Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Significance of Accreditation on Medical Tourism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Medical Tourism in Developing Countries

  • 115 Accesses

Abstract

Traveling to foreign countries for medical treatment is becoming more common. There are numerous opportunities for ethical providers and practitioners in the frontiers of globalized healthcare and medical tourism. Patient care quality encompasses everything a healthcare institution does, from how they care for their patients to ensuring effective, efficient, and fair service delivery and adherence to occupational safety. Because the quality of patient care in hospitals can only be judged after treatment, international patients frequently choose their hospitals abroad depending on their accreditation status. Accreditation ensures cost-effective healthcare and allows patients to make informed decisions about which hospitals they prefer for their abroad treatment. Despite the medical tourism industry’s tremendous growth, just a few criteria exist to assure that these institutions provide high-quality, competent international healthcare. Accreditation fills a significant regulatory void in various nations. Patients should seek treatment only at certified foreign healthcare centers. Standards should be set to guarantee that medical tourism clients make informed decisions. Accreditation of medical tourism companies is required. Continuity of care must become an essential component of cross-border care. Medical tourism companies should set restrictions on liability waiver forms. Medical tourism companies must guarantee that they follow appropriate patient privacy and confidentiality legislation. Medical tourism is one of India's fastest-growing industries, and the country is known as a global medical tourism hotspot. India is a popular medical tourism destination because of its high-quality healthcare at a low cost. This sector has enormous potential to grow its services with more investments in building, infrastructure, technology, and services to offer a seamless experience for overseas patients.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ACHSI (2011) Members list. www.achs.org.au/memberorglist/#HONGKONG. Accessed July 2011

  • Aetna Global Benefits (2008) Aetna global benefits about products. http://www.aetnaglobalbenefits.com/about/index.html. Accessed 12 December 2008

  • Alkhenizan A (2010) Assessment of the accreditation standards of the Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions in Saudi Arabia against the principles of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua). Ann Saudi Med 30(5):386–389

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Alkhenizan A (2011) Impact of accreditation on the quality of healthcare services: a systematic review of the literature. Ann Saudi Med 31(4):407–416

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Arunmozhi T (2013) Types of tourism in India. Int J Curr Res Acad Rev 1(1):84–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertinato L, Busse R, Fahy N (2005) Cross-border health care in Europe. Denmark: policy brief, WHO on behalf of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. www.euro.who.int/document/e87922.pdf. Accessed January 2012

  • Brubakk K, Vist GE, Bukholm G, Barach P, Tjomsland O (2015) A systematic review of hospital accreditation: the challenges of measuring complex intervention effects BMC Health Services Research 15(1) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-015-0933-x

  • Bukonda N, Tavrow P, Abdallah H (2003) Implementing a national hospital accreditation program: the Zambian experience. Int J Qual Health Care 14(1):7–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell CA (2019) Plastic surgery medical tourism in Colombia: a review of 658 international patients and 1,796 cosmetic surgery procedures. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 7(5):e2233

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Carabello L (2008) A medical tourism primer for US physicians. Med Pract Manage 23(5):291–294

    Google Scholar 

  • Cattaneo O (2009) Trade in health services what’s in it for developing countries? Policy Research Working Paper 5115. The World Bank Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network International Trade Department. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id_1503809. Accessed January 2012

  • CBAHI (n.d.) Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI). Retrieved from www.cbahi.org

  • CDS (2000) External quality mechanisms for health care: summary of the ExPeRT project on visitatie, accreditation, EFQM and ISO assessment in European Union countries. Eur Found Qual Manage ISO Int Qual Health Care 12:169–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen J, Rathore S, Radford M (2003) JCAHO accreditation and quality of care for acute myocardial infarction. Health Aff 22:243–254

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chinai R, Goswami R (2007) Medical visas mark growth of Indian medical tourism. Bull World Health Organ 85(3):164–165

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chuang S (2019) An international systems-theoretic comparison of hospital accreditation: developing an implementation typology. Int J Qual Health Care 31(5):371–377

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chung-Ping A, Loh RE (2019) International accreditation, linguistic proximity, and trade in medical services. Soc Sci Med 238:112403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CIGNA Envoy (2008) CIGNA envoy. http://www.cignaenvoy.com/ciebpublic/

  • Connell J (2006) Medical tourism: sea, sun, sand and surgery. Tour Manag 27:1093–1100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crone R (2008) Flat medicine? Exploring trends in the globalization of health care. Acad Med 83(2):117–121

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dastur F (2012) Hospital accreditation: a certificate of proficiency for healthcare institutions. J Assoc Physicians India 60:12–13

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • David SN (2017) National accreditation board for hospitals and healthcare providers (NABH) standards: a review. Curr Med Issues 15(3):231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawn SK (2011) Medical TOURISM in India: issues, opportunities and designing strategies for growth and development. Int J Multidiscip Res 1(3):185–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Deloitte Center for Health Solutions (2008) Medical tourism consumers in search of value. Deloitte and Touche, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrbeck T, Guevara C, Mango P (2008) Mapping the market for medical travel. The McKinsey Quarterly. www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Mapping_the_market_for_travel_2134#. Accessed January 2012

