Sun, Surgery and Cyberspace

2010 ◽  
pp. 217-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry. S. Eades
Keyword(s):  
Hot Springs ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Travel Agents ◽  
Wellness Tourism ◽  
The Media ◽  
Different Parts

In the last few years, increasing attention has been paid by the media and the tourist industry to what has become known as ‘medical tourism’ sometimes also called ‘health’ or ‘wellness’ tourism. Before around 2000, these were hardly mentioned by the media at all. However, in one sense, medical tourism has a long history, as some of the information sites on the Internet are eager to point out. People have been travelling in search of medical treatment for millennia, whether in order to visit hot springs as in Poland, Hungary or Japan. Why this sudden interest? In this Chapter I argue that it is due to a combination of factors: the changing distribution of medical services and technologies, the growth of interest among both local medical practitioners in different parts of the world and travel agents, the clever packaging of tourism and medical services as a single product, and the availability of the Internet both to assemble and to disseminate information on these new products. The chapter covers the implications of these cases for the future of medical tourism, and its relations both with the medical and tourism industries.

The Growth of Medical Tourism

2015 ◽  
pp. 365-378
Author(s):  
Jerry Eades
Keyword(s):  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Travel Agents ◽  
Massive Growth ◽  
Wellness Tourism ◽  
The Developed Countries

In the late 2000s, the author wrote a summary paper on the rise of medical tourism. That paper discussed the rapid growth of interest in medical, health and wellness tourism, especially since 2003. The medical tourism industry has a long history, but this massive growth is a new phenomenon. The important factors are: the changing distribution of medical services and technologies; the growth of interest among both local medical practitioners and travel agents; the packaging of tourism and medical services as a single product; and, most significantly, the availability of the Internet to disseminate information them, creating a global market. The present chapter considers first the burgeoning literature on medical tourism. Second, the processes of development in countries becoming the main players in the international provision of medical services are discussed. Third, the chapter looks at the debates surrounding the rise of medical tourism in the developed countries.

scholarly journals Wellness tourism and the components of its offer system: a holistic perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Dini ◽  
Tonino Pencarelli
Keyword(s):  
Hot Springs ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Open Coding ◽  
Wellness Tourism ◽  
Main Components

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptually examine the phenomenon of wellness tourism under a holistic and systemic lens, focusing on the offer system and the main components necessary for the staging of wellness experiences. This approach to holistic wellbeing within the tourism sector has led to a broadening of the type of services and experiences that make up the value propositions that can positively contribute to people’s wellbeing. Design/methodology/approach This study identifies and defines the components of wellness tourism (including sectors not traditionally associated with it) through a review and analysis of the extant literature on “wellness tourism” and “wellbeing tourism” of the past two decades; the components were classified through an open coding process. Findings Wellness tourism, as a broad multidimensional concept, is composed by ten different components of the offer system: hot springs, spas, medical tourism, care of the body and mind, enogastronomy, sports, nature and environment, culture, spirituality and events. Each of these categories may represent a single touristic offer targeted to specific market segments, but they may also be one of several components within an integrated mix of tourism products proposed. Originality/value A holistic view of wellness tourism has implications for strategic marketing processes. Destination Management Organizations and company managers should segment their demand according to more innovative criteria than what has traditionally been adopted for wellness in terms of health care and medical procedures. Value propositions for tourists should be wellness-driven to satisfy the growing demand for wellness/well-being and should involve the participation of all the various actors and producers within the wellness tourism offer system at wellness destinations.

A genre-based investigation of the “About Us” section of private hospitals’ Websites

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasser Salimi Aghbolagh ◽  
Azirah Hashim ◽  
Cecilia Cheong Yin Mei
Keyword(s):  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Cognitive Structures ◽  
Private Hospitals ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
The World

Abstract Medical tourism industry is currently viewed as one of the lucrative sources of income for some countries and in essence, owes much of its reputation and success to private hospitals and the Internet (Connell, 2006). However, how these private hospitals discursively present themselves to prospective health tourists in order to entice them to use their medical services rather than their rivals’ still remains under-researched. Following the ESP genre school, this study seeks to explore the “About Us” sections of private hospitals’ websites and aims to see how such sections are rhetorically designed and constructed. Using Bhatia’s (1993, 2004) move structures for promotional texts, this study examines the rhetorical structure of the constituent webpages of the “About Us” sections of forty-one Malaysian private hospitals’ websites. Our study demonstrates how Malaysian private hospitals utilize a number of cognitive structures to present and promote themselves in their “About Us” sections. Our findings are, in general, beneficial for the private hospitals in Malaysia or elsewhere in the world, and in particular, are helpful for novice medical website designers.

