Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access
ISSN: 2167-0269
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2167-0269
+44 1300 500008
David Hern Aindez Avil Acs
Health expenses are quickly rising all over the world both at the state and private levels. Today, Health expenses already represent the 10% of the world’s PIB.
According to OMS more than 100 million people go into extreme poverty every year because of high Health expenses. We need to find new ways and tools to bring less expensive medical services to the general population. One of the best options to bring average costs down while maintaining high levels of quality reaching out to a larger % of patients is Telemedicine.
Telemedicine achieves great cost savings and immediacy to having medical assistance. It is the best financial model to maintain profits for the professional providers while decreasing costs for the patient.
How can Telemedicine be best applied to the segment of international travelers?
According to OMS (World Tourism Organization), in 2018 there were 1.400 M tourist arrivals in the world. The average medical assistance ratio for travelers abroad is 1.5%. This means 21.000.000 patients. The average medical cost per case is 200 euros. Therefore, the business potential for medical assistance in the tourist sector is 4.200.000.000 euros.
Today, this massive piece of business is today channeled through international assistance companies who act as intermediaries and buy medical assistance services from local providers.
Most medical assistance services are classified into three main categories: House calls, outpatient visits and Inpatient (Hospitalization) services. House calls represent 60% of the total number of services. At least, 35% of this business is suitable to be done with Telemedicine which would decrease the costs by 50%.
Telemedicine should be the solution in the future for almost 5.000.000 tourists looking for medical assistance around the world.
Published Date: 2021-03-18; Received Date: 2021-02-25