Last updated on August 16, 2024
Some of the large back-lit posters in major subway stations in Seoul are interesting. A poster promoting Gangnam as a tourist destination caught my eye on a recent visit to Euljiro 1-ga Station.
Among the list of Gangnam attractions, such as high-end shopping and fine dining, was medical tourism. Gangnam is not alone in taking an interest in medical tourism; the national government has promoted it as part of broader efforts to promote tourism. Major medical institutions have also taken an interest in medical tourism and have developed services in English.
At first glance, medical tourism looks like a great idea. Medical care in Korea is high quality and costs are lower than many other countries, particularly the United States. Access is easy, medical equipment is good, and test results are prompt. Many doctors speak English, and have knowledge of medical practices outside of Korea. Korea also has a large number of Oriental medicine clinics that offer acupuncture at reasonable prices.
A closer look however reveals the limits of medical tourism. The first and most basic issue is that many medical treatments require monitoring in the form of follow-up appointments and procedures. This requires time, often months and sometimes years, making it difficult to start a course of treatment as a tourist. Medical tourism is essentially limited to medical tests, one-time surgeries, and short-term treatments.
Another problem with medical tourism is differences in medical practices. Korean patients are used to brief visits with the doctor, whereas patients in some countries expect a more leisurely consultation. Doctors in high-cost VIP centers in Korea dedicated to medical testing spend more time explaining the results of tests, but this is not the norm. The brevity of face-time with doctors, more than language difficulties, may affect how patients feel about the service.
Language difficulties, of course, present a challenge because, except for VIP centers, the supporting administrative and nursing staff often do not speak English. On the other hand, not all patients speak English well, thus requiring other language speakers to facilitate the medical services. The vast majority of foreign tourists come from Japan and Chinese-speaking countries and most do not speak English well. Next to English, Japanese is probably the most available language, but knowledge of other languages is very limited. This linguistic mismatch limits the size of the market for medical tourism.
A deeper problem with medical tourism is the allocation of valuable resources to treat non-residents of Korea. As is well known, Korea has the most rapidly aging population in the world. The percentage of the population over 65 is still low compared to most other advanced countries, but the percentage will grow dramatically starting in the last half of this decade. As the working age population starts to decline around 2016, fewer people will be supporting more retirees, and Korea will find itself in a situation similar to Japan. Public debt will rise as pensions and healthcare costs strain national and local governments.
Greater demand for healthcare creates greater demand for doctors, but the decline in the youth population will limit the number of potential doctors. At present, Korea lags behind most other advanced nations in the number of doctors per capita. According to a 2010 OECD report on healthcare, in 2008, the number of doctors per 1000 people was 1.86 in Korea, 2.15 in Japan, and 3.56 in Germany. The number of nurses per 1000 people was 4.36 in Korea, 9.54 in Japan, and 10.68 in Germany. Thus, to keep up with demographic demand as the population period comes to resemble Japan and Germany, Korea will have to produce more doctors and nurses from among a shrinking college-age population.
Over the long-term the medical system in Korea will have to take care of many more people with limited human resources and strained public support. Importing doctors and nurses from overseas, as the United States and many other advanced countries have done, may alleviate shortages, but other countries with greater experience in attracting foreign professionals will be competing for the same talent pool, making it difficult for Korea to compete in this specialized labor market. Thus, a realistic assumption is that the supply of doctors and nurses will remain limited as the number of patients grows rapidly.
The push to develop medical tourism comes from high-growth-era assumptions of ever increasing GDP, sound public finances, and a relatively young population. These fundamentals are already changing beneath the surface, and the changes will become much more noticeable in the next five years. As they do, the idea of using valuable medical human resources for tourists may come under criticism. The same argument, of course, applies to plastic surgery and other popular elective medical procedures.
In the end, medical tourism is flawed because it is ethically questionable as Korea joins the ranks of the world’s oldest nations.
Among the list of Gangnam attractions, such as high-end shopping and fine dining, was medical tourism. Gangnam is not alone in taking an interest in medical tourism; the national government has promoted it as part of broader efforts to promote tourism. Major medical institutions have also taken an interest in medical tourism and have developed services in English.
At first glance, medical tourism looks like a great idea. Medical care in Korea is high quality and costs are lower than many other countries, particularly the United States. Access is easy, medical equipment is good, and test results are prompt. Many doctors speak English, and have knowledge of medical practices outside of Korea. Korea also has a large number of Oriental medicine clinics that offer acupuncture at reasonable prices.
A closer look however reveals the limits of medical tourism. The first and most basic issue is that many medical treatments require monitoring in the form of follow-up appointments and procedures. This requires time, often months and sometimes years, making it difficult to start a course of treatment as a tourist. Medical tourism is essentially limited to medical tests, one-time surgeries, and short-term treatments.
Another problem with medical tourism is differences in medical practices. Korean patients are used to brief visits with the doctor, whereas patients in some countries expect a more leisurely consultation. Doctors in high-cost VIP centers in Korea dedicated to medical testing spend more time explaining the results of tests, but this is not the norm. The brevity of face-time with doctors, more than language difficulties, may affect how patients feel about the service.
Language difficulties, of course, present a challenge because, except for VIP centers, the supporting administrative and nursing staff often do not speak English. On the other hand, not all patients speak English well, thus requiring other language speakers to facilitate the medical services. The vast majority of foreign tourists come from Japan and Chinese-speaking countries and most do not speak English well. Next to English, Japanese is probably the most available language, but knowledge of other languages is very limited. This linguistic mismatch limits the size of the market for medical tourism.
A deeper problem with medical tourism is the allocation of valuable resources to treat non-residents of Korea. As is well known, Korea has the most rapidly aging population in the world. The percentage of the population over 65 is still low compared to most other advanced countries, but the percentage will grow dramatically starting in the last half of this decade. As the working age population starts to decline around 2016, fewer people will be supporting more retirees, and Korea will find itself in a situation similar to Japan. Public debt will rise as pensions and healthcare costs strain national and local governments.
Greater demand for healthcare creates greater demand for doctors, but the decline in the youth population will limit the number of potential doctors. At present, Korea lags behind most other advanced nations in the number of doctors per capita. According to a 2010 OECD report on healthcare, in 2008, the number of doctors per 1000 people was 1.86 in Korea, 2.15 in Japan, and 3.56 in Germany. The number of nurses per 1000 people was 4.36 in Korea, 9.54 in Japan, and 10.68 in Germany. Thus, to keep up with demographic demand as the population period comes to resemble Japan and Germany, Korea will have to produce more doctors and nurses from among a shrinking college-age population.
Over the long-term the medical system in Korea will have to take care of many more people with limited human resources and strained public support. Importing doctors and nurses from overseas, as the United States and many other advanced countries have done, may alleviate shortages, but other countries with greater experience in attracting foreign professionals will be competing for the same talent pool, making it difficult for Korea to compete in this specialized labor market. Thus, a realistic assumption is that the supply of doctors and nurses will remain limited as the number of patients grows rapidly.
The push to develop medical tourism comes from high-growth-era assumptions of ever increasing GDP, sound public finances, and a relatively young population. These fundamentals are already changing beneath the surface, and the changes will become much more noticeable in the next five years. As they do, the idea of using valuable medical human resources for tourists may come under criticism. The same argument, of course, applies to plastic surgery and other popular elective medical procedures.
In the end, medical tourism is flawed because it is ethically questionable as Korea joins the ranks of the world’s oldest nations.