Review of inbound medical tourism and legal details of obtaining a visa for treatment of head and neck cancer

Abstract

Background We aim to provide a review of inbound medical tourism and the legal process of obtaining a visa for medical/surgical treatment for the patients with head and neck cancer. Methods We reviewed current statistics and the medical and legal literature regarding inbound medical tourism and the process of obtaining a visa for patients traveling to the United States for medical treatment. To illustrate this process, we present a case of an advanced‐staged and disfiguring facial polymorphous high‐grade adenocarcinoma in a previously healthy 29‐year‐old woman from Liberia. Results This report provides a synopsis of available statistical data on inbound medical tourism and the legal aspects of obtaining a visa for patients seeking medical care from abroad. Conclusions Medical tourists traveling to the United States for treatment of head and neck pathologies face considerable barriers in obtaining prompt care, leading to a possible increased disease burden and difficulty in rendering oncologic treatment.

Challenges Associated with Medical Travel for Cancer Patients in the Arab World: A Systematic Review

“…Some instrumental problems such as delaying in issuing the travel visa were pointed out. Young et al (2019) argued that some patients experienced a delay in initiating the treatment due to the process of obtaining a traveling visa from the treatment destination which may not work in favor of the patient's health status [20].…”

“…• Disease management and different treatment modalities between patients' home country & treatment destination. 8 Young LK, Vimawala S, Ahmad N, Kushnir V, Bonawitz SC, Brody JD, et al [20] • Visa process to the treatment destination. 9…”

Inbound tourism – a bibliometric review of SSCI articles (1993–2021)

“…As inbound tourism is a complex social and economic phenomenon involving various fields and scholars' collaboration has shown the trend of international cooperation, the collaboration between different disciplines is worth exploring to broaden inbound tourism research. Besides, considering medical tourism is an important segment of the inbound tourism market (Young et al, 2019) 2019). However, tourism performance and the sustainability of destinations can also be reflected by tourist perceptions such as tourists' complaints (Liu and Li, 2019), preferences (Maeda et al, 2018) and destination image (Deng et al, 2019).…”

“…As inbound tourism is a complex social and economic phenomenon involving various fields and scholars’ collaboration has shown the trend of international cooperation, the collaboration between different disciplines is worth exploring to broaden inbound tourism research. Besides, considering medical tourism is an important segment of the inbound tourism market (Young et al , 2019) and the continuous discussions about medical tourism, especially after the COVID-19 outbreak, the combination of inbound tourism and medical studies is expected to expand the relevant research fields. Current studies have centred on either the demand-side or supply-side influencing factors of inbound medical tourism (Medhekar et al , 2020), failing to explore the reactivation of inbound medical tourist markets after crises or shocks.…”

“…Previous reviews have focussed on specific topics of inbound tourism research such as demand modelling and forecasting, inbound medical tourism (Song and Li, 2008; Young et al , 2019). These reviews have a poor understanding of the overall scientific structure of inbound tourism.…”