Country perspective on medical tourism: the Malaysian experience

Abd. Manaf, Noor Hazilah and Hussin, Husnayati and Jahn Kassim, Puteri Nemie and Alavi, Rokiah and Dahari, Zainurin (2015) Country perspective on medical tourism: the Malaysian experience. Leadership in Health Services, 28 (1). pp. 43-56. ISSN 1751-1879

	PDF - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (205kB) | Request a copy
Preview	PDF Download (497kB) | Preview

Abstract

Purpose – The study seeks to explore the perception of international patients on Malaysia as a medical tourism destination country, as well as overall patient satisfaction, perceived value and future intention for repeat treatment and services. Design/methodology/approach – Self-administeredquestionnairewasthemainmethodofdatacollection. The survey covered major private hospitals in medical tourists’ states in the country, namely, Penang, Melaka, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Convenience sampling was used due to the condition of patients as respondents. Findings – Indonesian patients formed the largest majority of international patients in the country. Five dimensions of medical tourism in Malaysia was identified, namely, hospital and staff, country factor, combining tourism and health services, cost saving and insurance and unavailability of treatment. Of these, hospital and staff was found to be the most important factor for the patients. Perception of value, overall satisfaction and intention for future treatment was also found to be high. This indicates that Malaysia is on the right footing in this burgeoning industry. Practical implications – Findings from the study will enable policy-makers to better position Malaysia as a medical tourist destination country. Originality/value – Medical tourism is a recent phenomenon and very little empirical research has been carried out at the patient level. This study is one of the first few studies which seek to explore medical tourism from the perspective of the patients themselves.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Additional Information:	328/42811
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Public health, Health care, Health services
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws > Department of Civil Law Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences > Department of Business Administration Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences > Department of Economics Kulliyyah of Information and Communication Technology > Department of Information System Kulliyyah of Information and Communication Technology > Department of Information System
Depositing User:	Professor Dr Puteri Nemie Jahn Kassim
Date Deposited:	07 May 2015 15:49
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2017 15:01
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/42811

Actions (login required)

View Item