Medical Tourism Service Quality: An Indian Perspective

Medical tourism, a growing phenomenon in the world today, possesses a worthwhile potential for the economic development of any country. Globalization, development of information and communications technology (ICT) and adherence to international quality standards potentially result in a significant increase in the movement of patients and healthcare professionals across national boundaries. The emerging manifestation of healthcare is known as medical tourism or health tourism or medical travel. Patients in developed countries prefer cross-border healthcare for such specific reasons as low cost, avoidance of long waiting time, low insurance premium, affordability of air travel, joint commission international (JCI) accredited hospitals etc. Since India attempts to position itself as one of the preferred global medical tourism hubs, a thorough understanding of means to attract, satisfy and retain medical tourists is extremely important. In such context, the medical tourist's perception of service quality is critical. This book is on service quality issues in the context of medical tourism in India.