Medical tourism: Development of competitive medical tourism facilities in Portugal

Medical tourism is an extremely growing industry that stimulates intense rivalry between different countries. Starting from 2008 Portugal has joined a list of destinations, which internationally promote medical services. However, due to the lack of reputation in healthcare, current activities do not result in generation of continuous patient flows. The aim of this study is to develop framework for establishment of medical tourism facilities which would be competitive and sustainable in the context of national strategy of Portugal. Four pillars of the frameworks are set as follows: quality as a main factor of attractiveness; stimulation of reputation through stakeholders’ cooperation; effective marketing activities and sustainability due to follow-up and post-operation services. The objective of the study is reached through qualitative method that implies semi-structured interviews with some key specialists of Portugal in medical tourism. The findings show that the lack of cooperation between stakeholders has one of the biggest impacts on the results of international performance. Additionally, insufficient dedication of private medical companies to internalization process, which is due to high internal demand, only intensifies the problem. Further study determines several factors of competitiveness of Portuguese medical providers, specifically linked to medical service quality. For that reason, during international promotion it is suggested focussing on specific medical area that would represent strength of Portuguese healthcare sector. One of such areas is rehabilitation that can be presented either as separated offer or in form of follow-up systems. In this instance, the study reviews the concept of shifting post-treatment services to hotel facilities under medical supervision.