Main description:

Medical Tourism and Wellness: Hospitality Bridging Healthcare (H2H) takes a systems approach to examining the growing field of medical tourism, one of the field's hottest niches, with billions of dollars spent each year. This important book fills the need for a modern management book that looks at medical tourism in depth from a medical and hospitality operational management perspective.

Growing numbers of people are going abroad to find affordable quality medical care for both necessary and cosmetic medical services. When they require surgery or dental work, they combine it with a trip to the Taj Mahal, a photo safari on the African veldt, or a stay at a luxury hotel-or at a hospital that feels like one-all at bargain-basement prices. The book takes a comprehensive look at medical tourism, covering such topics as:

The history of medical tourism
Why patients/tourists decide to travel for medical care
The role of professional facilitators of medical tourism
Key countries and medical disciplines in medical tourism
Transportation, food, entertainment, and hotel/hospitality services
Hotel and spa designs for medical tourism
Best practices in medical tourism
Patient follow-up after medical discharge
Future trends in medical tourism
Careers in medical tourism

With the inclusion of case studies, the book provides a comprehensive look into this growing trend and will be valuable to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in health care administration and those pursing MBAs in healthcare, medical students pursuing a management focus, and students in hospitality management. It will also be a must-have resource for professionals working in hotels and in health care.

Contents:

Introduction to the Phenomenon of "Medical Tourism". Using the System Model to Describe the Workings of the Mayo Clinic for Medical Tourism. An Overview of the Affordable Care Act and the Importance of Bringing Hotel/Hospitality Quality Services to Healthcare. A Disney Approach to Medical Tourism and Wellness. Improving the Health Care: The Patient/Guest Experience Academy. Bringing Hotel Hospitality Service Skills to Healthcare: The Guest Service Gold Training Program from the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Health Communication: Insights for Quality Hospitality Bridging Healthcare (H2H) Delivery in Medical Tourism. The Medical Spa in Healthcare: Exploring the Role of the Registered Dietitian. Domestic Medical Tourism: A Neglected Dimension of Medical Tourism Research. Evaluating the Performance of the Hotels in the Vicinity of the Selected World's Prominent Hospitals An Empirical Research Project. Future Trends in Medical Tourism and Wellness: Club Med or Club Medic?. A Cottage Industry Emerging in Medical Tourism: Medical Cannabis Tourism. New Innovations in Medical Tourism and Wellness in Europe: Switzerland. Best "Experience" Practices in Medical Tourism. Case Study: Medical Tourism: Recovery, Rainforests, and Restructuring: Opportunities for Hotels Bridging Healthcare (H2H). Case Study: Providing the Comforts of Home for Patients and Families of Geisinger Medical Center. Future Strategy for Medical Tourism and Wellness in China. Medical Tourism Today and in the Future for China. Trends in Medical Tourism in South Korea.