Medical Tourism – Patient beyond borders

Traveling abroad to receive medical care is becoming an increasingly popular trend and is a phenomenon that is rapidly developing into a thriving healthcare industry. Patients are more than ever availing themselves of high quality, affordable and easily accessible health related services found outside of their home country. Both patient and destinations are benefiting from this.  Medical tourism can be broadly defined as provision of Cost effective private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry, for patients needing surgical and other form of specialized treatment.

Medical Tourism in Asia to reach $8.5 billion by 2013

Medical tourism has bright future and Asia is the Hotspot for this Industry. Thailand and India are the key dominating players; but other Asian country also turning up the competition with government backed medical tourism program. Asia is one of the first regions in the World to promote medical tourism and has created a brand name for itself for having affordable and high quality healthcare. Asian medical tourist number of arrivals is expected to cross the figure of 10 million numbers by 2015. Thailand, India and Singapore are expected to control more than 80% market share in 2015. From 2009-2011 the number of medical tourist in India has grown by 30%. South Korea is a fast growing medial tourism destination. It is estimated that by 2015 South Korea will attract more than 300 thousand medical tourists.

Some Insurance companies like WellPoint and Health net announced a program that will allow employees of a Wisconsin printing company to get coverage for non-emergency surgical in India. Medical tourism helps insurance companies to lower down the burden.  

Top 10 destinations for Medical Tourism

India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brazil, Korea, Cost Rica, Turkey, Mexico. 

Why these ten designations?  There are varieties of factors including followings-

 Government and private sector investment in healthcare infrastructure

Broad commitment to international accreditation, quality assurance, and transparency of outcomes

International patient flow

Potential for cost savings

Political transparency and stability

Ease of access to tourism infrastructure

Sustained reputation for specialty excellence

History of healthcare innovation and achievement

Successful adoption of best practices and cutting-edge medical technology

Availability of internationally-trained, experienced medical staff

                                                                                  

Followings are the top specialties for Medical Travelers

Cosmetic Surgery

Cardiology

Oncology

Spine Surgery

Ophthalmology

Dentistry, Orthopedics

Reproductive/IVF

Weight Loss Surgery

Health Screenings

How much money one can save on Cost on Surgeries?

India : 65%-80%

Brazil: 25%-40%

Costa Rica: 40%-65%

Korea: 30%-45%

Malaysia: 65%-80%

Mexico: 40%-65%

Singapore: 30%-45%

Taiwan: 40-55%

Thailand: 50%-70%

Turkey: 50%-65%

People prefer medical tourism for numbers of reason. For many western countries cost is main reason, for other countries accessibility and availability are motivation factors. A survey conducted has been by the medical tourism company to find out the “Why are patients deciding to travel abroad for treatment?”   Following are the result of the survey.

88% - People says Affordability (Costly in Home Country)

66%- Waiting period is high

57% -Quality

46%- Availability

38%-Better care

36%- Tourism factors

30%-Privacy

28%- Additional Benefit

26%-Adaptability (treatment is not acceptable in Home country (e.g- Foetal  sex determination )

13 %- other reasons

Comparison of the surgery cost

Surgery	USA	Colombia	Costa Rica	India	Jordan	Korea	Mexico	Singapore	Thailand
Heart Bypass	$144,000	$14,630	$25,000	$8,500	$10,000	$24,000	$20,000	$13,500	$24,000
Angioplasty	$57,000	$7,106	$13,000	$8,500	$5,000	$19,600	$16,000	$7,500	$7,000
Heart Valve Replacement	$170,000	$10,450	$30,000	$1,200	$12,000	$36,000	$30,000	$13,500	$22,000
Hip Replacement	$50,000	$8,360	$12,500	$8,000	$8,000	$16,450	$13,125	$11,100	$14,000
Hip Resurfacing	$50,000	$10,500	$12,000	$8,000	$8,000	$20,900	$12,800	$12,100	$16,000
Knee Replacement	$50,000	$7,106	$11,500	$7,000	$7,000	$17,800	$10,650	$10,800	$12,000
Spinal Fusion	$100,000	$14,500	$15,000	$12,000	$10,000	$17,350	$7,000	$18,300	$11,000
Dental Implant	$2,000-10,000	$1,672	$1,000	$700	$500	$3,400	$910	$2,900	$3,000
Lap Band	$30,000	$6,500	$8,500	$7,500	$5,000	$9,500	$8,430	$12,000	$12,000
Breast Implants	$10,000	$2,600	$3,500	$4,500	$3,000	$11,000	$8,000	$5,400	$3,700
Rhinoplasty	$8,000	$1,677	$5,500	$3,500	$2,500	$4,000	$4,165	$2,700	$3,400
Face Lift	$15,000	$3,305	$5,900	$7,000	$3,000	$3,000	$7,200	$4,000	$6,600
Hysterectomy	$15,000	$1,845	$5,500	$5,500	$2,500	$9,000	$6,675	$4,000	$5,000

