Health Tourism: Opportunities, Constraints, Obstacles and Solutions

Tourism is an economic activity which, because of its special features, creates the possibility of using natural resources for all nations of the world, regardless of their level of development. In the industry classification, tourism is the third largest industry in the world after the oil and automobile industries. According to a UN report, one of the most important tools of economic development and income generation is the tourism industry. Statistics indicate that 750,000 American tourists have traveled outside their country to receive medical treatment. Other statistics show that about 40 percent of the health sector income is obtained from health tourism, and statistical estimates represent that the income earned from health tourism in the world will be a trillion, five hundred and ninety million dollars in 2020. Recently, health tourism in its three forms of wellness tourism, medical tourism, and curative tourism has become very popular for various reasons, including the high costs of living in industrialized countries, the considerable and high time of responsiveness and accountability of these countries' healthcare systems, and the existence of rich natural resources in other countries. Compared with other countries in the region, Iran can become a country suitable for health tourism, because it has high ecological diversity and the nature of the four seasons, rich and abundant natural resources, mineral water springs, skilled and experienced physicians and nurses, and affordable and low cost healthcare services

Emergency Medical Services in Iran

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Iran, named Emergency 115 was established in 1978 with cooperation from America. In Iran, EMS delivery is financed by the government and is free of charge to those served. Established standards call for a response time of less than eight minutes in cities and less than 15 minutes in suburban areas for 80% of the cases, and this standard has been met everywhere in the country except for Tehran (the capital of Iran). Emergency services coverage for traffic accidents has exceeded 52.3%. In recent years, the Foundation of Medical Emergency Schools has established emergency medicine training programs for both EMS personnel and the general public. Also, personnel of the Iran Medical Emergency and Accidents Management Organization are establishing the standards for hospital emergency procedures and providing oversight of the emergency departments in hospitals. Over all, pre-hospital emergency services have made notable advances, and they are continuing to improve

The Social Determinants of Health in Military Forces of Iran: A Qualitative Study

Providing effective health interventions and achieving equity in health need to apply the community-based approaches such as social determinants of health. In the military organizations, these determinants have received less attention from the military health researchers and policymakers. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and explain the social determinants affecting the health of military forces in Iran. This was a qualitative study which was conducted in 2014. The required data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed through Conventional Content Analysis. The studied sample consisted of 22 military health experts, policymakers, and senior managers selected using purposeful sampling method with maximum variation sampling. MAXQDA.2007 was used to analyze the collected data. After analyzing the collected data, two main contents, that is, “general social determinants of health” and “military social determinants of health,” with 22 themes and 90 subthemes were identified as the social determinants of military forces’ health. Main themes were religious rule, spirituality promotion policies, international military factors, military command, and so forth. Given the role and importance of social factors determining the military forces’ health, it can be recommended that the military organizations should pay more attention to these determinants in making policies and creating social, economic, and cultural structures for their forces

Identifying and Prioritizing Barriers to Health Tourism Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process

Introduction: Iran offers many advantages for health tourism, e.g., low costs, high quality healthcare, qualified doctors, and abundant natural attractions, but there are also obstacles to the development of health tourism in Iran. This study aimed to identify and prioritize the barriers to health tourism in hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the first 6 months of 2016. Six main components were identified based on experts’ opinions; then, based on these components, a questionnaire for pairwise comparison was produced and completed by the same experts. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) model was used to prioritize the identified factors.Results: Results showed that among the barriers to health tourism in the investigated hospitals, the most important obstacle is the unfamiliarity of medical staff with foreign languages with a weight of 0.268. Lack of manpower and inappropriate physical were ranked second and third in priority with weights of 0.214 and 0.157, respectively.Conclusion: Considering the available capacities and potentials, effective and impressive steps can be taken to economically develop the medical tourism industry in Iran

Assessment of Factors Affecting the Establishment of Hospitals in Iran

Background: It is important to set up hospitals, since they play a key role in providing health care services based on the budget allocated to the health sector. Objective:  This study evaluated factors militating against the establishment of hospitals in Iran. It also emphasized the importance of health care services. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 using a qualitative approach. The study sample consisted of 22 people, officials, administrators and health experts who were recruited by purposeful selection. In order to collect data, a semi-structured interview was conducted. Data was analyzed using an Atlas-Ti software. Results: Analysis of the interviews suggest that the issue of providing services in terms of ease of access and equity in the allocation of health services is also the focus of particular attention. The socio-economic status of regions were examined in terms of the need for poverty alleviation, equity in health and well-being of interest to industry participants. The survey interviews revealed that the issue of financing and human resources for provincial hospitals, were the key challenges raised by participants in the study. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, feasibility studies and evidence-based management optimal decisions were adopted in order to build and operate hospitals in the provinces

The Inquiry of International Standards for Medical Tourism: A Case Study into Hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry that has provided special opportunities to gain competitive advantage over international health organizations. This study aimed to investigate the quality requirements based on Joint Commission International (JCI) for medical tourism in selected hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study that was conducted at three educational hospitals operated by Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2013. The data were collected through the last updated checklists (translation of the standards of JCI, comprising 13 axial) completed by the researcher. Data analysis was done using descriptive and analytical tests including frequency, standard deviation and T- Test by means of SPSS 19.0. Results: Studied hospitals met 76.8% of organization-oriented standards plus 75.4% of patient-oriented standards. There were two patient-oriented standards, namely access to care and its continuity 87.2% alongside anesthesia and surgery care 86.6% which were met at the highest level. On the other side, organization-oriented standard of leadership and guidance 69.2% was the item met at the least. Conclusion: It seems that studied hospitals are ready to attract medical tourists by the advantage of service quality. Moreover, it is necessary to give attention to the strengths and improve the weaknesses concerning quality of services. Criteria on service charges, waited time and etc, should be scientifically analyzed and reviewed as well

Prioritization of Factors Affecting Time Management among Health Managers

Introduction: In today's world, having principle and targeted management is one of the progress and development factors of any organization. Effective use of time for each manager is the most important base for managing current affairs and controlling daily activities. The present study aimed to investigate and analyze the relationship between factors affecting time management among the senior, middle and first-line managers of the hospitals in Kermanshah in 2015. Methods: This was a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study conducted in 2015 in ten hospitals of Kermanshah. The study population consisted of all senior, middle and first-line managers of the studied hospitals (N=240) which were selected using census method. The required data were collected using a researcher-made pair-wise comparison questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using the DEMATEL technique through Matlab8.1.0.604 software. Results: The results showed that, from the studied managers’ viewpoints, the variables of goal setting and prioritization of objectives and activities were certainly affecting variables and located in the cause group. Also, the variables of planning, delegation, communication management, and meetings management were affected variables and located in the effect group. Furthermore, in the hierarchy of affecting and affected variables influencing time management, goal setting and meetings management with the coordinates (1.23, 1.23) and (1.06, -1.05) were identified as the highest and lowest priorities and were considered as the most affecting and most affected variables, respectively. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that among the studied variables influencing time management, goal setting was the highest priority and most affecting variable, and meetings management was the lowest priority and the most affected variable. It is recommended to increase the hospital managers’ knowledge about time management and the need for accurate goal setting through providing management and time management courses, and requiring them to develop a time management plan in order to improve their time management