Stakeholder Roles and SWOT Analysis in Medical Tourism

Abstract

Medical tourism is one of our country's most important sources of income and foreign exchange. In this study, health service exports and medical tourism are used interchangeably. The aim of this study is to examine the main lines of medical tourism with the increasing health service exports in recent years. Additionally, determining medical tourism stakeholders and their roles and conducting a SWOT analysis of medical tourism in Turkey are among the other aims of the study. In one question, the participants were asked what needs to be done to develop medical tourism, and while the participants expressed the first place in this question to create a medium and long-term strategic plan that takes into account the interests of all stakeholders, they expressed the creation of synergy by measuring sectoral efficiency in the second place. Again, the participants, respectively, should monitor patient satisfaction and increase it consistently, ensure that the public authority supports the patient in financial and medical problems, promote our country as a successful health destination in the world, support healthcare providers to become global world brands, ensure international accreditations, and They stated that raising service standards should be adopted as a sectoral culture. The SWOT analysis created for medical tourism claimed that although our country has weaknesses and threats, it can have a better place in the world with its opportunities and strengths. While the most notable strengths are physician quality, up-to-date and advanced health technology, diversity and depth of service quality, accessible prices, waiting time in favor of the patient, short time to diagnosis and geographical location, the opportunity headings are; The first answers given were the increase in the demand for health in the world to seek healing in different countries, the size of the market, the fact that we are more aggressive than our competitors, and the long waiting times of our competitors. Another group of questions asked to the participants was about our weaknesses and threats, as weaknesses; While the number and capacity of human resources to speak languages and price competition between service providers, which reduces service standards and patient satisfaction, find their place among the answers, as threats; Wars, pandemics, refugee migrations and brain drain were the first answers given.