Issues related to Medical Tourism Growth

Assessing reliable information.

Too many new comer jumping on medical tourism bandwagon, not experienced or understanding of the industry.

Lack of pre and post-operative care arrangement.

Complicated intra-county laws and legal procedures.

Lack of support system by Gov. Bodies.

Patients not being properly informed about pro and cons.

Language difficulties and other communication problem.

Cross cultural misunderstandings.

Challenge for hospital and providers in maintaining internationally acceptable standards.

Lack of willingness to travel abroad for medical treatment.

Some Disadvantage of Medical Tourism

Cost is usually the primary reason for opting for treatment abroad, so what are you sacrificing to save a few bucks?  How much are you willing to concede to get the treatment you can afford?

Will you be traveling alone or bringing some family members or friends with you?  This will of course add to your cost, but would you like to be recuperating in a foreign country on your own?  Would your family be prepared to let you?  It is likely that you will be advised not to fly in the immediate aftermath of the procedure, so be prepared to spend numerous days and nights tied up.

Getting treatment abroad – no matter the reputation of the hospital – is always a flight into the unknown.  You may be talking to doctors who can’t articulate the details of the procedure to your understanding.  You might wonder are these hospitals regulated and managed to the same standards and practices as your local hospitals.  Is there a reason why your local hospital is quoting such an extraordinarily high price in comparison?  Maybe the procedure just is that complicated?

Will you be covered by your insurance company?  There may be a small chance that your premium may not cover procedures which are carried out overseas, so obviously, this should be checked out in advance.  You would imagine they would encourage this type of cost effectiveness, but they must also take into consideration the chances of malpractice or error on behalf of the hospital involved.  Some hospitals may have a tenuous reputation when it comes to libelous malpractice claims.

Bring out some thing new from your Old Product and Services

If you are looking for new market segments for your old product and services. This is the simple exercise or you can say brainstorming kind of thing to look back to your business and find out new market.

Just ask yourself or your team or you can put it on the notice board to get input from your employee.

Who Else -  Who else could use this idea other than your current target customers or segments ?

Where Else - When else could you use this idea ?

When Else - When else could utilize this benefit ?

How Else - How else could use this idea work?



Source : http://www.futurethink.com

In Future, fleet of robots will replace the hospital Workers

The way technology are moving fast we can say that in future Robot will replace the most of the hospitals workers. We have examples from the other industry like Automobile, where most the work done by the Robot. What this Robots can do is very well depicted in movie called Surrogates (Bruce willis).

Forth Valley Royal Hospital, I think would be the first hospital who ever going to try the robotic staff for various works in hospital. There would be a robotic pharmacy where all the prescribe drug will be give by the robots. The robots, which have their own network of corridors under the Forth Valley Royal Hospital, will carry clinical waste, deliver food, clean the operating theatre and dispense drugs. Japan are already using these robots for there hospital so there staff can pay more attention on patients. For more information you can visit this like 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10344849

 

Here is the link from BBC so you can see the small video clip. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10348099  

 

Kano Model Analysis- Delivering Products/Services That Delight

The Kano Model of customer satisfaction classifies product/service attributes based on how they are perceived by the customers and their effect on customer satisfaction. This model is useful technique for deciding which feature you want to include in product/services. It is also useful to do Gap analysis about you product/service with the customers expectation and the Gap analysis between What customer expect or what do you perceive that customer are expecting? 

The Kano Model divides the product/services attributes is three categories. 1) Threshold 2) Performance 3) Excitements. 

