“Health tourism” is waiting for comprehensive strategy and systematic structure
The absence of a comprehensive strategy for health tourism in the country and the lack of a specific trustee for this field, on the one hand, has caused all the capacities not to be used to attract health tourists and earn currency for the country, and on the other hand, an unhealthy competition has been formed between companies active in this sector, which can lead to waste of resources and wasted opportunities.
Health tourism, which is sometimes known as medical tourism, has existed in different countries for centuries, but in recent years, it has been noticed as a dynamic and attractive industry. Traveling to other countries or cities to benefit from the business of doctors and using hot springs or salt lakes, mud or medical massage is one of the old effects of health tourism that has been going on throughout history, but the expansion of communication and information about medical and health services in other countries countries, the sharp difference in the price of medical services in different countries and the existence of suitable infrastructure have made health tourism attractive in some countries and attract hundreds of thousands of people from different parts of the world.
According to scientific definitions, health tourism is realized when applicants go to another country with the aim of receiving medical and health treatment services, and in general, this subject tourism can be divided into two main groups of medical tourism (Medical Tourism) including the use of Medical services (examination, surgery, hospitalization, etc.), which is the most common and well-known type of health tourism and curative tourism, including cases where applicants use services such as mud therapy, hot springs, hydrotherapy, sunbathing, massage Medical and… leave for the destination country, he categorized that in the second group, these services are provided with the advice of doctors or under the supervision of doctors. Of course, there are other types of health tourism, such as wellness tourism, medical recreational tourism, etc., which are at the next level of importance.
A look at the history of health tourism shows that in the 21st century, the conditions of this industry have changed and undergone fundamental changes compared to the past. For example, in the past people from less developed countries went to developed countries to use their medical and surgical services, but now this trend is reversed; So that in recent years we see travel from developed and rich countries to less developed countries with the aim of medical tourism. The high cost of medical, surgical and dental care in developed countries has caused their residents to travel to other countries where the cost of treatment is cheaper.
Some statistics and reports show that the value of the medical and health tourism market reaches 60 billion dollars annually, which increases between 10 and 20 percent annually.
Mud therapy in Lake Urmia
Meanwhile, on the one hand, Iran has a wide and strong health and medical network in West Asia and the Middle East, experienced doctors and advanced hospitals and treatment centers, and on the other hand, due to the cheap price of medical and surgical services compared to other countries. to other countries, in recent years it has become a hub for medicine and health tourism in the region.
The beginning of the health tourism industry in Iran goes back to the early 1380s, when relevant institutions, including the Ministry of Health, paid attention to it; Reasonable and cheap prices for services such as cosmetic surgery, infertility, specialized surgeries and the presence of well-equipped medical centers have drawn hundreds of thousands of patients and medical tourists from neighboring countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Oman to Iran. Now, if you visit the main and specialized hospitals in Tehran, Qom, Mashhad, Shiraz, Yazd, Rasht, etc., you will see that a large number of nationals of neighboring countries and sometimes Europeans have come to use the services of these centers.
The increasing presence of health tourists in Iran depends on various factors, including the presence of experienced surgeons, the low price of surgery costs, the reasonable price of beauty services, the easy process of obtaining a visa, the low rate of stay in Iran, the existence of naturopathy centers and He mentioned hydrotherapy and… Of course, Iran has had a difficult path in becoming the medical center of the region and is facing serious competitors. UAE, Turkey and India are among the main competitors of Iran in West Asia and South Asia for attracting health tourists. These three countries also have better infrastructure in the tourism sector. They are public and have a systematic structure in the health and medical tourism sector, which can make the competition more difficult for our country.
A look at the state of health tourism and medical tourism in our country shows that despite the increasing trend of the activists of this sector and despite the growing acceptance for the treatment process inside Iran, we still lack a comprehensive and macro strategy in this sector. The lack of a systematic structure for policy making and targeting, weak marketing and lack of supervision have caused problems that must be solved.
Currently, there is a fierce competition between some countries in the region to become a hub of health tourism and attract patients. In this regard, these countries are trying to attract patients who need treatment by providing standard service packages, providing transportation and communication infrastructures, creating a health-medical tourism service chain, etc.
In the meantime, the lack of a comprehensive strategy for health tourism in the country and the lack of a specific trustee for this field have caused that, on the one hand, all the capacities of the country are not used to attract health tourists and earn currency for the country, and on the other hand, unhealthy competition between active companies Form in this sector, which can lead to waste of resources and burning opportunities.
The lack of a systematic structure and lack of community strategy in the field of health tourism has caused a number of companies and people without birth certificates to work in the field of attracting foreign patients. Due to the lack of supervision by committing various violations and abuses, these companies without birth certificates, in addition to creating an unhealthy underground economy, have narrowed the field for the activities of reputable and legal companies and have caused the image of the medical community of our country to be distorted in the eyes of foreigners.