Title
Healthcare tourism: Accelerating diffusion through a more effective use of communication channels
Abstract
In the backdrop of the healthcare crisis in the USA, many uninsured and underinsured Americans have decided to travel abroad to purchase medical care at a fraction of the cost. This phenomenon is often referred to as 'medical tourism' when it involves healthcare and a vacation, or more simply as 'medical travel.' Although impressive, the growth of this service innovation appears to be hampered by insufficient communication in terms of costs and quality as well as an over-reliance on mass media. Mass media may be good vehicles to disseminate information, but they lack the persuasive power necessary to convince the average person to seek medical care abroad. This paper highlights these communication shortcomings and offers suggestions of how to reach a larger number of individuals who could benefit from medical travel.
Department(s)
Management
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1179/cih.20https://doi.org/10.3.1.24
Publication Date
2010
Recommended Citation
Karuppan, Corinne M. "Healthcare tourism: accelerating diffusion through a more effective use of communication channels." Journal of Communication in Healthcare 3, no. 1 (2010): 24-36.
Journal Title
Journal of Communication in Healthcare
