To describe the profile of adult foreign patients seen at the Emergency Room, Manila Doctors Hospital from January 2008 to December 2009 and their level of satisfaction. Background: Medical tourism is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly growing practice of traveling across international boarders to obtain health care. The Philippines is one of a few countries that send qualified physicians and dentists to the US, a testament to its quality of medical education. Procedures can be performed at a fraction of the amount that a patient would spend on the same procedure in the US or Europe. Method: This is a descriptive study done in the Department of Emergency Medicine of a tertiary hospital. All adult foreign patients who consulted at the E.R. were given survey questionnaires to answer prior to discharge. Answers of the patients to the items in the questionnaires were collected and described. Results: In terms of the number of consultations at the Emergency Medicine, the most common nationalities of foreign patients are Asians, specifically, Koreans, Chinese and Japanese in that order. Americans and Saudi Arabians immediately follow. Most of the subjects learned about Manila Doctors Hospital thru their friends, some were referred by hotels, agencies and former patients. The subjects were satisfied with courteous and prompt services given to them by the E.R. staff; they were attended to in less than 30 minutes. Most patients find the cost of medical services reasonable. They felt safe inside the hospital. There is a good level of satisfaction among foreign adult patients consulting at the DEM. Conclusion: Among all patients who were included in the study, Koreans rank as top foreign adult patients consulting at the DEM. Overall, patients were satisfied with the medical services rendered to them by the E.R. staff.
EMERGENCY ROOM ; MEDICAL TOURISM

The "Act on Overseas Medical Expansion and Foreign Patient Attraction Support"(legislation no. 13599), due to be enacted by the National Assembly during the general meeting on June 23, 2016, will give institutionalized support and fully recognize the efforts for medical tourism-that is, the overseas expansion of medicine and ingress of foreign patients. However, before jumping into medical tourism, the failures of previous ventures in this field must be analyzed. The absence of specific goals and strategies, insufficient planning and analysis of feasibility, the lack of international experience, and glocalization and marketing failures of previous projects are all areas in which improvement is advised. Further, overseas medical expansion is only possible when various considerations are examined, such as the influence on the domestic medical market, as well as plans for securing the management capacity to ensure economic feasibility and risk management of medical institutions.
Humans ; Marketing ; Medical Tourism ; Risk Management

Due to Confucian ethics and socioeconomic factors, aesthetic plastic surgery came late to Korea. However, the field of aesthetic plastic surgery developed rapidly after the establishment of the Korean Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons in 1985. At present, Korean aesthetic plastic surgeons have achieved world leading surgical skills and research abilities. This article review the history and current state of Korean aesthetic plastic surgery with the follow-up study of statics and numerical data. Over the period of 10 years (2001-2010), the Korean plastic surgeons contributed 607 papers to SCI & SCI(E) journals. Among them, the number of pure cosmetic surgical papers was 133 (21.9%). According to biannual survey data from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in 2009, the number of plastic surgeons and aesthetic procedures in Korea became the highest contrast to percentage of the population in the world. As dynamic forces of development for Korean aesthetic plastic surgery, this advocate the medical tourism, non-surgical cosmetic procedures, and adipose-derived stem cells. With developing these items, Korean plastic surgeons will create the brilliant future of the aesthetic plastic surgery in Korea.
Cosmetics ; Follow-Up Studies ; Korea ; Medical Tourism ; Porphyrins ; Research ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Stem Cells ; Surgery, Plastic

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to Vietnamese customers who use Korean medical and tourism services. The study was based on the Anderson Models METHODS: Participants were 173 Vietnamese who were living in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi in Vietnam. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, χ², t-test and Multiple Logistic Regression. RESULTS: Research necessary factors had the most significant effect among the preceding factors, possible factors and necessary factors. Human service and outstanding natural beauty of necessary factors had significant influence on customer intention to use. According to the result of the stepwise logistic regression analysis, the most important item in medical services was human service OR=1.89 (p=.014), and for tour services, outstanding natural beauty OR=4.30 (p=.033). The explained variance for customer intention to use was 91.9%. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the need to improve the human service and outstanding natural beauty to retain customers' intention to use.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Beauty ; Humans ; Intention* ; Logistic Models ; Medical Tourism* ; Vietnam

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to the loyalty of Chinese customers who use Korean medical and tourism services. METHODS: Participants were 158 Chinese who visited plastic surgery clinics in Korea. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, One-way ANOVA, Scheffe? test, Pearson Correlation and Hierachical Multiple Regression. RESULTS: Medical service quality, tourism service quality and medical and service satisfaction were positively correlated with customer loyalty. Medical service quality and medical and tourism service satisfaction had significant influence on customer loyalty. The explained variance for customer loyalty was 84.9%. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the need to improve the tourism service and medical and tourism service satisfaction to retain loyal customers.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Tourism ; Personal Satisfaction ; Quality of Health Care ; Surgery, Plastic

