The Requirements and baises of Medical Tourism Website for Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Informing the target population plays an important role in medical tourism attraction and should be managed in order to incorporate all appropriate tools to increase it. The aim of this study was to determine the requirements and basis of a medical tourism website for hospitals. Methods: This study was a cross sectional analytical study that was performed during year 2018 amongst hospital managers and faculty members of Iranian medical sciences universities that have the potential to attract medical tourism. Data gathering was done by a self-made questionnaire. From 120 questionnaires, which were distributed between samples, 82 were gathered completely. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 16 and descriptive (mean, frequency and etc.) and analytical (one-way ANOVA) statistical tests. Results: The results of the study showed that from the experts point of view, the most important requirement and basis of Hospital Medical Tourism Websites) HMTW(was photo gallery (mean = 4.44) and a general guide for patients (mean = 3.85) was the least significant element in HMTW. Also, there was no difference between faculty members, staff, and different genders regarding views about HMTW items (P = 0.11). Conclusions: Based on the results, it was suggested that the results of this study could be used by policymakers of medical tourism and Hospital Medical Tourism Websites (HMTW) developers. Also, the results of this study could be used as an evaluation tool for investigating hospital websites regarding medical tourism attraction abilities.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Applications During Covid-19 Pandemic Among Preclinical Medical and Dentistry Students: A Mini-Review

“…Studies have also demonstrated that AR provided a motivational drive during remote learning [16]. A scoping review of 21 articles indicated that professionals and students from different medical specialities trained via VR demonstrated a higher level of accuracy in their medical practice [17].…”

Usability Evaluation of Medical Tourism Websites in Iran

“…Studies show that health information has been one of the most useful and favorite titles of internet users and every day many users around the world visit the websites of health care centers to get health information [5]. Medical tourists search for reliable, accessible, up-to-date and comprehensive information on these websites [6].…”

Understanding the multidimensional role of medical travel facilitators: A study on competencies and a proposed model

“…However, there is a scarcity of academic exploration into MTF competencies. A lot of research has been done on their roles [ [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] ] as well as their digital presence [ [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] ], legal issues [ [18] , [19] , [20] ], influential factors [ 21 , 22 ], and impact on patients [ 3 , 10 , 23 , 24 ]. Yet, the analysis of MTF competencies within a holistic model is significantly missing.…”