Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / Bimal K. Paul / Medical tourism comprises a phenomenon where over five million patients
a year are traveling across international borders to obtain various forms of health
care. Most of these patients travel from developed countries to developing
countries, seeking highly invasive medical treatments to less invasive and
recreational medical procedures. By the year 2012, the medical tourism industry
generated over $100 billion with over 50 countries making it a priority in trade for
their country. With active government promotions, India has become one of the
leading destinations for medical tourism.
The objective of this research was to answer the questions: 1) how do the
attitudes and behaviors of patients towards the concept of medical tourism
influence their decision to become a medical tourist; 2) why do medical tourists
seek treatment in India; and 3) what are the issues and challenges they face
before coming to India as well as while in India. Interviews of thirty-four foreign
patients were conducted in six sites spread across the South-Indian cities of
Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai which revealed useful information in
addressing the research objectives. The three most important reasons that these
medical tourists chose India for their treatments were: 1) the high quality of the
doctors and medical facilities in India, 2) the affordable cost of treatments, and 3)
the availability of specific treatments that might not have been available in their
home countries. Patients also researched the topic thoroughly before they came
to India. Knowledge was gained primarily from the Internet, print media,
television shows and friends. Overall, the patients had very positive attitudes
towards medical tourism. Most of them felt that they could get treatment
because of their positive opinion on medical tourism, their ability to get treatment
if they desired, and support from their families and loved ones.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/16193 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Reddy, Sumanth Gopala |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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