34 research outputs found
Medical sociology as a heuristic instrument for medical tourism and cross-border healthcare Comment on âInternational patients on operation vacation â perspectives of patients travelling to Hungary for orthopedic treatmentsâ
In this commentary, we establish a relationship between medical sociology and the study of medical tourism
and cross-border healthcare by introducing Ronald Andersenâs behavioral model of healthcare use, and
linking this model to the recent empirical study of Kovacs
et al.
on patients travelling to Hungary for
orthopedic treatment. Finally, we plead for more measurement in the field of patient mobility
Medical Tourism and Transnational Health Care
Medicine and tourism have become separated in contemporary popular consciousness. The former implies anything but a pleasurable experience and the latter presumes a healthy disposition for participation. We argue that this popular conception of the separation of tourism and medicine ignores an historical continuity of lineage from the 18th century pursuit of a 'cure' at resorts and spas, to 20th century notions of holidays as worker welfare through to global patient mobility in the quest for cutting-edge medical interventions in so-called 'untreatable' conditions. Disciplinary divisions within the academy have reinforced the separation between medicine and tourism in popular culture, but there is now an emergent challenge to re-think the medicine/tourism nexus. Under the influence of transnational health care consumption, two very contrasting traditions of Western thought are now confronting one another. This book provides a comprehensive landscape of diverse research communities' attempts to capture its implications for existing bodies of knowledge in selected aspects of medicine, medical ethics, health policy and management, and tourism studies
Magic Mountains and multi-disciplines in international medical mobilities Comment on âPatient mobility in the global marketplace: a multidisciplinary perspectiveâ
Medical mobilities offer both opportunities and challenges. This tension follows the same ratio as many other
historic fora, but offers at the same time a sustainable equilibrium. Multi-disciplines are, therefore, the key to the
medical lifeworld for the global health and well-being of transnational health users around the globe