International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health

International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health

The Capabilities of Iranian Hospitals in Attracting Medical Tourists; Based on Joint Commission International: A Case Study of Shiraz Hospitals

Authors
Tahereh Shafaghat 1
Alireza Jabbari 2
Zahra Kavoosi 3
Ali Ayoubian 4
Mohammad Kazem Rahimi Zarchi 5
1 Student Research Committee, School of Manage-ment and Medical Information, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
2 Health Management and Economics Center (HMERC), School of Management and Medical Information, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
3 Department of Health Service Management, School of Management and Medical Information, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
4 Health Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
5 Student Research Committee, School of Management and Medical Information, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Medical tourism is one of the competitive and income industries in world and has the ability to attract tourists in the health sector and international markets are totally dependent on international accreditation. This study has been done to evaluate the capabilities of active public and private hospitals in Shiraz regarding attraction of tourists’ base on accreditation standards.

Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic and cross-sectional study which performed on four hospitals which were active in medical tourism in 2012. A checklist of international accreditation standards based on Joint Commission International (JCI) was applied for collecting data. Data were analyzed using descriptive analytic statistical tests. In descriptive statistics, frequency tables and standard deviation were used for scoring the hospitals. Independent student (T-test) was used to compare the mean of public and private hospitals in attracting medical tourists.

Results: Hospital No.3 in the Patient-Centered Standards and Health Care Organization Management Standards was in the best position whilst hospital No.2 in the Patient-Centered Standards was in the worst state and hospital no.1 in Health Care Organization Management was in the worst position. Also there was a significant difference between public and private hospitals in attracting medical tourists according to Joint Commission International (sig=0.01).

Conclusion: Shiraz hospitals have good ability to attract medical tourists; these abilities are very good in most cases and in some cases there is a need to improve. Having recognized the strengths and weaknesses of these hospitals can use SWOT analysis model, which is used in medical tourism program of some countries, for improving their abilities in attracting medical tourists.
Keywords
Travel
Medical tourism
Hospitals
accreditation
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
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  • Receive Date 22 January 2014
  • Revise Date 24 February 2014
  • Accept Date 26 February 2014