Revista de investigación turística y hotelería

Patient-Centeredness Communication Strategy for the Medical Tourism Industry

Eugene Yeoh, Khalifah Othman and Halim Ahmad

Patient-Centeredness Communication Strategy for the Medical Tourism Industry

The concept of patient-centeredness in the Malaysian medical tourism certified hospitals is the commonly preached topic amongst providers. However, there is hardly any nationwide research on medical tourism let alone health communication in Malaysia. Studies have shown that provider-patient communication significantly influences the satisfaction level and health outcomes and ultimately the behavioural intentions of the patients. As such, this research was designed to look at the sub-populations of medical tourists in Malaysia and to understand the differences that exist in these subpopulations. The results indicated that there were slight differences amongst the Indonesians and Singaporeans. The Indonesians were more loyal yet vocal as compared to the Singaporeans. On top of that there were more Indonesians that sought treatments in haematology, oncology, endocrinology, cardiology, and neurology. The results also revealed that Indonesians were more likely to rely on friends, agents, and media to gather information about medical tourism industry in Malaysia. More research needs to be done to understand the medical tourists in Malaysia in order for the providers to stay competitive.