Leveraging Blockchain in Medical Tourism Value Chain

Balasubramanian, S.; Ajayan, Shalini; Paris, Cody Morris

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-94751-4_8

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Blockchain technology provides a privacyenhancing method that facilitates the diversification of records and imposes restrictions on the accessibility of sensitive data, such as the private data of individuals engaged in medical tourism. The use of blockchain technology in medical tourism has the potential to provide many advantages, including enhanced accessibility to healthcare providers, expedited and secure payment mechanisms, heightened assurance of data protection and privacy, and the establishment of reliable evaluation mechanisms [42][43][44].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical Tourism in the Region of Crete, Greece: Perspectives from Healthcare Providers, Hotel Managers, and Medical Tourists

Batakis,

Sidiropoulos,

Emmanouil-Kalos

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Medical tourism is a rapidly growing sector, and could become a major driver of tourism in Greece. This research examines the status quo and the potential of medical tourism on the island of Crete, Greece. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2021 to February 2022, with the administration of questionnaires. The study involved the participation of 97 hotel managers from four- and five-star hotels, 515 doctors representing various specialties, and 890 medical tourists. Hotel managers overwhelmingly (90+%) believe that medical tourism can significantly contribute to the domestic economy, as well as that the domestic market is ready for the provision of medical tourism services on a larger scale, while more than 70% of the tourists asked would be interested in travelling to Greece to receive medical treatment. IVF, eye surgery, and dental services are the ones that would interest tourists the most, which are also aligned with the services commonly provided by the doctors questioned. Thus, according to the perspectives of doctors, hotel managers, and tourists, medical tourism has the capacity to grow significantly and contribute to the development of the Greek economy. The government should assume a supportive role, facilitating medical tourism processes by addressing the administrative, financial, and promotional aspects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical Tourism in the Region of Crete, Greece: Perspectives from Healthcare Providers, Hotel Managers, and Medical Tourists

Batakis,

Sidiropoulos,

Emmanouil-Kalos

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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“…The 'Use Layer' layer of the framework represents the uses of blockchain solutions in tourism (e.g., smart contracts, baggage tracking) across the different travel stages. Identifying these uses was a significant undertaking, given that the central task of developing any technology-enabled framework is identifying key technology solutions for inclusion (You and Feng 2020;Balasubramanian et al 2021bBalasubramanian et al , 2022.…”

Section: Development Of the Blockchain Framework For Tourismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First and foremost, most of these studies are narrow in scope (rightfully so), focusing on one or a few specific blockchain applications; for example, Treiblmaier et al ( 2020 ) have focused on cryptocurrencies, while Veloso et al ( 2019 ) study focused on crowdsourcing. Other studies have focused on blockchain applications in specific domains of tourism, such as medical tourism (Pilkington 2020 ; Balasubramanian et al 2022 ) or sustainable development in tourism (Tham and Sigala 2020 ). Many of the studies we have reviewed offer useful insights into specific applications, cases, or contexts; however, there has yet to be a systematic effort to understand the various use of blockchain technology across the lengthy tourism value chain (which begins before a tourists’ search for information and continues beyond their return home).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An enabling Framework for Blockchain in Tourism

Balasubramanian

Sethi

Ajayan

et al. 2022

Inf Technol Tourism

Self Cite

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This viewpoint article proposes an enabling framework that identifies the use of various blockchain technologies in tourism and their applications (digitalization, automation, disintermediation, and intelligent environment) across the different stages of travel (pre-trip, during the trip, and post-trip). As we know, the tourism sector contributes immensely to world GDP and job creation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, even after two years since it first appeared, continues to adversely impact the tourism prospects of countries across the world due to nationwide lockdowns and travel restrictions. As the world tries to adapt to the “new normal,“ the tourism sector is forced to re-think its ways of doing business and bring about innovations to facilitate the new norms of contactless and safe transactions. Also, the sector, more than ever, need to effectively deal with its inherent challenges such as transparency and credibility of information, fraudulent practices, opportunistic behavior of intermediaries, and foreign currency risks. Blockchain technology can transform the tourism sector by offering innovative solutions that address its pressing issues. However, our current understanding of blockchain application in tourism is quite limited, with previous work being largely fragmented and narrow in terms of both scope and application. We foresee that the insights offered in this viewpoint, including the framework, will advance both theory and practice and facilitate the implementation of blockchain-enabled solutions across different travel stages.

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“…From the perspective of tourism and hospitality operators, smart contracts and distributed ledgers can decrease costs and increase business profitability (Turkay et al , 2019). Recently, the use of the BCT has been extended to medical tourism (Balasubramanian et al , 2022; Tyan et al , 2021; Shen and Bai, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the opportunities, challenges and risks of applying the blockchain technology in tourism: a Delphi study approach

Dadkhah

Rahimnia

Filimonau

2022

JHTT

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the potential of the blockchain technology in tourism. The blockchain technology (BCT) holds potential to contribute significantly to tourism policy and practice. Academic interest in the BCT is rapidly growing with studies looking at the opportunities and challenges of its application. The shortcoming of research on the BCT in tourism has however been in its conceptual nature. The lack of empirical investigations hinders an understanding of how the BCT can be more broadly adopted in tourism, especially from the viewpoint of minimizing its risks. Design/methodology/approach The initial screening of the opportunities, challenges and risks is undertaken via a systematic literature review. The Delphi study is subsequently applied to empirically confirm what opportunities, challenges and risks can be attributed to the BCT use in tourism. Twelve industry and academic experts have contributed to the Delphi study. Findings The risks identified have been categorized as societal, technical, financial and legal. Propositions have been made on how these risks can, at least partially, be overcome. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first known attempt to study the BCT from the perspective of academic and industry experts. This research is also one of the first to evaluate the risks of the BCT use in tourism. Most risks are identified as not critical and can be addressed as the BCT develops.

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Leveraging Blockchain in Medical Tourism Value Chain

Cited by 6 publications

References 9 publications

Medical Tourism in the Region of Crete, Greece: Perspectives from Healthcare Providers, Hotel Managers, and Medical Tourists

Medical Tourism in the Region of Crete, Greece: Perspectives from Healthcare Providers, Hotel Managers, and Medical Tourists

An enabling Framework for Blockchain in Tourism

Evaluating the opportunities, challenges and risks of applying the blockchain technology in tourism: a Delphi study approach

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