Globalization of Health Care
Globalization of Health Care
IBA 301.90, Week 1 Assignment 1
Abstract For the longest time it has been thought that health care is one of the industries least vulnerable to dislocation from globalization. As we see in many service businesses, health care is usually delivered where it is purchased. Some of the trends began with specific diagnostic procedures, such as MRI scans. Some estimates suggest the outsourcing of many administrative procedures in health care could reduce health care costs in America by as much as $70 billion.
Question 1: A number of factors are driving the globalization trend. One of the primary reasons is the high cost of medical care in the United States, which is the source of the largest number of patients. About 45 million Americans are uninsured and many more are underinsured and they are faced with high copayments for some of their expensive procedures. Many of these people find it far cheaper to fly aboard to get treatment. Rising costs of insuring their workforces are starting to persuade some large American companies to look aboard. The globalization of health care saves the United States from 20 to 35 percent of those costs in the United States. Countries like Mexico, India, and Singapore are the three largest recipient countries of American patients where more of 1 million patients were treated in 2007. The international movement of health personnel across borders has become a significant component of the trade in health services and has attracted considerable attention in the scientific and lay press (Inter. Business 9th Ed, Page 42).
Question 2: I believe the globalization of health care is good for patients. Some might be worried about the quality of the medical care in these other countries, but most of the physicians that treat those patients were trained in the United States or Britain. Those physicians have the same training as the physicians treating people in the United States. They all went through the
IBA 301.90, Week 1 Assignment 1
Abstract For the longest time it has been thought that health care is one of the industries least vulnerable to dislocation from globalization. As we see in many service businesses, health care is usually delivered where it is purchased. Some of the trends began with specific diagnostic procedures, such as MRI scans. Some estimates suggest the outsourcing of many administrative procedures in health care could reduce health care costs in America by as much as $70 billion.
Question 1: A number of factors are driving the globalization trend. One of the primary reasons is the high cost of medical care in the United States, which is the source of the largest number of patients. About 45 million Americans are uninsured and many more are underinsured and they are faced with high copayments for some of their expensive procedures. Many of these people find it far cheaper to fly aboard to get treatment. Rising costs of insuring their workforces are starting to persuade some large American companies to look aboard. The globalization of health care saves the United States from 20 to 35 percent of those costs in the United States. Countries like Mexico, India, and Singapore are the three largest recipient countries of American patients where more of 1 million patients were treated in 2007. The international movement of health personnel across borders has become a significant component of the trade in health services and has attracted considerable attention in the scientific and lay press (Inter. Business 9th Ed, Page 42).
Question 2: I believe the globalization of health care is good for patients. Some might be worried about the quality of the medical care in these other countries, but most of the physicians that treat those patients were trained in the United States or Britain. Those physicians have the same training as the physicians treating people in the United States. They all went through the