WHA opens on the topic: Medical Tourism

The World Health Assembly opens on the topic of medical tourism, working to find a solution to brain drain and patient safety risks while retaining its economic advantages.

Rochelle Tanujoyo | The Hankyoreh

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The World Health Assembly has opened on the topic of medical tourism. The opening speeches of the delegates came to a common consensus. Countries that benefited from medical tourism acknowledged its negative effects and called for countries to work together in order to maintain a global, equitable healthcare system.

Most delegates in the conference agreed with maintaining medical tourism. Medical tourism benefits the local economy of destination countries with patients spending on hotels, treatments and more. However, medical tourism can overburden the health system of domestic health systems. Furthermore, it causes brain drain of highly skilled healthcare professionals from rural areas to cities and from less developed countries to more developed countries. Cross-border records in the origin and destination countries also risk patient safety.

In the unmoderated caucusces during committee sessions, blocs were formed, and solutions were shared. The delegate of Nigeria proposed a database under the World Health Assembly where medical information and medical documents can be shared to each patient’s healthcare provider. This system helps patients to communicate their medical records effectively, and ensures future healthcare

providers can get the full picture.

The delegate of Japan proposed something similar – an online portal with the patients' health information, visa information and other information that foreign patients need in order to access healthcare in destination countries. This portal encourages medical tourism. The portal makes medical tourism more accessible and appealing to patients. This tackles the issue of transparency that poses risks to travellers similar to the delegate of Nigeria. Overall, it is more effective in facilitating easier medical tourism.

For the issue of brain drain, the delegate of South Africa proposed a scholarship by more developed countries for aspiring healthcare professionals in less developed countries. This scholarship would also consist of students who, after seeking their education, spend time in both countries serving as healthcare professionals. The time of serving is undecided, with delegates proposing anything from 70 years to 5 years. The delegate of Nigeria has criticised

this, positing that this would be counter-productive to resolving the issue.

While this seems like a good option for prospective healthcare students in less developed countries, this may be their only option to pursue the career of a healthcare professional. In this way, students who cannot afford to pay for higher education in healthcare are forced to turn to this scholarship. If the time served in the more developed countries is too long, this may instead contribute to the brain drain instead of helping to relieve it.

The delegates of India and France proposed a 4 tier solution for international accreditation with different standards for countries based on how economically developed they are. However, this accreditation is still voluntary. This can make standards for medical facilities more transparent, but it is similar to existing healthcare accreditation standards.

While these proposals try to tackle the harmful effects of medical tourism, they fail to solve the root cause of medical tourism. Many people turn to medical tourism if they cannot access treatment. This may be due to the healthcare system in origin countries being overburdened or simply because the treatment is cheaper elsewhere. While the economic effects of medical tourism can help the citizens of the destination country, they should not be prioritised over the

harmful effects. A focus on solving the accessibility of essential treatments in host countries can better equip residents to attain equitable access to healthcare.

Hankyoreh believes that the process for medical tourism for non-essential treatments like plastic surgery should be made clearer. This will help to ensure that patients will be safer and reduce risks of miscommunication, ensuring that both healthcare providers and patients are able to provide and receive the best care.

Medical tourism is a complex issue in which each delegate has to consider many factors in order to best suit the situation of their country. While proposals by the different delegates consider different aspects of the issue, the final resolution has to cover all aspects. WHA delegates must agree on solutions that would encompass the whole issue and not focus on a singular aspect of the complex issue that is medical tourism.