Health tourism is a very important alternative type tourism which is a rising trend in our world and our country.
Health tourism: refers to the travel of people to another country fort he purpose of obtaining medical treatment in that country. People who travel to obr,tain medical surgery or other tretments are called health tourists.
Health tourists shouldn’t be consideredas only travelling for the purpose of obtaining healthcare for healthliving in only hospitals . we should consider all providing torism as healthcare tourism and should be evaluated in 3 forms.:
1- Medical Toursim (Utilisation of healthcare services in hospitals)
2- Thermal Tourism ( rehabilitation and resting services in thermal facilities)
3- Elderly and Disabled Tourism ( long term accomodation with social activity in genetic healthcare centers an tableland tourism )
Main reasons of health tourism
- Unavailability or being short supply of high technology healthcare services and Professional human resources
- Requesting vacation and healthcare at the same time.
- Cost consideration of medical treatments , seeking for cheaper prices abroad
- Willing to recieve much more qualifiedhealth facilites
- For any reason some willing not to be known of surgeries they obtained (like aesthetic surgery, infertility treatment)
- Tourism dynamism due to limited vacation facilities caused by geographic and climatic conditons in their own countries.
- Chronic illness patients ‘ , elderly and disabledare willing to travels forutilisationhealthcare services in different and better conditions.
- Drug addicts and poeple with distinct addictions ‘willingto travel an alternatative and more appropriate places.
- Desireto hold on lifeand desire to live
As a result healthcare tourism have different varieties and hosts for lots of reason and is a rising type of tourism sector which has purpose of maintaining and restoring health and well being in a different country and better conditions.
Health Tourism In Turkey
We have community ınternatıonal (JCI) healthcare accredited health organization in our country. Leading in Istanbul and Ankara our private hospitals , stae and university hosptals are equiped with the highesttechnology in the world .In many hospitals in Turkey we provide onchologic treatment , cardiovascular surgery , orthopaedic , neurosurgery ,paediatric surgery , aesthetic and plastic surgery , ophtalmologicand dental surgery and healthcare with high technology.
Still in our hospitals we perform cyberknife , robotic surgery , MR imaging ,bone marrow and organ transplantations. Health touirsm coordination council withinour ministry of healthmanages 7 days 24 hours translation from Arabic, English , German Russian duringemergency conditionsby112emergency call center service and 184 for complaints and requests.
Al doctors are obliged to have proffesional indemnity insurance and insurance agencies makes payment immediately due to liability of possible malpractices. All of our hospitals providing healthcare complies with national accreditation criteria and supervised two times a year. By the operation of our laws all activities and coordinations are under responsibility of ministry of health . 74 million poeple live in our country , all have cumpulsory health insurance and benefits health services provided by al private , state and university hospitals .
Number of operations performed by our hospitals, equipments and qualified human resources data:
Especially ın some of our hospitals ( ex; Ankara training and resaerch hospital, High Speciality hospital of Turkey, Siyami Ersek Cardiovascular surgery training and research hospital, Hacettepe medical faculty ) are providing healthcare for many years , performed thousands of operations cumulative and experienced health maintanence organisations , in addition to this or state and private hospitals builded in the last decade are equally good in technologic equipments and physical conditions as western countries. Besides our country in thermal tourism is in the 7th place among the world countries and in the first place amongEuropean countries.Well established and well equipped hotels are being builded , investors are encouraged.In conclusion we perform healthcare service within our west standardised hospitals and thermal facilities to people around from peripheral countries with our natural climate , natural beauties historical and cultural showplaces and we invite you to our contry as a source of healing and for a healthier life .
Health toursim statistics :
Health tourism statistics are indicated below :
Countries:
70 percent of healt tourists came from Germany , Holland , france , turkic republics , austria and middle east countries.
Foreignpatient ratio applied to our private – state hospitals in 2010
Private hospital %92
Static hospital % 8
Secialities:
80 percent of healthy tourists travelled obtained healthcare in ophtalmalogy , dental surgery, orthopaedics, cardiology , onchology , plastic surgery and neurosurgery . patient wer e from Germany, Holland, Austria , ıraq, Syria, Sudan , Turkic republics, Midlle east , Belgium and 20 percent from other countries .
A New Period In Health Tourism
Turkey made a significant progress about health sector in the last 9 years . Series of reformes improved quality and productivity of our national health service . Besides public service improvement, private health service is also in progress. Turkey provides healthcare with qualified human resources and well qualified healthcare proffesionals, technologic infrastructure within european standards. Service quality of many private hospitals are accredited by major accreditation commitees Turkey is in the second place in the world with JCI accredited 37 hospitals , 3 laboratories, 1 transport vehicle and 1 outpaitent clinic. Turkey with its geographical position , own health organisation , well experienced and qualified human resources , with thermals and cultural wealth is a leading country from the aspect of health .
With historical and cultural richness also with level of development in healthcare maintenance Turkey in one of ten favourite destinations in the world. Turkey accommodated 33 billion 27 thousand 943 foreign tourists in the year 2011 and becomes an instant success of health tourism with its high technology and price advantage providing health facility .
You are invited to Turkey for Health Tourism
Countries worldwide know Turkey as a new health partner and rising medical torism center. Turkey provides health tourists of high quality and low priced tourism packages with medical and thermal tourism sources, spa and wellness facilities combined with 5 – star hotels .
Don’t go far away for health
Turkey with it’s unique and strategically important geographic location , is a junction point between two continents , has borders on europe , asia and middle asia. Turkey combined traditional hospitability came from past with it’s tourism service perception .Beggining from setting foot on turkey , medical tourists receive all kind of service given by qualified healthcare proffesionals and agency officers.
The last word on Health tourism
Turkey has well qualified and educated human resouces in the health sector.We doest’t have communication problems because our healthcare proffesionals have knowledge about foreign languages. Any question in health tourists’ mind will be answered .Before and after operations our medical healthcare professions privide a comfortable service and helps recovering morale of patients by keeping advised of.
Thermal tourism applications from teh North of Europe and Scandinavian countries are much more due to climatic disadvantages which cause rheumatic disorders. Our medical tourism have advantages of climate , low price , security and transportation and our country is suitably qualified in spa-wellness, thermal tourism, elderly and sports tourismaspects. In addition due due to geographical proximity close cultural similarıty and absence of natural and climatic conditions Turkey has been an important health and thermal tourism destination for Middle East countries.
Through recently provided visa exemption , conveniences among borders and other political and cultural realtionships between Middle east countrie and Turley , ravelling from mide east countries show increase in number .
Because of the fact that health expenses are higher in developed countries , utilising healthcare form low – cost health service providing countries are in increasing trend toward patients.
Following Sweden , Norway and Denmark , some private insurance companies in Germany and Holland also decided to cover thermal treatment expenses of patients travelling to Turkey , that makes Turkey creates a substantial market share in terms of thermal tourism.
Health tourism will be in rise in our country in the future if people become increasingly attentive to their health , healthcare service becomes competetive ,cost difference stays as a major factor.
Its estimated by experts that there will be an increase in demand to plastic surgery thereby will create substitutional demand for overseas health service and will substitute cardiovascular surgery as a major component of health tourism .Turkey with good quality and low –cost health service is ready to serve healthcare to 1 billion population from neighbourhood countries . Our country will be the best in the world about health tourism soon.