Medical tourism was a booming industry, displaying an impressive compound annual growth rate of 17.9% from 2013-19. Tourists travelled abroad to access low-cost, high-quality medical care, but also participated in leisure activities, helping to grow local economies. This all changed in 2020.
Amid the global covid-19 pandemic, international travel suffered a record drop of 74% in 2020, halting global tourism and putting hundreds of millions of tourism-related jobs at risk. Many medical tourism hotspots were out of reach. Flights were cancelled, curfews were imposed by local authorities and many hospitals were overwhelmed.
The covid-19 pandemic has placed an unprecedented strain on healthcare systems. Once a popular medical tourism destination, India experienced a tidal wave of covid-19 cases that put pressure on its already-strained health system until it reached breaking point. At the pandemic’s peak in March of 2021, India reported more than 2.7m confirmed cases in one week. This surge was aggravated by resource shortages and leadership challenges, forcing the country’s health systems to find alternative methods to alleviate the increase in demand for care.
As such, countries were forced to rapidly develop national digital infrastructures to allow patients to conduct medical consultations while in quarantine. Nearly one week after outpatient services were closed in India, hospitals turned to telemedicine, leading the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to create a national telemedicine policy. Countries all over the world started to embrace remote consultations and prepare their health systems to enter the digital era. The journey towards digital health quickly became a central aim of all health systems, including medical tourism destinations.
The collision of digital health and medical tourism
As global health systems gradually recover and adapt to a new "digital health" normal, the tourism industry is also exhibiting signs of resurgence. This presents an exciting future for the use of digital technology in medical tourism hotspots.
Known for being a global pioneer of advanced medical technology, South Korean hospitals have pushed the boundaries of innovation. The Chosun University Hospital (CUH) in Gwangju launched a virtual hospital in the metaverse. CUH developed an actual digital representation of their hospital, known as a digital twin. This virtual hospital includes conference centres, art galleries and a museum, with plans to integrate a digital payment system and promote virtual events for patients. Medical travellers will have the opportunity to tour the hospital with their avatar, receive additional medical care information, and eventually undergo virtual treatment. CUH plans to expand this technology to become a global medical tourism platform, extending virtual services to international patients.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a popular medical tourism hotspot, is also at the forefront of digital health innovation. The Ministry of Health has laid out plans for next-generation medical care, following the directive of the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy 2031. The UAE is positioning itself as a leading health tourism destination by leveraging innovative technologies. The UAE Department of Health’s AI Lab seeks to create a digital ecosystem with cutting-edge applications of sustainable healthcare solutions, such as improving healthcare management and tackling patient wait times. However, medical travellers may not need to visit the UAE to utilise medical care in the coming years, as work is under way to take telemedicine to the next level. Like CUH, the Emirate Health Services will use virtual reality technology to launch a new telemedicine solution in the Metaverse, where medical tourists may be able to enter a virtual teleconsultation room in the comfort of their homes.
Thailand is also using digital health technology to modernise its medical tourism industry. The Thai government has promoted the use of such technologies, leading hospitals to develop mobile health apps and expand telemedicine services. This, in turn, creates a welcoming environment for innovation and new opportunities for digital health startups. Doctor A to Z, a startup based in Bangkok, the capital, was created to improve access to health services for medical tourists. But as travel was restricted during the covid-19 pandemic, Doctor A to Z re-strategised and positioned itself as a hub of medical expertise. Offering a new suite of services, from health apps to a health marketplace, this expansion will expand the healthcare options available to travellers, with local, integrated, smart-care services.
Preparing for the future
Travelling for medical interventions and consultations could be obsolete in the near future. Telemedicine, virtual reality, AI and other remote monitoring technologies will allow medical travellers to enter virtual hospitals and monitor their health remotely for some routine and post-procedural care. “E-health tourism” will allow patients to access specialist expertise and affordable healthcare options internationally.
As seen in South Korea, the UAE and Thailand, this may be the start of a smart-care arms race, with hospitals competing for modern and cost-effective digital technology. As virtual care becomes the future of medical tourism, smart hospitals will increase their patient population and compete for global market share of health systems by offering lower prices and high-skilled specialty care.
In the coming years, health systems will continue to transform and rely on digital health solutions. As patients travel virtually across global health systems, governments, regulatory bodies and the health industry will need to collaborate to develop regulatory frameworks and standardise data sharing. This will allow patients to transition between care abroad and at home seamlessly. This may be a problem for countries that are behind the digital health technology adoption curve. Medical tourism hotspots must adapt, or patients may seek virtual treatment elsewhere at lower costs.
