The current field-survey research was conducted on a sample of 384 employees in contact with patients, 10 hospitals with admission departments for international patients in Tehran city, selected using convenience sampling method. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated with Cronbach’s alpha index and composite reliability, and its validity was evaluated using content validity and construct validity. Data analysis was done by structural equation modeling using SPSS 22 and Smart Pls 3 software.

All research hypotheses were confirmed, including the effect of causal categories in the three dimensions of organization, employee, and tourist on brand citizenship behavior, the effect of intervening and foundational categories on comprehensive marketing and branding planning except for organizational justice and social responsibility of the organization, the impact of brand citizenship behavior on the comprehensive planning of marketing and branding and finally the effect of brand citizenship behavior by mediation of comprehensive planning of marketing and branding on the consequences related to tourists, organizations, employees and extra-organizations. The evaluation of the structural part of the model and the relationship between the internal and external construct also indicated the optimal fit of the model.

Attracting the support of employees in the direction of extra-role behaviors that strengthen brand identity and benefit from its positive organizational and extra-organizational results, requires the attention of managers and relevant officials to various organizational, managerial, individual, etc. factors. Moreover, creating a strong brand in medical centers requires comprehensive planning to increase the participation of employees of these centers.

Health tourism is an organized trip from one's living environment to another place, which is done in order to maintain, improve and regain physical and mental health. The purpose of this research was to identify the most important factors affecting medical tourism in Iran.

This was a fundamental study that was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of two steps. The first step was to perform a systematic review with the keyword of "MEDICAL TOURISM" on Web of Science and select 434 articles, and the second step was to perform a scientometric analysis on these articles using VOSviewer software. The second phase consisted of three steps. The first step was a systematic review with some keywords, including "MEDICAL TOURISM" and "medical tourism" on foreign and domestic databases and selecting 63 articles. The second step was to perform a content analysis on the selected articles using Nvivo software and identify the components affecting medical tourism in the world. The third step was the implementation of a Delphi method using a Likert scale with the aim of identifying the most important factors affecting medical tourism in Iran from the point of view of academic experts.

The first phase showed that the scope of research on the topic of medical tourism in the world had an upward trend from 1975 to 2020, and the countries of America, Canada, Malaysia, South Korea and Iran were the top 5 countries in this field. In the second phase, 46 factors affecting medical tourism in the world were identified, and after summarizing the opinions of experts, 39 indicators were determined as indicators affecting medical tourism in Iran.

Considering the high number and variety of factors affecting medical tourism in Iran, the development of this industry in the country requires extensive intra- and inter-sectorial coordination.

Medical health tourism is an important factor in promoting tourism. This industry not only showcases national identity but also helps to alleviate poverty, generate income, create job opportunities, improve welfare and social justice in society, and contribute to the sustainable growth of the economy and overall living standards. This study aimed to identify and prioritize the factors that impact medical tourism, with a focus on Ardabil province.

A mixed research methodology with an exploratory approach was utilized to examine 43 articles related to medical tourism using the meta-composite method. The components were measured using expert opinion and the fuzzy Delphi method, then prioritized with the SWARA method. To conduct data analysis, Maxqda version 10 and Smart PLS software were utilized.

According to the research, the most significant factors that contribute to medical tourism in Ardabil province are economic growth indicators, the entrepreneurial ecosystem, quality of laws, social networks, challenges, variety of attractions and leisure opportunities, expert staff, development of tourism policies, respect for beliefs, sustainable income, Islamic medical services, effectiveness and efficiency, participation, language in common, medical infrastructure, costs, natural capacities, and medical service tariffs.

According to the research findings, the medical service tariff index, which had a final weight of 0.131, was deemed the most crucial component in health medical tourism.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the factors influencing the attraction of medical tourism in selected educational and therapeutic hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University in 1401.

This research was an applied research. 200 managers and employees of these hospitals were included in the study, and 127 of them were selected as samples based on Morgan's table. In this research, the researcher made a questionnaire with 24 questions taken from the background of the research and by confirming the validity and reliability to the amount of 0/711 and 0/802 Used. Exploratory factor analysis test, sample t-test and confirmatory factor analysis with SPSS and PLS software were used.

In total, all factors with eigenvalues higher than one were able to explain 91.371 of the variance of 24 items related to the questionnaire. Considering that all values are higher than 0.7, therefore Cornbrash’s alpha of the research variables is confirmed. According to the AVE table, all structures are greater than 5. And as a result, the convergent validity of the model and the appropriateness of the fit of the measurement models are confirmed.

