Medical Tourism

Medical tourism, a complex interplay of healthcare, economics, and culture, offers both opportunities and challenges for patients, providers, and nations alike.
Who seeks medical services abroad, and why? Which procedures are most commonly performed, and which countries are hotspots for medical tourism? What role do intermediary healthcare facilitators play? This book offers an accessible introduction to this multifaceted topic, answering all of these questions and more. The book also explores a variety of issues related to medical tourism, including patients' concerns about quality of care and safety and regulatory gray areas that can arise when medical care crosses national boundaries. A collection of five engaging case studies help bring the subject to life, illustrating concepts and issues discussed in the text. A glossary and annotated directory of resources round out the volume.

Lydia Gan, PhD, is Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, USA. She teaches courses in health economics and principles of economics. Dr. Gan has written extensively on medical tourism, including 30 journal articles and 2 book chapters.

Series Foreword
Acknowledgements
Preface
Part I: Overview:
1. The Basics of Medical Tourism
2. Medical Tourists
3. Treatment Types
4. The Destinations: Foreign Healthcare Providers
5. The Middlemen: Medical Tourism Facilitators
6. Intrastate Medical Tourism in the United States
Part II: Controversies and Issues
7. Consumers' Concerns Related to Medical Tourism
8. Issues Faced by Insurance Companies and Employers
9. Regulatory and Ethical Issues for Home Countries
10. The Larger Impacts of Medical Tourism
Part III. Scenarios
Directory of Resources
Glossary
Bibliography
Index:
About the Author: