Medical Tourism in Developing Countries

Would You Like a Safari With Your Lasik Surgery? ● 81staying competitive in the global markets. Governments must welcomeprivate sector growth as it fills public coffers while producing spillover effectsthat induce indirect linkage benefits. Moreover, given that we are dealingwith health matters, the public sector must be careful not to seem too greedyor to be viewed as pursuing profits over public health (as Teh and Chupointed out, LDC governments want to appear to be politically correct andcannot be seen as willing to forgo the national health service for medicaltourism 66 ). By allowing the private sector to spearhead the development ofmedical tourism, the public sector avoids allegations of neglecting publichealth while still reaping the benefits.In turn, the private sector must acknowledge the crucial role of governmentin facilitating entrepreneurial activity. When authorities remove cumbersomeregulations, they are aiding businesses by reducing time-consuming, andthus, costly obstacles that discourage private activity. In fact, any form ofliberalization policy by the authorities will stimulate private sector activity.(Just how crippling government regulations can be for the private sector isreflected in how long it takes to start a business. According to the World EconomicForum, it takes 2 days to start a business in Australia, 5 in the UnitedStates, 81 in Mexico and 105 in Mozambique. 67 ) The more liberalized theeconomy, the greater the public sector’s encouragement of private sector needs.Moreover, the private sector must recognize the government’s macroeconomicresponsibilities and thus must comply with the financial requirements of thecenter, and pay taxes. The private sector must also operate within the legalframework set by the country’s laws and also must abide by regulations set bythe center (with specific reference to medical tourism, this might entail crosssubsidizingpublic health by providing beds at subsidized rates and treatingsome patients without charge while foreign patients are made to pay). Theprivate sector must recognize the role of the government in facilitating internationaltravel to make medical tourism easier. This entails ensuring embassiesand overseas missions are efficient in their paperwork (such as issuing timelyvisas for visiting patients), and providing convenient passenger transportsystems (ministries of aviation have been involved and change of flight planshave been made). Incidentally, because medical tourism has become one ofthe fastest growing segments in marketing Destination India, the Indiangovernment is introducing a new visa called medical visa. As part of acknowledgingeach other’s roles, the private and public sector must also acknowledgethat, although their proximate motivations are different (the former seeks tomaximize profits, while the latter seeks to maximize benefits to the largestnumber of people), they can still find common ground in which progress isPareto optimal. And so, their cooperation, based on mutual dependency, can