Assessing International Trade in Healthcare Services

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may org) is a Research Associate at ECIPE AbstrActGrowing evidence indicates that international trade in healthcare services is growing. Nevertheless, a major literature gap exists with regard to the nature of international healthcare trade and its extent.Taking a comprehensive approach, this research examines the magnitude, directions, patterns of specialisation, growth and other aspects related to international trade in healthcare services. Within this framework, trade is analysed with regard to cross border trade, consumption of healthcare by foreign nationals, commercial presence of healthcare services providers, as well as the movement of healthcare professionals across borders.

International trade of health services: Global trends and local impact

“…: Mode 2 of GATS. Thus, we refer here to trade or exports of health services rather than to medical tourism revenue, firstly because there is no agreed definition of medical tourism [3][4][5][6] and, secondly, because trade data do include both the persons travelling for the specific purpose of medical care and the healthcare received by travellers, the "medicated tourists" [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Since the former category represents the largest component, export of health services is a proxy of medical tourism revenue.…”

“…: export of health services. The only rigorous attempts at assessing this trade have relied on this source [14][15][16][17][18]22]. Whereas the BOPS coverage is large -with 53 countries providing sufficient data on trade in health services and accounting for 53% of the world trade -it remains incomplete.…”

“….) A literature gap remains" [14]. The "boom in academic analysis" [3] has not delivered reliable assessments neither on world trends nor on the scale of revenue generated at the local level [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

International Trade in Health Care Services: Prospects and Challenges for India

“…Technology renders feasible supply of all services through cross-border supply (mode 1), with very few exceptions. The distinction between mode 3 and mode 4 is that while the supply of services through commercial presence is more focused on the local establishment of foreign legal entities, supply of services through the presence of natural persons is concerned with the country of origin of the person supplying the service (Herman 2009).…”

Trade in Healthcare and Health Insurance Services: The GATS as a Supporting Actor (?)

“…According to Mattoo and Rathindran (2005), if only 10 per cent of the US patients that need treatment for 15 tradable low-risk ailments went abroad, the annual savings would amount to US$1.4 billion. International cost comparisons for surgical procedures are contained in Hermann (2009).…”