The investigations showed that the physical space of the hospital, the supporting infrastructure for foreign patients, the strengthening of the transportation system, the strengthening of marketing, the role of experienced medical staff, the quality of providing medical services, and the respect for the opinions of tourists are important in attracting tourists. Medical tourism has an impact.

The Covid-19 virus has an undeniable impact on the country’s tourism industry, and medical tourism is no exception. The present research, the main goal was to provide a strategic pattern for the development of medical tourism in Iran. A pattern that examines this industry from different angles and suggests policies and strategies for presentation.

Methods and Materials: 

The research method is a part of developmental research in terms of results, and it is a part of qualitative research of the case study type in terms of purpose. The tool for collecting research data is interview and the selection of research participants has been done using the purposeful sampling method. By using the content analysis technique, interviews were reviewed and coded and classified.

The results of the research showed that the four main components of the development of medical tourism in the country include Capabilities, obstacles, strategies and consequences of the development of medical tourism in the country in the post-Corona. Then, a four-dimensional model with the mentioned components is presented as a model for medical development in the country.

It should be noted that the model presented in this research can be a suitable road map for policy makers and managers in the field of medical tourism in order to adopt appropriate policies and strategies in the development of Iran medical tourism industry in this area. 

Nowadays, the medical tourism market is one of the most profitable and competitive industries in the world, and it is one of the new developed fields of tourism. Advertising is one of the methods of increasing tourist attraction and influencing tourists' decision-making to choose a destination. The present research aimed to simulate the effect of advertising on the attraction of medical tourists in the hospitals of Yazd city.

The present research is applied in terms of research objective, and in terms of methodology, it is in descriptive-analytical research. The statistical community was formed by university professors and experts in the field of medical tourism, and managers of hospitals and medical centers in Yazd. The snowball method was used for sampling. Information was collected through text reviews, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with experts. The integrated and innovative approach of factor-based modeling and Taguchi method was used for data analysis, and the software used was AnyLogic and MiniTab.

The results of the scenario execution revealed that among the advertising tools, internet advertising is more effective, and television ads, specialized tourism magazines, and seminars and conferences are in the next ranks. As the final output of the research, the investigation of the main effects related to each advertising tool led to identification of the suitable level of each tools and the presentation of the most favorable scenario based on the advertising program of Yazd hospitals.

Based on the fact that among the advertising tools, internet advertising has the greatest effect on attracting medical tourists, hospital management should pay special attention to internet advertising to attract more tourists in the field of medicine. In this way, more information will be provided to tourists and the demand for medical tourism will increase.

Medical tourism refers to travel for receiving health services abroad. The COVID-19 crisis affected a wide range of tourism-related businesses, including medical tourism, and caused a decrease in the supply and demand of health services in this market. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran.  

This cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran in 2021. The data used in this study were extracted from the information system of the Ministry of Health from 2018 to 2021, which includes the number, origin, and destination of medical tourists, per capita revenue, and monthly revenue two years before and one and a half years after the COVID-19 pandemic. For data analysis, t-tests of independent groups and interrupted time series regression were used in SPSS and EViews 10 software.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a 42% decrease in the average monthly number of medical tourists, a 45% decrease in the monthly revenue, and a 10% decrease in the per capita income per tourist (P<0.05).  The arrival of medical tourists from the Republic of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, and Oman has decreased by more than 80%, and the largest decrease in the number of tourists has been related to Ahvaz, Urmia, Tabriz, and Shiraz. In all diagnostic groups except obstetrics and gynecology, there has been a decrease between 50 to 70% The declining trend of medical tourism indicators was stopped in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued as a constant trend.

The COVID-19 crisis has hurt the number of international patients and their revenue in Iran. Relative success in controlling COVID-19 can return to a pre-pandemic situation that requires appropriate policies and administrative measures by government and industry players, such as policies to facilitate patient entry, marketing measures, branding and creating a positive image of the country to potential clients, use of telemedicine facilities for consultations and follow-up, etc.

Medical tourism as a money-making industry in the world has led to the increasing competition of countries to attract the maximum number of tourists. Considering the growing international competition in this field, in order to properly utilize the capabilities of Golestan province, this research was conducted with the aim of analysis and explaining the dimensions and components that promote and hinder the implementation of medical tourism policies in Golestan province.

