This book mainly focuses on History and profile of the medical tourists visited India. The profile includes sex, age, occupation, type of treatment underwent, accompany details etc. The facilities and services offered by Indian hospitals like type of treatment offered, hospitals experience, accommodation detail, hospitality care, patient care, hospital accreditation, Medical human resource detail and activities of medical tourism department are provided. The average cost of various medical treatments in India has collected through a research and it was compared with the cost of treatment with Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, UK, USA, Canada. The percentage savings made by taking treatment in India also highlighted. The health care crisis in United States of America, Branding Inbound International Medical Tourism and Institutional role in promoting medical tourism in India also included in this book. To understand the perception of the inbound international patients about the services and facilities provided in the hospitals, a research was conducted, and the outcome of the research is presented. Based on the findings of the research, suggestions are provided for better development of medical tourism in India. The details of book will be highly useful for the students pursuing hospital and medical tourism education, and tourism researchers in academic institutions, medical tourism planners and strategic managers in Hospitals dealing international patients.

Tourism is a global phenomenon. Because it is an important, even vital, source of income for many countries in the world. Its importance was recognized in the Manila Declaration on World Tourism of 1980 as “an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational, and economic sectors of national societies and on their international relations and its indirect effects on the development of allied industries like transport, hotel etc.”.Medical Tourism is one form of tourisms and which means a journey that patients take from one country to another country to get cost effective and efficient medical treatment, followed by a great vacation at some of the most beautiful locations. India is one of the major players in this industry. Currently, it hosts about 1.27 million medical tourists from industrialized countries like UK, USA and Canada and from its neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and China. Its foreign exchange earnings from medical tourism are estimated to be around US $ 1.8 billion. The estimated number of medial tourists in India in 2015 would be between 1.21 million and 2.78 million. The estimated revenue would lie between US $ 1719 million to US $ 3964 million in 2015. Medical tourism industry in India has potential to contribute around 25 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product in the next five years, if fully tapped.The present book titled Sociology of Medical Tourism highlights various dimensions, identifies different issues and suggests further development of this multimillion dollar industry in India in an in-depth manner. Medical Tourism is one of the most important trust areas which emerge in the past century and because of its multiple level of use it also become subject matter of research in various subjects including Sociology. It is hoped that this book, with its wide-ranging and in-depth content, critical insights and detailed analysis of the concept, prove to be immensely resourceful to the readers. I also assure that this book should be proven an informative referral for those who are working and doing research in the field of medical tourism.

Healthcare and medical services have seen rapid development in various areas of the world, including Asia and Eastern Europe. These territories are now becoming a medical hub for many surrounding countries. Medical tourism is the practice of traveling to international regions for treatment that isn’t available locally. This subject has gained significant attention throughout the tourism industry, as researchers and professionals are searching for specific advancements of medical care and hospital development in numerous countries. Growth of the Medical Tourism Industry and Its Impact on Society: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a collection of innovative research on the methods and advancement of medical travel for treatment in various global regions and provides insights for the growth prospects of the medical tourism business. While highlighting topics including destination branding, community impact, and hospital management, this book is ideally designed for medical executives, hospital directors, researchers, policymakers, academicians, practitioners, scholars, and students seeking current research on tourism practices within the medical field.

CONTENTS: The Globalisation of Medicine: The Emerging Market of Medical Tourists - Estimates, Challenges & Prospects; Wrong Direction: One Out of Three Americans & Uninsured; Interview with Prathap Reddy - Chairman of Apollo Hospitals; Medical Value Travel - The Indian Chapter; The Globalisation of Healthcare; Contemporary Trends in Healthcare Design & Architecture & their Role in Medical Tourism; Healthcare Accreditation & the Medical Tourism Sector: Some Perspectives; Legal Issues in Medical Tourism - Global Perspective; International Health Insurance & the Indian Healthcare Industry; Medical Tourism: Implications for Participants in the US Health Care System; Role of Central & State Governments in Promoting Medical Tourism in India; MRI Tourists; Alternative Medicine - Avenue for Medical Tourism; Medical Tourism- The Thai Success; Singapore - A Medical Tourism Success Story; Challenges & Opportunities in the Philippine Medical Tourism Industry; A Boost for Medical Tourism in Malaysia.