Editors Note: The last time Medical Travel Todayspoke to Dr. Simon Hudson, author of Domestic Medical Tourism: A Neglected Dimension of Medical Tourism Research, the domestic medical travel movement was just beginning to take hold in the US. A year-plus later, understanding and awareness of the opportunity have grown tremendously. We caught up with Dr. Hudson to get his take on whats contributing to the acceptance and growth.Medical Travel Today (MTT): Since the last time we spoke, domestic medical tourism has gained a lot of traction. To what do you attribute that? The actions of healthcare providers? Employer understanding? Insurer adaptation?Dr. Simon Hudson, Ph.D., Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development, University of South CarolinaSimon Hudson (SH): Good question. I think theres a bit of everything at work. Before our call I was just reading a story on the front of yesterdays New York Times about how the slower growth of healthcare cost is helping to ease the US budget deficit. Just above it was another story about the need for pricing transparency in healthcare. That one hit home with me as my wife recently had a knee operation. I was amazed that they cant tell you the cost of the operation. The article I mentioned cited a range of pricing for a hip replacement from one hundred hospitals that spanned $11,000 to $125,000. One of the key reasons international medical travel took off is because you could get solid costs. People were willing to travel and far for a fixed price. Theres now a recognition that were losing billions of dollars overseas every year for care we can provide. Weve just woken up to the need to keep people here and be more competitive. Not just in price, but also in quality and customer service. Customer service is now a big topic of discussion, whereas in the past you never heard that term used in the hospital or care setting. Some of the other reasons I think well continue to see domestic medical travel gain traction are the aging population and healthcare reform. Reform is going to make it possible for people to get treatments they might not have otherwise sought either here or abroad. The truth is that only 25 percent of Americans have a passport. They really prefer to stay close to home if they can get their needs met at a competitive price. Employers are also contributing to the uptick. Youve now got employers big employers striking deals with hospitals and other providers. Thats brining prices down. When Wal-Mart did their deal with six centers of excellence it was all about price. Thats their thing offering good treatment, ensuring employees are happy with the care, and being able to project costs. Not to mention happy hospitals thanks to the economy of scale. Plus, now you have other types of care providers jumping in the mix. Fresenieus Medical Care is now offering dialysis patients the opportunity to have their treatments at any center in the states. You can go to Vegas and gamble or come to South Carolina and play golf. It offers the patients a lot of freedom and flexibility. In the research Im doing on traveling for medical reasons, Im finding that soft travel, that is, traveling for prevention and not intervention, is also gaining some momentum. Theres a definite interest in longevity and quality of life. In theory the whole notion of people getting care before theres a problem makes a great deal of sense. We just havent figured out how to motivate people to take that approach in the numbers needed to really affect healthcare costs. MTT: How do you see healthcare providers responding, and what do you consider the essential must-dos to achieve success?SH: Again, I think they are realizing that they need to be more competitive, improve quality, and have more price transparency. As evidence of that, I just saw a good commercial for South Carolina Medical University in downtown Charleston. Instead of just touting the healthcare, it also spoke to all the reasons to come visit Charleston. It was really about the whole synthesized package and experience of medical travel. I suspect well see more of that in the near future. It really goes to the need for collaboration between care providers and destinations. They both need to answer the questions of how do we attract patients and be more competitive, and what can we offer families while theyre here? Healthcare travelers stay longer and spend more money on everything from lodging and food to entertainment and shopping. In fact, the state of Missouri did a study and found that they benefitted from $124 million from out-of-state patients. We tried doing a similar study in South Carolina but couldnt get the statistics. What we do know is that once a destination sees the potential, theyll pay attention. The key is creating a relationship and loyalty. In Hilton Head, for example, 70 percent of the current retirees first came to the area as tourists. Now theyve come back with money. Plus, they volunteer and they need healthcare. MTT: So far most of the employers engaging in domestic medical travel have been big ones. What do you think its going to take for the smaller employers to jump in?SH: I think its a matter of recognition that you can do these kinds of deals. I think awareness and more transparency will lead employers to seek options. Were also seeing an increasing number of destinations collaborating with their local healthcare sector and really marketing themselves as a complete care and destination option. Las Vegas is a good example. They have a brochure that really promotes all aspects of care where to get care, where to stay, how to get there. Similarly, youve got hospitals differentiating on certain treatments. Theyre actively promoting by saying we do it best and can do it for less. That approach will reach smaller employers, and theyll appreciate that domestic medical travel isnt just for the big guys. About Dr. Simon Hudson The endowed chair for the South Carolina Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development, Dr. Hudson joined the University of South Carolina in January 2010. He has held previous academic positions at universities in Canada and England, and has worked as a visiting professor in Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Fiji, New Zealand, the US, and Australia. Prior to working in academia, Dr. Hudson spent several years working in the tourism industry in Europe. He has written five books: Snow Business; Sports and Adventure Tourism; Marketing for Tourism and Hospitality: A Canadian Perspective; Tourism and Hospitality Marketing: A Global Perspective; and Golf Tourism. His next book on customer service will be published in January 2013. The marketing of tourism is the focus of his research, and, in addition to the books, he has published more than 45 journal articles from his work. Dr. Hudson is frequently invited to international tourism conferences as a keynote speaker. His personal website address is www.tourismgurus.com .