The Search for a New Identity

2001 ◽  
pp. 219-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marios Koufaris
Keyword(s):  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Organ Transplant ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Transplant Recipients ◽  
Group I ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Parts

At its core, the Internet is a communication medium. As such, it can enable social interactions between people in different parts of the world and at different times. The last technological innovation that changed the way we communicate so drastically was the telephone. Its social impact has been dramatic and the Internet is already influencing our lives just as significantly. In this chapter I describe the use of a small part of the Internet by a specific social group. I will discuss the issues surrounding the use of an Internet-based newsgroup dedicated to organ transplantation. My observations will primarily deal with organ transplant recipients and their use of this newsgroup to define a new identity for themselves after the disorienting lifesaving procedure of a foreign organ grafted onto their bodies.

A genre-based investigation of the “About Us” section of private hospitals’ Websites

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasser Salimi Aghbolagh ◽  
Azirah Hashim ◽  
Cecilia Cheong Yin Mei
Keyword(s):  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Cognitive Structures ◽  
Private Hospitals ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
The World

Abstract Medical tourism industry is currently viewed as one of the lucrative sources of income for some countries and in essence, owes much of its reputation and success to private hospitals and the Internet (Connell, 2006). However, how these private hospitals discursively present themselves to prospective health tourists in order to entice them to use their medical services rather than their rivals’ still remains under-researched. Following the ESP genre school, this study seeks to explore the “About Us” sections of private hospitals’ websites and aims to see how such sections are rhetorically designed and constructed. Using Bhatia’s (1993, 2004) move structures for promotional texts, this study examines the rhetorical structure of the constituent webpages of the “About Us” sections of forty-one Malaysian private hospitals’ websites. Our study demonstrates how Malaysian private hospitals utilize a number of cognitive structures to present and promote themselves in their “About Us” sections. Our findings are, in general, beneficial for the private hospitals in Malaysia or elsewhere in the world, and in particular, are helpful for novice medical website designers.

scholarly journals LEGAL REGULATION OF THE MEDICAL TOURISM AS A TYPE OF ECONOMICAL ACTIVITY

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (81) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Jevgeņijs Gņediks
Keyword(s):  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Structural Components ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
The Status ◽  
Wellness Tourism ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Economical Activity

The article is devoted to the problems of legal regulation of medical tourism as a type of economic activity. The definition of medical tourism, its structural components and peculiarities of legal regulation are given.Medical tourism is a type of tourist activity, characterized by the formation and sale of a tourist product. This product includes a package of general tourist services, as well as a package of medical services. There are such structural components of medical tourism: 1) curative tourism, providing medical and diagnostic services that can be provided only by entities that have the status of medical institutions; 2) rehabilitation and wellness tourism, which provides diagnostic, sanatorium-resort, preventive and other types of medical services that can be provided by medical institutions and other entities.The expediency of creating a single legal regime in the field of medical tourism is argued. This legal regime is necessary for effective protection of patients' rights to life and health.

