WHAT IS HEALTH TOURISM?
In the globalizing world, cooperation between countries, increased travel freedom and opportunities, facilitation of transportation, improvement of the quality of healthcare in different parts of the world, difficulties in financing of healthcare services both personal and budget have increased the importance of the concept of health tourism in the world.
Today, the problems that occur as a result of industrialization and urbanization have negative effects on human and public health. Labor and production capacity are decreasing in unhealthy societies. Natural tourism resources (clean air, sun, healing thermal waters, climate) are used to protect human health, to increase labor productivity and production.
Health tourism; in short, it is an individual’s visit to a country other than the country they live in to receive both preventive, curative, rehabilitative and health-promoting services. Health tourism is a sector that enables the growth of health institutions by using its mobility potential for international health purposes. Health tourism includes the concepts of:
1. Thermal Health Tourism
2. Medical Tourism
3. Elderly Tourism (3. Age Tourism)
4. Disabled Tourism.
Today, the borders between the countries, in terms of health are not very decisive. Even in visa applications, applications for the purpose of receiving health services are faster and easier when certain requirements are met. In the European Union, patients have the freedom to choose doctors not only in their own countries but also from other EU countries. Now, for the solution of health problems, people do not only consider the health opportunities and expenses in their own countries; it acts by comparing the best treatment and price opportunities in other countries. Having the opportunity to benefit from other countries health services for the conscious patients who encounter problems such as crowding and long waiting times in hospitals, high treatment costs and quality of service, has made health tourism a sector in itself. Places such as “accommodation facilities, transportation sector, hospitals, thermal health facilities, SPA centers and health cure centers” covering a wide area of human health from aesthetic surgery to in vitro fertilization, hair transplantation, dental treatment, including all health-related procedures are in health tourism.
In recent years, presenting superior level of health services thus come to cross-border patients for treatment in many countries to Turkey. For this purpose, in addition to public health services in Turkey after the 2000s can compete with the health-oriented world examples of private sector investments. As a result, especially in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Antalya, Izmir, such as in big cities has increased the number of private health institutions beyond European standards. Offering the highest quality health care with the highest standards at affordable fees, Turkey accommodates the guests coming from abroad within health tourism in the most convenient way as Turkish hospitality.