A competitive product/services must meet the basic attribute, maximize the performance attributes, include as many as excitements attributes at cost of that market can bear. 

Threshold Attributes:

These are the basic or expected attributes that a product/services must have, and do not provide opportunity for product/services differentiation. Increasing the performance of these attributes provide diminishing return in the term of customer satisfaction, but absence of this attribute can lead to extreme dissatisfaction. Fox example : Brakes on a Car. 

Performance Attributes: 

Performance attributes are those which are not necessary but but which are known about and increase the customer's enjoyment of the product/Services. The price for which customer are willing to pay for a product closely tied to performance attributes. For example. Customers are willing to pay for car which provide better fuel economy.

Excitements Attributes: 

Which customers don't even know they want, but are delighted when they find them. This attributes are unspoken and unexpected by the customers and result high satisfaction however, absence of these attributes does not leads to dissatisfaction. These attributes satisfy the latent need of customer which they are unaware. When in marketplace there are similar product and services are available then these attributes can give competitive aadvantages. For example: Vacuum cleaner that indicates when the floor being cleaned is dust-free. 

Assessing the Balance of Power in a Business Situation

The Porter's Five Forces tool is a simple but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a business situation. This is useful, because it helps you understand both the strength of your current competitive position, and the strength of a position you're considering moving into

A Porter`s Five Forces approach to your Hospital/Clinic or any business you are in. 

 

 

1. Competitive Rivalry: 

In business it is very important to see what`s your competitors are up-to. How many new hospitals and clinic has opened near by you and are any new hospitals/clinics are about to come. Whenever new competitor inter in your area, some how some market shares goes down but if you keep watch on that and keep your process innovative you can win. No matter how many competitors are their if you services are above mark and you have brand value then no problem but still you have to keep continuous improvement in your quality care or delivery of healthcare care. Do research what services your competitors are giving compare it with your own, What you are lacking behind full fill those points. Compare the cost of care others are proving, What are the cost of same services in your set up?. Are you giving low quality care with high cost?. Do check your customer loyalty? What are their view about your services? Are they fully satisfied with your services? Do SWOT analysis kind of things. List out those services are process which are your strength that no one provide that. 

2. Threat of New Entry

Your current power can also be affected by the new entry. May the new hospital which are about to open is having latest technology with new process approach which are high in demand among patient or need of the patient. New entry might have strategic location which is near to high way, shopping mall or near corporate buildings, this gives more advantage to new entry to have more patients than you. May be due to recent changes in Gov. policy to buy a land in prime location the their is no barrier to entry. 

3. Buyer Power

Here you ask yourself how easy it is for buyers to drive prices down. Again, this is driven by the number of buyers, the importance of each individual buyer to your business, the cost to them of switching from your products and services to those of someone else, and so on. what is the size of your loyal customers? Are patient able to find new alternative to you like new doctors, clinics, hospital due to low cost. There are must be reason that your patient are shifting to other cheaper hospitals,clinic and providers. How your organization is working with insurance companies or TPA`s to maintain the customer flow.

4. Threat of Substitution

Not-for profit hospitals poses medium to high threat depending on the location of the hospitals. These hospitals on mission to provide care for free or lower cost might be affect your services. 

Gov. Hospitals is can be also a threat if gov is competing hard to provide world class care in lower rate then. Generally large population who are working in Gov sector prefer gov hospital for low cost. They lots of subsidies schemes for patients.

Technology as a Substitute  for example E-health, mhealth, call a doctors etc can uses technology to reduce unnecessary visit to hospitals. Patient can be treated at home by just browsing or just sending an sms to doctors. Even patient need not to go to the hospitals for refill, technology enables them to automatically gives information about the when do you need refill. 

Wellness center of preventive care. change in people view they are shifting from curative to preventive care, they are realizing that health is wealth so they so go wellness center to learn how to be healthy by changing life style. 

5. Supplier Power 

 

They are high threat to any hospitals/Clinic. If supplier have the control over price than they can take advantage of it. Due to rise in demand hospital consumable also increase and if there are few suppliers of providing good quality of product then have control on price. Also, due to advancement in technology the medical equipment needs high capitals cost to buy latest technology