Analysis of Current Practices of Organizing the Export of Medical Services in the United Kingdom, Italy, South Korea and China

2020 ◽  
pp. 30-42
Author(s):  
Arkady Nikolaevich Daykhes ◽  
Vladimir Anatolievich Reshetnikov ◽  
Olga Aleksandrovna Manerova ◽  
Ilya Aleksandrovich Mikhailov
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Value Added ◽  
External Factors ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Medical Organization ◽  
The United Kingdom

Aim of the study. Analysis of medical tourism’s organizational features based on the example of the large medical organizations in the United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy and China. Materials and methods. The data were collected by the authors by interviewing the heads of medical organizations and their deputies in the United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy and China (3–4 respondents per medical organization) using the developed questionnaire to identify the main mechanisms and tools for organizing the export of medical services. SWOT-analysis (Strengths; Weaknesses; Opportunities; Threats) was performed in order to comprehensively evaluate the received information. Results. Along with weaknesses and threats that slow down the development of medical services exports, strengths (internal factors) and opportunities ( external factors) that contribute to the development of medical tourism were also identified: the widespread popularity of the brand of medical organizations abroad which is associated with the provision of premium medical services; versatility and ability to conduct high-tech surgical operations; the presence of a separate premium class building and an international department for working with foreign patients and promoting a medical organization in the world market; well-established business relationships with assistance companies; foreign medical personnel who speak foreign languages and possess necessary skills to treat foreign patients; developed electronic medical care system; developed system of quality control of medical care; the presence of branches in other countries; the presence of a medical visa in the system of legislation; established cooperation with many countries at the embassy level; state licensing and accreditation for the provision of medical services to foreign citzens; the availability of a state website on the provision of medical assistance to foreign citizens; the possibility of the age of value added tax. Conclusion. We identified main patterns in the organization of export of medical services that can be applied to develop this direction in medical organizations of the Russian Federation during the analysis the strengths and weaknesses of four large medical organizations abroad, as well as external factors that affect the work of these medical organizations.

MULTIMEDIA ENVIROMENT OF GERMAN POLEMIC DISCOURSE

2019 ◽  
pp. 223-235
Author(s):  
Anna Udelkina
Keyword(s):  
Information Exchange ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Site ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Xxth Century ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Multimedia Environment ◽  
The Media ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
Main Activity

This article is devoted to the study of the multimedia environment of the polemic discourse in German media with its diverse formats of impact on the audience and the actively developing internal dynamics of texts. If at the end of the XXth century the specifics of German media were the use of the Internet site as one of the possibilities to present copies of newspapers and magazines in electronic form, today we can speak of modified, hybrid Internet versions of printed publications that do not just create websites on the Internet that duplicate their main activity, but also combines the features of the traditional press and features of the functioning of texts on the Internet. The transition from linear, monomedia broadcasting platforms to discrete, multimedia ones has a significant impact on the process of creating, designing and placing modern polemics. Texts of articles and user comments are considered in the article as tmaterialization of the polemic discourse in the media. Polemic texts are formed on the basis of intertextual structures and have a hypertext nature. The use of multimedia tools (a variety of fonts, graphics, animation, photo, video and sound) in the text of the article allows the author not only to expand the amount of information provided, but also to qualitatively supplement its content through inline inclusions tn the text, to express the meaning of information by referring to verbal and non-verbal means; to provide a visual and figurative presentation of information (graphs, charts, tables), to attract attention and influence the audience, as well as to provide readers with the opportunity to participate in information exchange.

Ironic Content Features in the Orthodox Media Discourse

2020 ◽  
pp. 71-86
Author(s):  
Alexandra Makarova
Keyword(s):  
Religious Discourse ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Cultural Methods ◽  
Religious Communication ◽  
The Media ◽  
To Come ◽  
Sphere Of Influence

The religious communication is the most ancient of human communication types. The pragmatic linguistics as well as rhetoric shows a special attitude to this special type of discourse. Today the Internet text with its unlimited abilities is being in the focus of linguists’ attention. That is why the orthodox journalists are covering not only print media but also the Internet that helps to widen the sphere of influence on the people’s minds and souls. The analyses show that the media context of the Orthodox sites (such as The Orthodox people laugh and etc.) includes humorous publications that prove the necessity of studying peculiarities of religious communication and humorous texts in orthodox sites. The integrative approach including content analyses, discourse and linguistic cultural methods helps the author to come to a conclusion that orthodox media texts are distinguished by intertextuality, hypertextuality, creolism, and the authors want to influence the addressee in the most effective way. To define the communicative task, the missionary function should be taken into account which is peculiar to the religious discourse.

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