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Healthcare facilities, it is time to move geographically to the patient

Many patients have long crossed national borders to go to nearby countries within the region in order to access medical care. This was the usual situation hundreds and even thousands of years before having political borders. Many countries has developed an easy system for people who are seeking treatment to enter these countries with less complicated procedures and multi-entry VISA to facilitate their journey for treatment.

Healthcare facilities, it is time to move geographically to the patient

Many patients have long crossed national borders to go to nearby countries within the region in order to access medical care. This was the usual situation hundreds and even thousands of years before having political borders. Many countries has developed an easy system for people who are seeking treatment to enter these countries with less complicated procedures and multi-entry VISA to facilitate their journey for treatment.

Recently with the strong movement all-over the world towards creating more medical tourism hubs and promoting new destination, another parallel trend started to appear but in the reverse direction. It may appear to decrease this free flow from certain destination to another.

 These obstacles mainly related to two factors.

  • the most important one is the security issues which started again to create more challenges and barriers for certain countries' citizens to enter other countries easily seeking treatment.
  • The other factor is mainly financial. Many countries are facing financial challenges in the last decade. This increase the burden of treatment abroad. Many countries get used to send their people to get medical care abroad with an open budget for that. Now, it is over. Some countries are now more budget conscious, and healthcare is one of the areas where they are cutting back. They can't do that anymore except for only few cases.
  • This in addition to the challenges of repeated epidemics for years now.

Many governments are now redirecting healthcare expenditures toward building the skills and infrastructure necessary to treat their citizens at home while also attracting more foreign patients.

 Major hospitals all-over the world which used to get about 18 - 25% of their patients from outbound medical tourism will suffer soon if they will not understand the current challenges. 

 As one of the main concepts of marketing is that: If your ideal clients aren’t able to come to you, go to them. It is now a golden opportunity for major brand names of hospital to penetrate the international market through collaboration with local medical facilities or to open their satellites or branches abroad. This is not a new model as some of top hospitals from USA has adopted long ago in Dubai.

What are the benefits?

  • Patients who are not able to come to you will be easily find you nearby with the same brand, quality and less cost.
  • The investment will much less than - even you start from scratch and empty land - if you think of another branch in your home country
  • You will have much less operational and running cost if you consider the exchange rate and using partly local staff.  
  • You will not face the usual challenges for marketing and branding as you will start with your current segment of patient by just moving their files regionally.
  • You will be involved in other training programs for local community which will an adding value for promoting the health industry internationally and open more opportunities for investment with different countries and governments.
  • You will still have the opportunity for referring difficult cases to you main hospital in home country when your consultants finds it is mandatory.
  • You will penetrate another untouched regional markets of nearby countries which didn't think to go to you before because of the previous two factors.

This opportunity is not limited only to hospitals and major clinics but I find it is also an opportunity other rehabilitation, wellness and spa key players in Europe, USA and far East for example, who would like to work all the year and add an international presence as another step of their business development. 

 What everybody needs now is to leave the comfort zone and start thinking globally to catch the non-repeated opportunities everywhere.

Dr. Asaad Riad, CEO. Egypt In-Touch Assistance

 

references:


  • Dr. Asaad Riad LinkedIn

By: مهشید معینی


مهشید  معینی

کارشناس ارشد مدیریت بیمارستان مدیر عامل شرکت سریر سلامت مهام، نماینده شرکت تموس آلمان در ایران