Consumption of dental services: Medical tourism in CEE

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explain the growing phenomenon of the consumption of dental services beyond the place of the patient's permanent residence. The essence and the scope of the phenomenon are discussed and the main factors affecting its development are indicated. The elements of the service package offered by dental clinics are identified. A critical analysis is conducted of relevant literature items. The paper constitutes an introduction to further research that will take account of medical tourists' leisure activities, the dental tourism dysfunctions and the specificity of the medical tourism sub-segment in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Medical tourism services and medical tourism destinations in Central and Eastern Europe - the opinion of Britons and Germans

“…Complementary private health insurance packages for dental services are most common in the case of voluntary health insurance policies (Panteli et al, 2015). Therefore, if planning dental treatment abroad, medical tourists choose neighbouring countries or countries which can be reached without major problems (in the Schengen Area) where the cost of care is lower (Lubowiecki-Vikuk, 2018). Thus, the present study confirms the previous findings by Connell (2013) and that medical tourists usually use medical services in neighbouring countries.…”

Well-Being in Tourism – a Conceptual Framework

“…The term "well-being tourism" is primarily associated with tourism that promotes personal health. This type of tourism is frequently known as wellness tourism (familiar in Scandinavia and the UK) and medical tourism (in Baltic States, Bulgaria or Poland) or health tourism (Lubowiecki-Vikuk 2018;Lubowiecki-Vikuk et al 2021). However, as noted by Konu et al (2011), medical tourism and well-being tourism are two completely diff erent products.…”

“…In addition, wellness has taken on a kind of independent life, mainly related to spas, luxury hotels and beauty treatments (Sánchez et al 2022). An example is the literature in Polish, where the vast majority of articles containing the term well-being in the title or keywords are automatically associated with SPA & wellness (Dłużewska 2016;Lubowiecki-Vikuk 2018;Lubowiecki-Vikuk, Dryglas 2019). Still, thanks to international projects on well-being tourism, carried out in Poland, the awareness of the tourism industry and tourists has changed and wellness is confused with well-being less and less frequently.…”