Summary:
- 2020-21 Medical Tourism Index released during COVID-19
global pandemic
- Five new destinations added to the survey
- New MTI online tools functionality added for
customers
- New Medical Tourism Calculator debuts alongside MTI as a
complimentary gift
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida,
July 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- The International Healthcare Research Center (IHRC)
has published the third edition of its flagship survey tool, the
2020-2021 Medical Tourism Index (MTI), ranking the top ten
destinations: Canada, Singapore, Japan, Spain,
United Kingdom, Dubai, Costa
Rica, Israel, Abu Dhabi, and India. The MTI ranks the American perceptions
of 46 international healthcare destinations providing insight into
how consumers view 41 criteria within three dimensions including
Medical Tourism Industry, Destination Attractiveness, and Quality
of Care. It becomes the ultimate planning tool for industry
stakeholders looking to invest, benchmark, and improve market share
in medical travel. The new MTI adds five new destinations to the
growing list of medical tourism destinations: Czechia, Portugal, Hungary, Greece, and Guatemala. Also released is the 2020-2021 Arab
Medical Tourism Index.
The Medical Tourism Index was first created in 2014 and updated
for the sector in its 2016-2017 report; this third edition arrives
at a critical juncture, where modern healthcare has never been more
important, and the future evolution of a young, globalized industry
has never been harder to predict.
"The MTI is a unique survey tool for healthcare destinations
looking for the industry equivalent of performance review," said
Renée-Marie Stephano, one of the
developers of the Index. "In a relatively young industry like
medical travel, there are very few credible resources and planning
tools for destinations and facilities that wish to improve their
programs. For stakeholders in the medical tourism industry, the MTI
can be used to measure the effect that sustainable development has
on the MTI criteria scores and then benchmark against other
destination."
For this 2020-21 edition, MTI provides a fresh snapshot of each
destination by providing geopolitical and demographic information,
the current healthcare model for each, and insight into the scope
and shape of each destination's medical tourism industry.
Also new is the MTI Online Data tools. Customers that purchase
the report will be able to login to access digital tools like
custom graphs and tables for analysis. This will include data from
2020 for comparison with or against previous years.
The novel coronavirus is putting tremendous strain on healthcare
systems and world economies, which will alter the size and shape of
the medical tourism market in unpredictable ways. Even so, it seems
outright impossible that any world event – even one as deadly as
COVID-19 – could permanently disable or destroy the medical tourism
industry.
As the threat of novel coronavirus becomes less ubiquitous and
international travel guidelines return to normal, medical tourism,
health tourism, and wellness travel industries all aim to slowly
return to pre-2020 levels, particularly as health and wellness
seekers look for more cost effective, and safe solutions for their
healthcare and wellness needs. Destinations that use the updated
MTI to prepare for this inevitable return to normal operation will
be well-positioned to reap the rewards of foreign healthcare
spending.
"If you're a potential medical tourism destination, there's no
better time to get your house in order," Stephano said. In
the long run, COVID-19 should even stimulate new stakeholders in
the medical tourism industry. Stephano is among those who believes
COVID-19 could actually grow the sector more responsibly and more
effectively over time with emphasis on the criteria in the MTI.
"As travel restrictions ease and it becomes more safe to travel,
but before the economic recession fades away, millions of people
are going to be looking for ways to save money and access much
needed health and wellness services," Stephano said.
What is included in the purchase of the Medical Tourism
Index?
In celebration of the initial release of the report, a special
price for a limited amount of time is being offered that includes
access to the MTI online tools with custom graphs and analysis
using the report's destination databases, included the two previous
reports. In addition, the Medical Tourism Calculator will also be
provided free with the purchase for a limited time. The Medical
Tourism Calculator is a medical tourism planning tool developed by
IHRC. It allows professionals, executives, and officials to examine
the complete economic impact of the medical tourism industry on a
destination city, state or country. Learn more and purchase at
https://medicaltourismindex.com.
International Healthcare Research Center
The International Healthcare Research Center is a 501c (3)
non-profit research center, dedicated to conducting research and
delivering reliable information and actionable strategic insight in
the following areas:
- International patient experiences & outcomes
- Trends & analysis of international patient care
- Global health insurance
- Employer-based healthcare trends
- Population health management
- Patient demographics
- Hospital quality
- Government healthcare policy
- Corporate wellness
- Wellness trends
- Medical tourism research
The primary goal of the International Healthcare Research Center
(IHRC) is to promote transparency and improve global healthcare
quality, population health management, expanded access to care, and
the consumer healthcare experience.
Global Healthcare Resources
Global Healthcare Resources is an international solutions
firm providing strategic execution within the industries
of employer healthcare, medical tourism, wellness tourism,
self-insurance, and corporate wellness. Global Healthcare Resources
meets hundreds of thousands of professionals with thought
leadership through more than a decade of its associations, trade
events, certifications, publications, cited research, and
collaborated content.
Reaching over 2.6 million professionals, GHR is a
custom-tailored consulting firm with the ability to augment the
strategy and growth of any business in the field. Global
Healthcare Resources is a research partner of IHRC.
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