No abstract available.
Humans ; Medical Tourism/*economics ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures/*economics ; Republic of Korea ; Surgery, Plastic/*economics

This article aimed to investigate problems relating to medical tourism based on a review of medical tourism reports and statistics in the global healthcare industry. To be a leading nation in the global healthcare industry, the needs and culture of many peoples, including Muslims, should be considered. Qualified medical services by JCI certification, including nutrition services, will provide opportunities to participate in the international and Asia medical tourism markets. In this article, the definitions of medical tourism, medical service, Halal and Haram, nutrition service for inbound Muslim patients, and Halal food supply in Korea were examined for medical service improvement. Mutual assistance between the government and private enterprise, sharing of medical service information, and construction of a cooperative network system are needed and should be supported by the government.
Asia ; Certification ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Food Supply ; Health Care Sector* ; Humans ; Islam* ; Korea ; Medical Tourism ; Private Sector

Stem cell therapy has been taken as a highly promising area of future medicine due to its potential for providing new therapeutic modalities for debilitating, incurable diseases. In addition, stem cell therapy holds promise for its great industrial value due to the rapid growth of the market size. Recently, various types of stem cells such as induced pluripotent stem cells are being developed based on the conceptual revolution with regard to cell fate decisions. However, so far, most stem cell therapies have been performed using tissue-specific adult stem cells. Nevertheless, except for a few cases of stem cells such as hematopoietic stem cells that can regenerate hematopoietic tissue, a large proportion of stem cells, especially mesenchymal stromal cells, primarily work through paracrine functioning. The short life span of the injected stem cells and their paracrine mode of action pose a limitation to the maximum therapeutic efficacy that can be achieved from the current stem cell therapy model, warranting further research and development to enhance their efficacy. Despite the fact that stem cell therapies largely remain in the research stage, the public has expectations of rapid results and even fanaticism, leading to unauthorized stem cell practices and medical tourism. Moreover, the temptation to expedite the industrialization of stem cell therapeutics by simplifying the authorization process could increase the risk of endangering the rights of patients. Thus, stem cell therapy can become a 'hope' when society can overcome the stem cell 'hype'.
Adult Stem Cells ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Human Rights ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; Medical Tourism ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Stem Cells

Recently many hospitals in Korea have become interested in JCI (Joint Commission International) accreditation. As the medical market opens to medical tourism and to attract foreign patients, JCI accreditation has become the prime object. It is compatible with government policy for upgrading the medical industry and necessary to strengthen compatibility with foreign hospitals. JCI accreditation means that the medical services provided by a hospital are equivalent in quality and patient safety to medical services internationally. It also means that the hospital is reliable in treating patients according to international policies and regulations. The most important meaning of JCI accreditation is that the staff in the hospital have promised to provide safe patient care according to the hospital policies and bylaws made and approved by the staff members. During the process for JCI accreditation, the hospital staff's concept regarding patient safety has been changed and many of them are now voluntarily involved in quality improvement and patient safety activities in the hospital.
Accreditation ; Constitution and Bylaws ; Humans ; Joints ; Korea ; Medical Tourism ; Patient Care ; Patient Safety ; Quality Improvement ; Social Control, Formal

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify Russian inpatients' expectation and satisfaction with nursing service, and further, to analyze the relationship between these variables. METHODS: A structured questionnaire was used to survey for 81 Russian inpatients. The survey was conducted from January to June, 2014. RESULTS: Empathy and assurance significantly influenced nursing service expectation and satisfaction. Nursing service expectation was statistically significant for the number of visit to Korea, and nursing service satisfaction was statistically significant for gender, monthly income and primary care giver during hospitalization. Revisit intention was significantly different according to religion, medical department and primary care giver during hospitalization. There were positive correlations between nursing service expectation and satisfaction, and between nursing service satisfaction and intention to revisit the hospital. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the level satisfaction with nursing service influences Russian inpatients' intention continue using the hospital. Therefore, in order to increase the intention to revisit the hospital Korea hospital employees, especially nurses, need to develop nursing service strategies according to general characteristics, culture and nationality of foreign patients.
Empathy ; Ethnic Groups ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Intention* ; Korea ; Medical Tourism ; Nursing Services* ; Nursing* ; Patient Satisfaction ; Primary Health Care