This research was conducted using the qualitative method based on the Grounded theory in 2020. Data collection was conducted through in-depth and semi-structured interviews. The research population included experts such as managers and faculty members of the university of medical sciences and public and private hospitals, managers and officials of the General Office of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, and travel agencies, doctors and nurses with at least 5 years of relevant work experience and expertise in the field of medical tourism. Purposive sampling was done and continued until data saturation. Finally, 13 people were interviewed. Data analysis was done simultaneously with data collection through Open, Axial and Selective coding and MaxQDA 2020 software.

The findings of the present study showed that the promoting and hindering factors for the implementation of medical tourism policies in Golestan province were categorized in the form of 263 codes, 65 concepts, 9 subcategories and 5 main categories. They consisted of climatic and environmental attractions, organizational architecture, policymaking system, capacity development and service quality and strategic management.

Using the results of this study, the policymakers of medical tourism in Golestan province can predict the appropriate implementation instrument regarding the policy-making process to develop medical tourism, income and business in Golestan province.

Brand citizenship behavior is one of the new concepts in branding with emphasis on the role of employees. This study aims to provide a model for development of brand citizenship behavior in a way that is compatible with the local environment of medical tourism in Iran.

The present qualitative research is based on the systematic database method. The required data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 experts in medical tourism and academic experts using judgmental, snowball, and accessible sampling methods, following the saturation rule. Data analysis was done using the Strauss and Corbin model and in three stages of open, central and selective coding.

The results indicated that the causal conditions of factors related to employees, organization and medical tourism and intervening factors of organizational structure, management performance, characteristics of the treatment industry, environmental factors, career history and quality of personal life in the framework of social capital of the organization, organizational justice, quality of work life, competitive atmosphere of the work environment, and social responsibility of the organization form the central phenomenon and it is implemented with human resources support strategies and comprehensive planning of marketing and branding, and affects the medicine, organization, employees and  has extra-organizational results.

The model obtained from this research shows the influence of several factors in the formation of brand citizenship behavior of medical staff, which, if paid attention to by managers, will lead to the satisfaction and attraction of tourists and gain a competitive advantage.

Medical tourism as an active industry contributes to the sustainable development and economic growth of countries. This study aims to investigate the status of an ophthalmology hospital in Zahedan, Iran in attracting medical tourists.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2019 in Al-Zahra Ophthalmology Hospital in Zahedan. The study population consists of the administrative and clinical staff of this hospital. Using a census method, 75 people were selected. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire with acceptable validity and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=0.83) was used to survey the attitudes of participants. Mean, standard deviation, and independent t-test were used to analyze the collected data in SPSS software, version 22. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The mean score for the possibility of attracting tourists by the hospital was 3.5±0.6. Among the study domains, general condition (3.7±0.7) and quality of equipment and infrastructure (3.7±0.6) obtained the highest score, while the geographical condition (2.8±0.9) had the lowest score.

The potential of the ophthalmology hospital in Zahedan in attracting medical tourist is at moderate level. Introduction of historical and scenic places as well as tourist attractions of the province on the website of the hospital, coordination with tourism companies to organize recreational tours according to the climate of the province, creating a food menu and improving the quality level of patients’ foods in accordance with their cultures, as well as improving the hospital’s website, both in terms of content and technical issues, and making it trilingual (Persian, English and Arabic) can be effective in improving the status of the hospital in attracting more medical tourists.

 Present study aimed to evaluate the barriers to medical tourism development in Tehran and compile the respective perspectives to attract more medical tourists, taking the service integration approach. 

 This is an exploratory study with qualitative and quantitative mixed methods. The statistical population consisted of a group of 8 people and 20 professors and experts in the health tourism field selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Furthermore, questionnaires and interview tools were used. For data analysis, MAXQDA 18 software was used for the qualitative method, and multi-criteria decision-making techniques in fuzzy DEMATEL, AHP, and SWOT model for the quantitative method. 

 According to the findings, seven factors, 11 indicators, and 45 sub-    indicators were identified as the challenges of medical tourism development in Tehran. Further, while delineating their interrelationships, the possible role of each of these indicators/ sub-indicators as barriers to Tehran becoming the sustainable medical tourism pole in the region and Asia was analyzed. Infrastructure and regulations (0.177), access to information (0.16), communication and marketing (0.152), quality (0.134), environmental factors (0.129), passive defense, and international obstacles (0.124) had the highest effect, respectively. 

