By
now you all know what medical tourism is…..you think?
Millions of words online and in print, conference
presentations by the hour, almost all say the same thing.
The
legend
Healthcare is now global, so medical tourism
is about travelling long distances to get the cheapest possible deal on
treatment.
The media and the medical tourism industry -
hospitals, clinics, agencies, tourism boards, and governments have convinced
themselves of that.
So where is the medical tourism boom? With
countries going bust and people accepting a lower real income, why are they not
queuing at the airport to fly away and save money?
Is it that we are almost all so short of cash
that we are not paying for medical or dental care at all, if we cannot get it
free?
Do not panic, say the ‘experts’, when the
global recession is over, all those millions we promised will become medical
tourists. Come to the conferences, pay our consultancy fees for a bit longer,
and be patient.
The
reality
Yes, there are success stories in some
countries. Very often these are the ones that are rarely mentioned as the
destination leaders.
But the whole thing is upside down.
In reality, people are travelling either
within their own country or nearby.
In reality, probably two out of three medical
tourists are travelling simply because they cannot get treated at home.
In reality, the destinations - both country
and hospital/clinic – doing best are offering quality – either high-end
treatment or value for money.
Regionalism
and localism
What's the most important factor in business
today? Globalisation? The digital economy? Or is place actually the key to
success even in today's economy?
A new business book ‘All Business Is Local’ by
John Quelch and Katherine Jocz says that opportunities are on offer to
marketers and business leaders who stay focused on the power of locality. They
propose a radically different way of looking at marketing. As society becomes
increasingly globalized and obsessed with the virtual world, businesses can
easily forget that place is more relevant than ever, and remains a major factor
in the way we organize our lives.
Redefining place as a business imperative,
Quelch and Jocz explore five categories (psychological, physical, virtual,
geographical and global) and say that just as customers' relationships to
places affect their relationships to businesses, today's companies have to be
local as well as global to succeed.
What they say rings very true. In recent
medical tourism figures for India, South Africa, and others, the same picture
emerges. The medical travellers are not Europeans or Americans fleeing from the
much vaunted high prices and lengthy waiting lists. 85 to 95% come from nearby,
often very poor, countries.
Looking at it another way, Americans rarely go
to Asia; they mostly go to Mexico, Central or Southern America. Europeans
almost always stay in Europe.
Domestic medical tourism is seen as growing
fast in the USA. But we should not be surprised. Much medical tourism in
countries such as India is within the country.
So localism and regionalism are the new
reality
The
pursuit of quality
For years, the medical tourism business has
pondered why insurance companies and companies have not embraced medical
tourism. The pundits say that there will be big deals coming soon, but they
have now been saying that for five years or more.
Offering a corporate buyer a 50% or 80% saving
sounds a great deal. Even if true, this approach scares them off. They listen….
but their mind is thinking risk… disease, lawsuit, poor quality, upset
employees, terrorism, weather disaster.
Countries or companies offering low price to
businesses and insurers, and increasingly to individual customers too, are
pushing the wrong buy button.
For employers, insurance companies and
individuals, what they are looking for is value for money.
It is also about having more control, choosing
where an employee is treated. Or as an individual not waiting for state
treatment.
Employers and insurers have struggled for
years to control health costs and they are using carrot/stick incentives to
improve the quality of healthcare and break the circle of ever-rising costs.
Price is no longer the be all and end all of
healthcare. Quality of care and safety of travel and care matter more.
If I am shopping and the store says I can save
20% for a television by buying in a sale, and that television is as good or
better than what I have, then I will buy. But when I see offers online or from
retailers I have never dealt with and some which have doubtful reputations, but
could have paid 50% less, I am nervous and avoid the deals in favour of a
reasonable price, guarantee of aftercare and high quality.
You may argue that healthcare is not retail,
but consumer and corporate behaviour is the same whatever product or service
they are buying.
Medical tourism has not grasped that price is
about fourth or fifth down the list when it comes to purchasing healthcare. On
health insurance, what we are seeing is about being in control of who is
treated for what, where, at what cost, with what flexibility etc. The days of
going for the cheapest deal are gone.
For companies it is about keeping employees in
work and using rehab care and improving the health of the workforce.
In a global recession you may expect price to
dominate- but what seems to be happening globally is that companies offering
top-end services and products are doing well, but many of those selling a poor
value for money proposition are crashing, and some are doing very well at the
bottom “pound shop” end.
Medical tourism is prospering at the high
quality high cost level. It is also
doing well at the low end of the market for poor Africans and Asians where the
bottom line really is very low price.
But the targeted European and American markets
are in the middle zone, where hospitals trying to sell cheap treatment are
missing the mark. These people want a reasonable price and good quality. The
hotel trade will tell you that if you are offering the same price-value
proposition as three years ago, you will fail. The quality of care, pampering
and facilities once thought of as luxury, is now what this middle group demands
as standard.
Where
do we go now?
The answer is in different targets and
marketing for different types of potential medical tourists.
The days of selling the same message to all
countries and customers of “Come to
Country X…we can save you 75%” are gone.
The answer is in quality, value for money,
regional and local offerings and targeted marketing.
Ian Youngman
IMTJ
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment