Authors : Sogand Tourani, S. Jamaledin Tabibi, Shahram Tofighi and Nasrin Shaarbafchi Zadeh
Abstract: Globalization and liberalization of trade in health services has made medical tourism feasible and continues to grow. This industry provides new additional financial resources to health systems of the participating countries and also provides saving costs of health services for those countries are outsourcing these services to developing countries and for the uninsured patients have to pay treatments bills out of pocket too. This study aims to define the challenges and opportunities of medical tourism industry in Iran and propose some mechanisms to make Iran prosper with this new Industry. The potential opportunities and challenges of Iran medical tourism got through interview, this phase leaded to create the 5 point Likert scale questionnaire. Data gathered from the questionnaires were answered by health services providers in private sector was analyzed by MADM approach, TOPSIS method. The most important challenges Iran Medical Tourism faced by are: create dual market structure in health services, non-portability of health insurances and lack of support of private sector by the government and main opportunities are increasing access to medical tourism market that resulted to increasing revenues, growing private sector participating in health services and decreasing of the number of patients go abroad for treatment. The opportunities and challenges of this industry are different between countries and every country should enter this area with attention to it is relative advantages.
Sogand Tourani, S. Jamaledin Tabibi, Shahram Tofighi and Nasrin Shaarbafchi Zadeh, 2010. Medical Tourism in Iran: Analysis of Opportunities and Challenges with MADM Approach. Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 5: 251-257.