Wed 25 Apr 2007
CHOOSE CAREFULLY: QUALITY FIRST!
Posted by raphael encaoua under medical tourism, Low cost surgery, Medical travel
Here is a story I found in The West Australian a few days ago. It is one of these botched surgeries that destroys the credibility of medical tourism:
“Jasmine Sheldon, a 26-year-old mother of two is unable to lift her arms over her head and has suffered irreparable muscle damage to her chest after a botched breast enlargement during what she thought would be a luxury holiday in Thailand. Ms Sheldon said she had been considering breast implants for several years when a friend suggested she try a so-called medical holiday in Thailand where patients are promised an all-in-one luxury holiday and cosmetic surgery for a cheaper price than the cost of surgery in Australia.
“I woke up after the surgery and felt like I’d been hit but a bus. I was so sick. I couldn’t stop throwing up and no one in the hospital could understand English, I didn’t know what to do.” Ms Sheldon said she was in agony when she returned from the six-day trip in February and went to the emergency department with heart palpitations and high blood pressure. She eventually booked an urgent appointment with a local cosmetic surgeon when the pain did not subside.
The ordeal cost her more than $10,000. “
Super low cost Surgery: take out everything in one slice!
This kind of stories is an instant killer for the industry and must be taken into account. This kind of malpractices can occur anywhere when seeking for a cheap procedure. Indeed, the marketing ploy used by countless agencies is cost first. But there is a vast array of other components that brings qualitative difference: luxuoury hotels, top quality hospital. Seeking for the absolute low cost is a dardevil attitude. The two essential components that should animate choices are:
- JICT accreditations
- Tele consultation prior to the medical trip
Medical tourism service seekers must be quality driven or the industry will collapse quickly with a wild uproar of complaints caused by careless customers. Indeed as noticed by the author of this article, Jasmine Sheldon has decided to opt for medical tourism mainly because of its price and it seems that she has sought for one of the cheapest solutions available.
April 29th, 2007 at 5:41 am
I think that this story is the kind of stories that kills the Medical Tourism in Asia.
What can you do about it? It is very hard to change the people opionion about it, and to repair the damage caused by the word-to-mouth about failures in Asia.
How do you cant to act on the consumer’s behaviour? Is there any strategic marketing made about the local departments to change this image?
April 29th, 2007 at 6:50 am
to me, to change the perception of medical tourism in Asia when you have such downfalls the PR that is done to soothe doubters should deliver a qualitative message:
Insist on the technical gap between Europe, the US versus Asia (the Asia gaining steam while Europe is slackening due to major constraints)
Show diversity
demonstrate that cost cutting is an irrelevant choice strategy
For the consumer behaviour, I have posted an article a few days ago about the ELM model and the need to avoid a decision motivated by one’s affect and go through a rational decision process. Asia really has advantages that go beyond cost…