According to Pars Med Travel site, health tourism is one of the most important branches of tourism in the world,
which has a large market and is growing and expanding day by day due to the advantages it has created for patients and applicants for health services.
But one of the key questions of this industry is what is the impact of technology on health tourism and how can technology be used to transform this field and highlight the contribution of the country?
New medical technologies in recent years have led to changes in treatment methods on the one hand and changes in access to treatment by patients on the other hand.
Therefore, when it comes to the impact of technology on health tourism,
we must look at this issue from both sides.
The impact of technology on health tourism from the point of view of hospitals and doctors
A long time has passed from the treatment with the help of medicinal plants and traditional methods to the time when microscopic treatments and robotic treatments have become an integral part of medicine.
Therefore, in understanding the impact of technology on health tourism, special attention should be paid to this historical process.
Modern medical technologies have made health service providers such as hospitals and clinics add new services to their services in the health tourism industry.
These days, health tourists can receive all or part of the medical services they need with the help of these technologies.
Among these technologies that have a great impact on health tourism, the following can be mentioned:
Telemedicine and health tourism
Telemedicine, or remote treatment, has become very popular among hospitals and doctors these days with the development of communication infrastructure, including the spread of high-speed Internet.
Therefore, some of the services that medical tourists used to travel to other countries to receive are now provided to them by the same countries but from a distance.
Services such as visiting patients,
reviewing medical documents and tests performed, taking advanced history of patients,
identifying the type of treatment and treatment process required by medical tourists,
and performing follow-up processes for patients are among the most important services that are performed with the help of telemedicine technologies these days.
It can be said that when it comes to the impact of technology on health tourism,
the first and most important branch of technology is telemedicine.
Telemedicine and medical consultation services for health tourists
But one of the medical services that is highly demanded among health tourists these days and can be performed entirely through telemedicine is consultation services. On the one hand, new communication possibilities, as well as expert translators familiar with medical keywords in hospitals, including IPDs, have caused a large part of medical consultation services in the world to be carried out through communication technologies these days.
For example, Iranians living abroad,
such as in America or Northern Europe, have to pay a fee of about 300 dollars to get an hour of consultation from a specialist doctor or a psychoanalyst.
But the impact of technology on medical tourism
and the transformation brought about by telemedicine has made them receive the same services from a local specialist at a cost less than a tenth of the price of their host country.
The impact of technology on health tourism from the perspective of patients: a cheap and comfortable trip
Many international health patients prefer not to take the risks and hardships
and costs of a medical trip for any treatment.
Therefore, when we see the impact of technology on health tourism through their eyes,
we come to the conclusion that receiving health services
from other countries with ease and cheapness is their most important expectation from technology.
Technologies that are important both in their diagnosis
and history, and in follow-up and receiving additional services.
Let’s not forget that online technologies
that provide the facilities of reserving various parts and requirements of a medical trip easily for
health tourists is another impact of technology
on medical tourism;
From online booking of accommodation to booking tourist and leisure tours in addition to making travel planning easier.
Up-to-date technology of medical equipment and health tourism
But in addition to examining the impact of technology
on health tourism from the perspective of how to provide medical services,
we should also mention the impact of technology
on health tourism in terms of improving the quality and technical level of medical equipment.
Therefore, these days,
when talking about the impact of technology on health tourism,
it is necessary to pay attention to the technologies used in medical equipment,
assistant robots, surgeon robots and the role that these devices
and facilities can play in attracting foreign patients. Many believe that the future of treatment depends on these advanced devices,
and the biggest impact of technology on medical tourism will happen in this area;
although we have to be patient until that day comes.(AR10)
