Medical Tourism in Developing Countries

Promoting Medical Tourism ● 137influencing domestic incentives is liberalization in India, which created aneconomic environment conducive to maximization of profits after years ofSoviet style socialist dogma and regulation. Yet another example comes fromChile, where authorities developed medical services for which patients weretraveling to Cuba. In a form of import substitution, the rehabilitation centerin Las Rejas was developed for those Chileans who traveled abroad forrehabilitation. 149The greater a country’s capacity and incentives, the grander its aspirationswith respect to medical tourism. Depending on how many of theadvantages a country has, its national policy might reflect a desire tobecome a regional or a global medical tourism center. India and Thailandaim to attract patients from the whole world. Their hospitals are poised tospeak the languages of the countries they want to attract (such as Arabic),and they pressure national airlines to provide direct air service. Countriessuch as Chile and Jordan are quite content to be regional centers, attractingpatients from neighboring countries.As medical tourism gains publicity, a demonstration effect is created andother developing countries seek to partake in the success. The countries thathave the capacity and incentives discussed above are more likely to succeedin emulating the medical tourism industry. Asian countries such asCambodia and Laos would like to supply medical services but theycannot—they don’t have the funds to invest in hospitals, the manpower toservice them, or the infrastructure to lubricate production. This is not tosay that they, and other countries, cannot offer medical tourism, but ratherthat its nature would be different (for example, it is likely that the capitalinvestments would come from abroad). Also Colombia, not to be outdoneby Chile and Argentina, is trying to break into the medical tourism industryby using the blueprint of successful medical tourism providers (the CapitalHealth Project has been launched by the authorities in an ambitious effortto make Bogota Latin America’s premier health-care center and to drawpatients from Ecuador, Venezuela, and Panama who otherwise would havetraveled to Miami or Cuba). Lebanon too has regional aspirations and seeksto transform itself into “the hospital of the Middle East,” competing withDubai to dethrone Jordan (it has established the Lebanese Council forNational Health Tourism that has invested US$500,000 to promote medicaltourism. 150 Within one month of its launching, 50 patients have comefrom the Arab countries).Unfortunately, some LDCs might want to become medical tourismdestinations at all costs, at any price. As Henderson points out, some countries“might be tempted to engage in less reputable practices that are illegalor not widely obtainable.” 151