Table 3 Summary of extracted informational points
From: What is known about the patient's experience of medical tourism? A scoping review
Themes Identified | Main Issues Covered in Reviewed Sources | Example |
|---|---|---|
Decision-making | Push factors | High out-of-pocket costs for procedures in patients' home countries |
| Â | Pull Factors | Hospitals known to deliver high quality care |
| Â | Information Sources Consulted | Word-of-mouth |
Motivations | Procedure-based motivations | Wanting access to procedures that are illegal or unavailable in home country |
| Â | Travel-based motivations | Ease of booking |
| Â | Cost-based motivations | Recommendation by employer or insurance company as a cost savings measure |
Risks | Risks to health | Contracting infection while abroad |
| Â | Risks of travel | Flying post-operatively |
| Â | Pre- and post-operative risks at home | Little legal recourse in certain jurisdictions |
First-hand accounts | Positive and negative aspects of experiences | Reports of being satisfied with care received |
| Â | Sensationalized issues | Reports of needing to counter others' negative perceptions about destination countries |
| Â | Post-recovery life | Reports of improved health status |