  • Erhun F, Kaplan R, Narayanan V, Milstein A et al (2020) Are cost advantages from a modern Indian hospital transferable to the United States? Am Heart J 224:148–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2020.04.009. PMID:32402701

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Frølich A (2002) Akkreditering af hospitaler. En gennemgang af internationale erfaringer [Accreditation of hospitals. A review of international experiences]. Ugeskr Laeger 164(38):4412–4416

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield D (2009) Developing the evidence base for accreditation of healthcare organizations: a call for transparency and innovation. Qual Saf Health Care 18:162–163

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guastello S, Jay K (2019) Improving the patient experience through a comprehensive performance framework to evaluate excellence in person-centered care. BMJ Open Qual 8(4):e000737. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2019-000737. PMID:31673646

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Guiry M, Vequist DG (2010) The role of personal values in determining U.S. medical tourists’ expectations and perceptions of healthcare facility service quality: an exploratory investigation. J Tour Challenges Trends 3(2):115. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A253305990/HRCA?u=txshracd2623&sid=HRCA&xid=a1c12c10

    Google Scholar 

  • Gyani GJ (2014) The National Accreditation Board for Hospital and Health Care Providers accreditation program in India. World Hosp Health Serv 50(1):9–12

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hall C (2013) Medical tourism - the ethics, regulation, and marketing of health mobility, 1st edn. Routledge, New York, pp 39–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Hari Krishnan PK, Chandrasekhar KS (2020) Accreditation of hospitals: assuring quality health care for medical tourism in India. PJAEE 17(7). ISSN 1567-214x

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper J (2013) Current issues in medically assisted reproduction and genetics in Europe: research, clinical practice, ethics, legal issues, and policy. Eur J Hum Genet 21(2):S1–S21

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Herrick D (2007) Medical tourism: global competition in health care. NCPA policy report, vol. 304. National Centre for Policy Analysis, Dallas. Available at www.ncpa.org/pub/st304. Accessed January 2012

  • Hibbard J (2008) What can we say about the impact of public reporting? Inconsistent execution yields variable results. Ann Intern Med 148:160–161

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz M, Rosensweig J, Jones C (2007) Medical tourism: globalization of the healthcare marketplace. Medscape Gen Med 9(4):33

    Google Scholar 

  • Hussein M, Pavlova M, Ghalwash M, Groot W (2021) The impact of hospital accreditation on the quality of healthcare: a systematic literature review. BMC Health Serv Res 21(1):1. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A681621870/HRCA?u=txshracd2623&sid=bookmark-HRCA&xid=d0da22ff

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jabbari A (2012) Medical tourism in Iran: issues and challenges. J Educ Health Promot 1:39

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Jabarkhil AQ, Tabatabaee SS, Jamali J, Moghri J (2021) Assessment of patient safety culture among doctors, nurses, and midwives in a public hospital in Afghanistan. Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 19;14:1211–1217. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S292193.

  • Johnston R, Crooks V, Synder J, Kingsbury P (2010) What is known about the effects of medical tourism in destination and departure countries? A scoping review. Int J Equity Health 9(24):1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Joseph S (2021) Impact assessment of accreditation in primary and secondary public health-care institutions in Kerala, India. Indian J Public Health 65:110–115

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kevan S (1993) Quest for cures: a history of tourism for climate and health. Int J Biometeorol 37(2):113–124

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Labonté R (2018) Government roles in regulating medical tourism: evidence from Guatemala. Int J Equity Health 17:150

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lunt N, Carrera P (2010) Medical tourism: assessing the evidence on treatment abroad. Maturitas 66:27–32

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lunt N, Smith R, Mannion R, Green S, Exworthy M (2011) Implications for the NHS of inward and outward medical tourism. Available www.hsr.nihr.ac.uk/projects/09_2001_21.asp. Accessed June 2011

  • Malhotra N, Dave K (2022) An assessment of competitiveness of medical tourism industry in india: a case of Delhi NCR Internat J Global Busin Comp 17(2):215–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42943-022-00060-0

  • Mannion R, Davies H (2005) Taking stock of social capital in the production of health care. J Health Serv Res Policy 10(3):1–3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason A (2011) Framing medical tourism: an examination of appeal, risk, convalescence, accreditation, and interactivity in medical tourism websites. J Health Commun 16(2):163–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2010.535105

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McKinsey and Company (2008) Effectively characterizing medical travel: current and potential state. http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Health_Care/Strategy_Analysis/Mapping_the_market_for_travel_213_4. Accesssed 10 August 2009

  • Mihalik G, Scherer M, Schreter R (2003) The high price of quality: a cost analysis of NCQA accreditation. J Health Care Finance 29:38–47

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mothiravalley V (2012) Medical tourism in India (with special reference to Mangalore). Retrieved from Educational and Research Institute, Chennai. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/120158/2/thesis.pdf

