Health Care Delivery Industry

In the last decade and half, there have be a surge in medical technology. Advancement in medical technology is the number one reason there is a rise in the U.S. health care cost, and many are seeking health care solution outside of the country. Technology has also lead to increase in consumer expectations and demand and increase in social and ethical concerns. Shi and Singh (2012) found that regardless of the U.S strides in medical innovation, the health care delivery system falls behind. In his article Herzlinger (2006) suggested a health care plan that involves consumers in the service delivery by offering low-cost and more user- friendly health care plan as consumers want a good product at a good price and easily accessible. Since technology has resulted in increase medical cost here in the United States, many Americans travel to other countries for medical treatment, which is called medical tourism. Medical tourism is defined as traveling across international borders to receive some form of medical treatment (Chen &Wilson, 2013). It is estimated that the cost benefit of medical tourism is 30% to 80% lower than the health care cost of the country of origin (Fiere, 2012). Healthcare is undergoing globalization and medical tourism is becoming more and more popular due to the availability of improved advance health care technology (immediate access to health care services without any wait time), decrease in medical cost, no legal or cultural restrictions, many of the doctors are trained in the United State, United Kingdom, and Canada, and opportunity combining exotic vacation with medical procedure and recovery away from home (Hughes, 2013).

H., & Wilson, M. E. (2013). The globalization of healthcare: implications of medical tourism for the infectious disease clinician. Clinical Infectious Diseases: An Official Publication Of The Infectious Diseases Society Of America, 57(12), 1752-1759.