 Weak regulatory management policies, lack of appropriate legal and financial infrastructure to support foreign patients and encourage active hospitals, lack of transparency in treatment costs, lack of a reliable system for price standardization and transparency, lack of transparent and practical programs to enter this domain and compete, and ignoring the potential of neighbors are among the main challenges faced by Iran and Tehran in the medical tourism field. Thus, to strengthen Tehran’s transnational roles, the government has a crucial function through policy-making and initiatives for tourism destination attractiveness and efficient infrastructure to realize improved international competitiveness, modern marketing, and coordination and comprehensiveness of services provided to these patients.

Supply chain collaboration is critical to coping with disruptions. The importance of this issue in the medical tourism supply chain has been highlighted with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). So far, no research has been performed to investigate this issue in the medical tourism supply chain. Therefore, this research has been conducted with the aim of filling this research gap.

The statistical population of the research is experts in the medical tourism industry. Judgmental and snowball sampling method is used and sample size are determined based on theoretical saturation equal to 26. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data and Grounded theory was used to analyze them.

According to the research results, 111 concepts were identified, and classified into 26 categories and five main axes.

In order to improve collaboration in the medical tourism supply chain, solutions such as proper management of human resources, improvement of financing methods, management of behavioral issues, management of hardware facilities, supply chain management, appropriate strategic planning and compensation system throughout the chain is recommended.

As one of the well-known countries for medical tourism, Iran has the potential for growth in this industry and requires information and advertisements in online media and websites. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the content produced by the website of AriaMedTour Medical Tourism Company in informing tourists.

This is an applied study that adopted an inductive approach in which the netnography qualitative research method was used. Data were collected in three forms: archive data, extracted data and field data, from the AriaMedtour website in 2021 and online data were analyzed in two stages of content analysis and analysis of customer comments and keywords in ATLAS.ti software.

The results of content analysis showed that the content of the website falls into three categories of relational, organizational and advertising. Analysis of medical tourists' opinions also showed that the website was able to cover all the information needed by tourists. The tourists were satisfied with the information and services of the company and were mostly looking for information about costs, Iran, accommodation, food, and availability of translators. They get most of their information from the videos of tourists received the company's services.

The use of web-based platforms focusing on relational, advertising, and organizational contents for informing and attracting medical tourists is very effective.

According to statistics, the share of the global medical tourism market in 2017 was USD 53 billion and is predicted to reach USD 143 billion by 2025 and record an annual growth of 12.9% from 2018 to 2025. Attracting international patients is the core of the medical tourism market, and major representatives will be distinguished by their ability to attract foreign medical travelers as the industry becomes more competitive. Marketing is the key to success in the health tourism industry, and leading hospitals and countries with large numbers of medical travelers have strong marketing strategies that fulfill the needs of patients.

The present applied descriptive study was performed in public and private hospitals in Yazd. A valid checklist with 8 dimensions and 79 items was used to collect data. Mean, standard deviation, and percentage were analyzed using SPSS software (version 26).

Public and private hospitals were acceptable in terms of location, people, process, and physicians; however, elements of promotion, prices, and physical attractiveness were moderate. In addition, the product element was acceptable in public hospitals and moderate in private hospitals. Overall, the condition of the public and private hospitals was acceptable.

Now that the needs of the patients have changed in the new health environment, hospitals need to use more effective and efficient methods to meet these needs. The marketing system in the new concept can be effective in attracting customers by fulfilling customer needs and paying attention to elements of the marketing mix. Therefore, hospitals need to focus on elements of the marketing mix to satisfy patients and maintain their values. It seems that the studied hospitals are relatively ready to attract medical tourists. Hospitals can cover their weaknesses by investing in their existing strengths and upgrading them, and bringing the factors to an acceptable level.

Today, the medical tourism market has been raised as one of the revenue industries in the world. In the tourism industry, factors have a direct and important impact on boom and expansion that causes some countries to become a medical tourism pole. This study aimed at prioritizing factors related to the absorption of medical tourists in Yazd City, Iran.

In the first step, using the keywords such as "medical tourism, effective factors and absorption factors", Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Scientific Information Database (SID), Magiran, Medlib, Civilica, and Irandoc were reviewed, and related factors with the absorption of tourists were extracted; and in the second stage, using the hierarchical analysis model, by the research community consisting medical tourists and experts in this area, these factors were prioritized.

Factors were identified in the two themes, seven subthemes, and 27 items; among them, the subtheme of the quality of health services, and item of the quality of the treatment staff had the most importance and priority from the viewpoint of medical tourists and experts in this area.

One of the ways to increase tourists attracting and influencing tourists to choose Iran as a destination country, is to increase the quality of services, especially medical services, along with reducing costs, and making them competitive.

Organ transplant tourism is the travel of one or both of the organ’s donor and recipient outside the national borders for the purpose of organ, body tissue or cellular transplantation, during which the organ transplant is subject to the financial payment by the recipient or agent for the organ. The necessity of criminal interference in this subject, with a consequentialism viewpoint has been considered by the authors in two categories of proponents and opponents. The present research seeks to answer the fundamental questions about the essence of transplant tourism have a glimpse of this phenomenon among both tourist states and transplant states and study the reasoning brought by advocators and opposers regarding the necessity of criminal interference in this subject. the purpose of the study is to precisely analyze the necessity of the subject and the future standpoint of the legislator on this phenomenon and subsequently manage the consequences.

This article has been written descriptivety-analyticaly using library resources.

Ethical Considerations:

 This research has been done by observing ethical principles and trustworthiness in using the available sources.

Approach to The necessity of criminal interference by emphasis on the consequences such as; commodification, violation of physical justice, incomplete slavery and human rights violations, strengthening organized crime, the crime propagation against whom in vulnerable position, increasing the poverty, diminishing security and human resources and the impossibility of self-sufficiency in organ supply and the supportive approach of criminal interference by emphasis on the medical aspects of this phenomenon to solve patients' troubles, regulate the market of organ exchange and develop Medical tourism industry, have been analyzed.

Given the prevalence and significant effects of this phenomenon in the countries of destination and origin, the main results of the present study are the destitute of required laws and legal challenges in the field of organ transplantation, focusing on the need for criminal interference in this phenomenon with three explanation of supporting patients in need of organs and vulnerable communities as the organ’s donors, the prestige and respect of the country's health system and the development of the medical tourism industry and the prevention of new forms of exploitation and incomplete slavery and weakening human resources and counteracting the strengthening of organization in medical crimes and corruption of the health system and broking illegal organ sales and separation of Legal and illegal facts are the main results of the present study.

Recent research has further examined medical tourism, so the present study was conducted to provide a medical tourism marketing model using the foundation data approach, Therefore, the aim of this study was to design an emotional attitude model in customers' purchasing decisions in Service markets.

The approach of this study was qualitative and used the foundation data approach. The statistical population of this study includes managers, experts, physicians of public and private hospitals in Tehran, medical assistants of the university who had a managerial background in hospitals and medical tourism centers in Iran and the researcher was satisfied with 15 nterviews.

The researcher presents his research in the form of a model including six dimensions, satisfaction with the brand of the tourism center, trust in the brand therapy of the medical tourism center, diversity of medical services, marketing of medical tourism, appropriate treatment package, loyalty to the brand of the medical center, and thirty-one sub-dimensions has done.

It seems that the empowerment of experts in international patient units, the development of professional skills of the medical department, the management of medical tourism agents, the promotion of international marketing and advertising, quality and cost monitoring and management, attention to the standards of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and "International and joint national and international cooperation agreements with medical tourism stakeholders can facilitate the development of medical tourism.

Medical tourism has been considered in our country for many years. The arrival of international patients in the country will boost the medical tourism sector; however, the necessary infrastructure must be created for this. The guidelines for the establishment of the International Hospital Unit are one of the legal infrastructures for standardization in this field. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of strategic analysis of the establishment of an international patient unit in hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

This combined study was performed in 2019 in three hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences that had a license to operate this unit. In-depth interviews were conducted in each hospital with experts in this field. The data were then categorized into four categories of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and according to the results of the SWOT technique, the necessary strategies were presented.

There are opportunities including low cost of medical services in Iran, low value of Iranian Rial and political and religious ties with countries in the region. Significant threats also included the existence of professional competitors, the widespread activity of brokers, and the large number of trustees for the industry within the country. Finally, appropriate strategies were presented for each hospital.

This market in our country faces many threats and needs policies appropriate to the current situation with an immediate action. The results also showed that two hospitals are in a competitive state and one hospital is in a defensive state.