  • Mydans S (2002) The perfecting Thai vacation, sun sea, and surgery. The New York Times, Travel Section, p 3

    Google Scholar 

  • Nahai F (2010) Don’t bargain on safety. In: Media planet: plastic surgery, 1st edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Nandraj S, Khot A, Menon S (2001) A stakeholder approach towards hospital accreditation in India. Health Policy Plan 16:70–79

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Niechajev I (2012) A plea to control medical tourism. Aesthet Plast Surg 36(1):202–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozan-Rafferty ME (2014) In the words of the medical tourist: an analysis of Internet narratives by health travelers to Turkey. J Med Internet Res 16(2):e43

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pocock N, Phua K (2011) Medical tourism and policy implications for health systems: a conceptual framework from a comparative study of Thailand. Singapore Malaysia Glob Health 7:12

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomey M, Contandriopoulos A, Francois P (2004) Accreditation: a tool for organizational change in hospitals? Int J Qual Health Care Includ Leadership Health Serv 17:113–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawlins R (2001) Hospital accreditation is important. BMJ 322(7287):674

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy S (2010) Medical tourism in India: progress or predicament? Econ Polit Wkly 17(20):69–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddy L (2017) Evaluating medical tourism prospects of Joint Commission International Accredited Hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Health Sci J 11:8

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts JS (1987) A history of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. JAMA 258(7):936–940

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenmoller M, McKee M, Baeten R (2006) Patient mobility in the European Union: learning from experience. Eur Observ Health Syst Policies 61(11):1014

    Google Scholar 

  • Scally G, Donaldson LJ (1998) The NHS’s 50 anniversary. Clinical governance and the drive for quality improvement in the new NHS in England. BMJ 4;317(7150):61–5. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.317.7150.61

  • Scrivens E (1995) Accreditation: what can we learn from the Anglophone model? Health Policy 34:193–204

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw C (2015) Chapter 37: hospital accreditation and medical tourism. In: Handbook on medical tourism and patient mobility. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham

    Google Scholar 

  • Shawan DA (2021) The effectiveness of the Joint Commission International Accreditation in Improving Quality at King Fahd University Hospital, Saudi Arabia: a mixed methods approach. J Healthc Leadership 13:47. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A654634771/HRCA?u=txshracd2623&sid=bookmark-HRCA&xid=b7a19afe

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheingold BH (2014) The history of healthcare quality: the first 100 years 1860-1960. Int J Afr Nurs Sci 1:18–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Shetty P (2010) Medical tourism booms in India, but at what cost? Lancet 376(9742):671–672

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith EB (2010) Reproductive tourism in Argentina: clinic accreditation and its implications for consumers, health professionals, and policy makers. Dev World Bioeth 10:59–69

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thoke S (2017) An overview of the medical tourism industry in India and its growth potential in Marathwada Region of Maharashtra. KRSCMS Manage J 7:1–13

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tomasich F, Oliveira AV, Oliveira AJ, Correia MITD (2020) The history of quality and safety of the surgical patient: from the initial standards to the present day. Rev Col Bras Cir 47. https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-6991e-20202650

  • Tomislav M (2022) Medical tourism accreditation. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Medical-Tourism-Accreditation.aspx

  • Turner L (2011) Quality in health care and globalization of health services: accreditation and regulatory oversight of medical tourism companies. Int J Qual Health Care 231:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Heijningen I (2010) Europe works on standards to enhance patient safety. ISAPS News 4(3):6

    Google Scholar 

  • Walshe K (2009) Pseudoinnovation: the development and spread of healthcare quality improvement methodologies. Int J Qual Health Care 21(3):153–159

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams J (1995) Risk management in surgery. In: Vincent C (ed) Clinical risk management enhancing patient safety. BMJ Publishing Group, London, pp 137–151

    Google Scholar 

  • York D (2008) Medical tourism: the trend toward outsourcing medical procedures to foreign countries. J Contin Educ Health Prof 28(2):99–102

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Youngman I (2009) Medical tourism statistics: why McKinsey has got it wrong. Int Med Travel J. Available at www.imtjonline.com/articles/2009/mckinsey-wrong-medical-travel/

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hospital Administration, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

    Jawahar S. K. Pillai & Ramkrishna Mondal

Authors
  1. Jawahar S. K. Pillai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ramkrishna Mondal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hospital Management and Hospice Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Bhupinder Chaudhary

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, India

    Dinesh Bhatia

  3. Aster DM Healthcare, Doha, Qatar

    Mahesh Patel

  4. ADA, Singapore, Singapore

    Sunaina Singh

  5. Department of Hospital Management, Hemchadracharya North Gujarat University, Patan, Gujarat, India

    Sushman Sharma

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Pillai, J.S.K., Mondal, R. (2024). Significance of Accreditation on Medical Tourism. In: Chaudhary, B., Bhatia, D., Patel, M., Singh, S., Sharma, S. (eds) Medical Tourism in Developing Countries. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8909-6_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8909-6_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-99-8908-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-8909-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation