Through the Eyes of Medical Tourism: Service Culture in Malaysia and Thailand

Main Article Content

Norzayana Yusof
Herwina Rosnan
Sofian Shamsuddin

Abstract

Despite the progressive revenue trend, service providers in the Malaysian medical tourism have been receiving numerous complaints. Hence, this article sets to illustrate the behaviour of the service providers by describing whether they met the expectations of medical tourists. This study conducted twelve in-depth interviews with private hospitals, doctors and healthcare facilitators. Through Atlas.ti version 8, this study unveils that Malaysia lacks behind Thailand in providing patient-centric hospital services. Due to the 'doctor shopping' behaviour and word-of-mouth between patients, the present situation may hamper the growth of this industry as patients could easily opt for alternative options for their treatments.

Article Details

How to Cite
Yusof, N., Rosnan, H., & Shamsuddin, S. (2020). Through the Eyes of Medical Tourism: Service Culture in Malaysia and Thailand. Journal of ASIAN Behavioural Studies, 5(15), 51–63. https://doi.org/10.21834/jabs.v5i15.344

References

Abd Manaf, N. H., Hussin, H., Jahn Kassim, P. N., Alavi, R., & Dahari, Z. (2015). Country perspective on medical tourism: the Malaysian experience. Leadership in Health Services, 28(1), 43-56.

Abd Mutalib, N. S., Soh, Y. C., Wong, T. W., Yee, S. M., Yang, Q., Murugiah, M. K., & Ming, L. C. (2017). Online narratives about medical tourism in Malaysia and Thailand: a qualitative content analysis. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(6), 821-832.

Adams, K., Snyder, J., Crooks, V. A., & Berry, N. S. (2018). A critical examination of empowerment discourse in medical tourism: the case of the dental tourism industry in Los Algodones, Mexico. Globalization and Health, 14(1), 70.

Al-Farajat, L., Jung, S.-H., Gu, G.-h., & Seo, Y.-J. (2019). Factors Influencing Overall Satisfaction of Middle Eastern Arab Patients in South Korea. International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology, 7(1), 216-224.

Choi, W. A., Kim, H., & Lee, S.-C. (2018). Word-of-mouth in medical tourism: the major determinant for Emirati patients to visit Korea. The Korean journal of internal medicine, 33(1), 221.

Crooks, V. A., Ormond, M., & Jin, K. N. (2017). Reflections on ‘medical tourism’ from the 2016 Global Healthcare Policy and Management Forum. BMC Proceedings, 11(8), 6. doi:10.1186/s12919-017-0075-8

Curtis, C. R., & Upchurch, R. S. (2008). A case study in establishing a positive service culture: Attachment and involvement in the workplace. Journal of Retail & Leisure Property, 7(2), 131-138. doi:10.1057/rlp.2008.5

Ebrahim, A. H., & Ganguli, S. (2019). A comparative analysis of medical tourism competitiveness of India, Thailand and Singapore. Turizam: međunarodni znanstveno-stručni časopis, 67(2), 102-115.

Ghazali, R., & Abbas, M. Y. (2012). Newly Built Public Paediatric Wards Increase Length of Stay (LOS)? In M. Y. Abbas, A. F. I. Bajunid, & N. F. N. Azhari (Eds.), Ace-Bs 2012 Bangkok (Vol. 50, pp. 623-632). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Bv.

Hoang, H. T., Hill, S. R., & Lu, V. N. (2010). The influence of service culture on customer service quality: Local vs. Foreign service firms in emerging markets. Paper presented at the Proc. ANZMAC 2010 Conf.

Jaapar, M., Musa, G., Moghavvemi, S., & Saub, R. (2017). Dental tourism: Examining tourist profiles, motivation and satisfaction. Tourism Management, 61, 538-552. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.02.023

Kamali, N. J., & Abbas, M. Y. (2012). Healing Environment: Enhancing Nurses’ Performance through Proper Lighting Design. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 35, 205-212. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.02.080

Lunt, N. T., Mannion, R., & Exworthy, M. (2013). A Framework for Exploring the Policy Implications of UK Medical Tourism and International Patient Flows. Social Policy & Administration, 47(1), 1-25. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9515.2011.00833.x

Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council. (2019a). Number of Healthcare Travellers and Revenue between 2011-2018. Retrieved from https://www.mhtc.org.my/

Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council. (2019b). Global Recognition. Retrieved from https://www.mhtc.org.my/global-recognition/

Malek, N. H. A. (2018). Cardiovascular and fertility wellness to be main draw for medical tourists. Retrieved from https://www.mhtc.org.my/cardiovascular-and-fertility-wellness-to-be-main-draw-for-medical-tourists/

Ministry of Finance Malaysia. (2018). Budget 2019. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Bhd,.

Moghavvemi, S., Ormond, M., Musa, G., Mohamed Isa, C. R., Thirumoorthi, T., Bin Mustapha, M. Z., . . . Chiremel Chandy, J. J. (2017). Connecting with prospective medical tourists online: A cross-sectional analysis of private hospital websites promoting medical tourism in India, Malaysia and Thailand. Tourism Management, 58(Supplement C), 154-163. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.10.010

Mohammed Abubakar, A. (2016). Does eWOM influence destination trust and travel intention: a medical tourism perspective. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 29(1), 598-611.

Musa, G., Doshi, D. R., Wong, K. M., & Thirumoorthy, T. (2012). How Satisfied are Inbound Medical Tourists in Malaysia? A Study on Private Hospitals in Kuala Lumpur. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 29(7), 629-646. doi:10.1080/10548408.2012.720150

Nisha. (2017). 9 Things We Learned from InsigHT2017: A Convergence of Voices on Medical Travel. Retrieved from https://www.mhtc.org.my/9-things-we-learned-from-insight2017-a-convergence-of-voices-on-medical-travel/

Ojo, B. Y., Busayo, B. M., & Ifeoma, I. L. (2017). Mediating Effect of Service Quality on the Relationship between Employees Empowerment, and Customer Satisfaction in Hotel Industry. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 19(7).

Royal Thai Embassy. (2017). Extension of Stay in the Kingdom of Thailand for Medical Ground in CLMV and People's Republic of China Nationals. Retrieved from http://www.thaiembassy.org/moscow/en/services/80255-Extension-of-Stay-in-the-Kingdom-of-Thailand-for-M.html

Royal Thai Embassy DC. (2019). Thai hospitals scoop up medical tourism awards. Retrieved from https://thaiembdc.org/2019/05/13/thai-hospitals-scoop-up-medical-tourism-awards/

Tourism Authority of Thailand. (2019). Products and Services. Retrieved from https://healthandwellness.tourismthailand.org/thaimed-provider/jirung-health-village/

Veerasoontorn, R., Beise-Zee, R., & Sivayathorn, A. (2011). Service quality as a key driver of medical tourism: the case of Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand. International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing, 2(2), 140-158. doi:10.1504/ijltm.2011.038886

Wang, Y.-H. (2017). Expectation, Service Quality, Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intention - Evidence from Taiwan's Medical Tourism Industry. Advances in Management and Applied Economics, 7(1), 1-16.

Wong, K. M., Velasamy, P., & Arshad, T. N. T. (2014). Medical tourism destination SWOT analysis: A case study of Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and India. Paper presented at the SHS Web of Conferences.

Yeoh, E., Othman, K., & Ahmad, H. (2013). Understanding medical tourists: Word-of-mouth and viral marketing as potent marketing tools. Tourism Management, 34, 196-201.

Yin, R. K. (2014). Case Study Research Design and Methods. United Kingdom: SAGE Publications, Inc. Kindle Edition.

Zhang, J., & Lee, H. Y. (2016). The word-of-mouth effects on the chinese customers' choice intention of medical tourism destination. Journal of Distribution Science, 14(7), 21-31. doi:10.15722/jds.14.7.201607.21

Zhang, L., & Lin, Q. (2018). A Multidimensional Analysis of Medical Tourism in Shandong Province-Based on Swot Analysis. Paper presented at the 2018 International Conference on Social Science and Education Reform (ICSSER 2018).