by David Williams
December 6, 2007 at 2:44 pm
· Filed under Medical Tourism
South Korea is dipping its toe in the medical tourism water. Last week I traveled there and visited several hospitals. The 10-part from my trip is now available on MedTripInfo. Here’s a summary.
Korea has a lot going for it as a medical tourism destination:
- A strong physical and communications infrastructure: travel by train is fast and relatively inexpensive, much better than the US. The telecommunications infrastructure is also superior, with widespread internet access and ubiquitous cell phone coverage with advanced services. Hotels (at least where I stayed) feature great facilities and service
- A well-established medical system, with an extensive system of medical schools and university hospitals and many physicians who have trained and practiced overseas, especially in the US.
- A caring, compassionate attitude among the people
- The rule of law, a safe physical environment
- Familiarity with Americans as a result of the long-standing military presence
- A competitive cost structure
- A strong work ethic and drive toward excellence
- Good connections from the US, relative to some other countries in Asia
There are some areas that the country will need to develop further to establish a thriving medical tourism industry
- Increased fluency in English. This was an issue more or less everywhere we went.
- Establishment of coordination mechanisms for international patients. As of now the efforts are somewhat informal, as you might expect given the volumes
- Development of sufficient excess or dedicated capacity to handle an influx of patients. Many of the hospitals we saw were as full as busy American hospitals. While they may be willing to make special arrangements to free up space for Americans or other foreign patients, the better medical tourism coordinators from the US will see that as a red flag. The last thing they want to do is displace Korean patients
- Development of a clear segmentation and positioning strategy. Korea is a low-cost country compared with the US, but not with India and China. In the long run, the way to compete is on quality and service, not price. The sooner Korea starts down that road in medical tourism the better
- Increased awareness and brand building of Korea as a medical tourism destination. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought of Korea as a potential medical tourist market until Josef Woodman mentioned his trip there
To sum up, Korea has strong potential in medical tourism. In the near term the opportunity may be best exploited by attracting Korean Americans living on the West Coast of the US. As the hospitals increase their preparedness to serve the US market as described above they should also try to tie their brand building into the ascendancy of Korean technology companies. For example, Hyundai has quickly gone from laughingstock to a strong player in the US market as its quality and styling have improved. Samsung TVs are becoming widely known, as are LG phones. If the Korean medical system can tie in to that positioning, and at the same time develop a reputation for caring and compassionate service, the country will do very well.
The diary entries can be accessed as follows:
I also did a podcast interview with James Bae of the Council for Korea Medicine Overseas Promotion, which I posted on the Health Business Blog as well.
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I have been operating my Medical Concierge service out of Brazil for about 5 years now and have a total infrastructure of care set up for the patients that I facilitate. Good hospitals and doctors and friendly people in Brazil are easy to come by, however, having consulted for other medical tour facilitators in another latin country, I can absolutely attest to the inherent lack OF, yet essential need FOR specialized in-country care and support services for the patient! Because I was a foreign patient in a foreign land myself, I think I realized right away how you can’t have one without the other! My expertise lies not only in developing the patient support services both in the pre-op planning stages, but the medical concierge support system in Brazil. It is basically a turn key operation with even all important medical forms and documents in perfect medical english, etc… staffing guidelines, scheduling guidelines and training system not only for our “medical escorts” and nursing staff, but for the doctor and their staff as well. This service is an immense support and load off of the back of the surgeons as well. They are thusly, allowed to do what they do best (the surgery!) and MedNetBrazil is there 24/7 for their patient, keeping them informed and coordinating all their care through one centralized dispatch desk.
Another uniqueness to what we have pioneered is that our clients have been some of the “highest risk” patients (post-op gastric bypass patients), prone to complications, staying a long time, having at least two stages of reconstructive surgery a couple weeks apart, so we have had to assemble a “team” of whatever could become necessary to treat or help heal these compromised patients, including special post-op therapies, medical treatments, testing and diagnostic services, connections with other medical specialists (nutritionists, etc) needed by our patients whether for post op complications or ancillary services, testing, etc.
Any “country” or hospital or medical tourism facilitator or tourism company would benefit in making sure, as you mention David, there is a well oiled and working support structure for the patient before they send someone there to “fend for themselves.”
On my consult trip with another medical tourism company (that is mentioned on your site by the way!), in speaking with their patients (as well as other patients that had come on their own or with another company) the complaints and wishes I heard were exactly about this, or really the lack of such a structure so they got to the country and felt alone, couldn’t reach the company that sent them if they had communication problems or misunderstandings, or some other issue. Many complained of lack of consistency in lodging standards (soooo important that the lodging/hotel by PATIENT appropriate and convenient!), aftercare protocol, being nickeled and dimed for things they felt… I mean, the list is endless. Patient advocacy within the country is key. This is being overlooked even by the big insurance companies looking to save some money and send their subscribers abroad. I doubt they realize the specialized care that is necessary for the patient for their time abroad to be a success, both physically and just as important, because one affects the other, emotionally and socially.
If you are in or want to get in to the MT industry and would like to offer Brazil, especially as a plastic surgery destination, please contact me. Also, if you are setting up in country support services or need to, I can help with this too. Remember that “concierge services” are a huge support to the doctor too! Why go to Thailand for Body Contouring and Lipo when the Plastic Surgery capital of the world is right here?! And the ideal body type and facial rejuvenation is inherent in Brazil!
Blessings,
Christina deMoraes, BA, CMC
www.MedNetBrazil.com
877-9-MedNet (pacific time zone)
President, MedNetBrazil Concierge Services, Inc
Why would someone want to go to Korea if they could go to Thailand, Singapore, or India?
It’s a good choice for Korean Americans in particular. In addition there may be some specialty services, such as spinal surgery, that are best in the world.
David Williams
Dear Taylor Miles:
I agree with David, having just visited 10 Korean hospitals earlier this year. Also, depending on where you’re located, flight times are shorter, and Korean Air has non-stops from a number of major North American cities (e.g. NYC, LA, Atlanta, Seattle, Vancouver). Seoul is a relatively easy town, and boasts the world’s largest JCI-accredited hospital (2000 beds).
Hi! Do you happen to have a list of all the academic hospitals in South Korea? My EMBA class is heading to Seoul in April and we are doing a health care market assessment for a PACS client. We would like to tour some of the facilities while on the ground there. Thanks. Kirsten
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