Wenxing Wang, Jeroen van Wijngaarden, Martina BuljacâSamardĆŸiÄ, Joris van de Klundert
Many Global Health initiatives aim to disseminate best practices to developing countries to improve access and quality of care. However, current concepts of successful innovation are primarily based on studies conducted in developed, Western countries. Little is known about the structural factors influencing the uptake of these innovations in non-Western developing countries. This gap motivated our study on the introduction of âbest international practices in health service deliveryâ in China. We conducted semi-structured online interviews with 20 participants, consisting of 10 Chinese, 9 Dutch, and 1 German, to advance scientific understanding of this topic. Four themes of structural factors that influence the adoption and adaption of health service delivery innovations originating from abroad in China emerged. These four themes include: Alignment with governmental policies and regulations, Leadership engagement on multiple levels, Alignment between internal stakeholders, and Matching incentives with both organizational and personal interests. While adoption is always top-down, adaption often follows a bottom-up approach in the Chinese context. Resource scarcity in primary care institutions adds extra difficulties to bottom-up innovations. Health professionalsâ motivations to adopt and adapt foreign innovations are primarily controlled (externally) instead of autonomous (internally), which can diminish sustainability. Reducing workload and increasing salaries can facilitate resolving motivation challenges. Our findings indicate that differences exist in the adoption and adaptation of foreign innovations in developing countries with tight government control and a centralized health system such as China, compared to developed countries with decentralized health systems.
Medical tourism has emerged as a significant global phenomenon, driven by the convergence of high healthcare costs in developed nations and the availability of high-quality, affordable treatment options abroad. This review examines the critical role of entrepreneurial innovation in shaping and expanding this industry, which uniquely blends advanced health care with the principles of hospitality and tourism. Key innovations transforming the sector include the development of integrated, all-inclusive service models that package medical procedures with travel, luxury accommodation, and wellness-focused recovery programs. Digital disruption is paramount, with platforms leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for personalized patient care coordination and blockchain technology to ensure secure, transparent transfer of medical records and billing, thereby building essential trust. Furthermore, strategic partnerships between hospitals, airlines, and hospitality providers create a seamless end-to-end experience for international patients. The proliferation of telemedicine supports this model by facilitating vital pre-departure consultations and post-operative follow-up care, ensuring continuity and safety. Entrepreneurs are also successfully targeting niche markets, from elective cosmetic surgery to complex dental and regenerative procedures, particularly in established hubs like India, Thailand, and Turkey. However, the industryâs growth is not without challenges, including regulatory heterogeneity, cultural and language barriers, and ethical concerns. Future advancement depends on navigating these complexities while capitalizing on opportunities such as value-based care, augmented reality (AR) for patient engagement, and strengthened international accreditation frameworks. By combining clinical expertise and hospitality, innovative entrepreneurship is ultimately reinventing access to health care globally, giving patients new options while producing substantial economic advantages for the countries of destination.
With the evolution of wellness tourism in the digital era, there has been an exponential change in the landscape of travel wellness and preventive health care. Today, the travelers are driven to seek holistic well-being, self-care, and transformative experiences beyond traditional leisure. This growing demand has led to the integration of advanced wellness and tourism technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR), telemedicine, and blockchain. These innovations enhance personalization, operational efficiency, and accessibility for the customer; they also redesign the delivery and consumption of wellness experiences. As there is a technological shift in the wellness tourism industry, critical challenges arise related to data privacy, the digital divide, sustainability, cultural sensitivity, and the erosion of authenticity in wellness practices. This chapter critically examines the relationship between wellness tourism and emerging technologies. It hides the opportunities and the underlying challenges associated with this transformation. Insights complemented by semi-structured interviews with industry experts and extensive academic literature reviews published between 2015 and 2025 offered a comprehensive exploration of future trends, challenges, and pathways for sustainable development in wellness tourism. It also proposes the framework for ethical technology integration, ensuring the wellness tourism ecosystem remains inclusive and resilient. Inform the ground of the principle of sustainability.
Medical tourism, often branded as health tourism, involves people traveling beyond regional limits to get advanced healthcare treatments, which is generally determined based on medical payments, availability of specialized treatment, in addition to obtainability of innovative technical support. The implementation of digital advancements such as telemedicine, health informatics, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain technology has resulted in a dramatic shift in the health sector. The technological innovations are transforming healthcare delivery, thereby encouraging rural women entrepreneurs to play a significant part in a nationâs health service milieu. To improve service delivery and outreach, women entrepreneurs are using digital platforms such as AI-based diagnostic tools, blockchain for data confidentiality and authenticity, and e-marketing technologies. The study focuses on how women-led businesses are establishing themselves as important facilitators, filling the disparity between overseas clients and healthcare professionals. The observations evaluate the socioeconomic implications of digital adoption, specifically in terms of employment generation, incorporating gender equality, and improved health care accessibility in less developed rural areas, using a blended research approach that combines descriptive and empirical study observations and findings. The most significant challenges and potential advantages confronting rural women in this growing industry are thoroughly investigated, and practical solutions for promoting the sustainability and scalability of such firms are identified. The chapter also highlights rural women entrepreneursâ contributions to improving Indiaâs more equitable, technologically equipped, and globally successful health care travel environment.
Spa services in wellness tourism often face limitations in transparency, service integration, and customer trust in operational flows. This study develops a blockchain-based smart contract model that integrates five key indicators: reservations, cancellations, customer satisfaction, inventory, scheduling, and finance. A literature review of 113 articles yielded 25 key references, with significant trends such as the occurrence of the keyword âcustomer reservationâ 10,100 times (2020â2024). Linear regression, correlation analysis, and ANOVA methods were used to test the research results. Linear regression predicts the relationship between variables, while correlation measures the strength of the relationship. The calculation results show a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.93 (α = 0.05), indicating a very strong linear relationship. ANOVA shows significant differences between groups. These findings confirm that blockchain-based smart contracts are effective in digitally automating spa service workflows, strengthening transparency, and improving customer satisfaction
Through the commercial determinants of health framework, gambling has been identified as a powerful threat to health. This research critically examines cryptocurrency, which is promoted and sold as a highly gamblified product. Using the commercial determinants of health framework, the multifaceted ways in which cryptocurrency firm operations may impact health outcomes are highlighted. Political influence is exerted through substantial donations, with high-profile cases illustrating the sector's attempts to sway policy, whilst cryptocurrencies often operate in unregulated markets. Marketing strategies mirror those of traditional harmful industries, deploying immense advertising budgets and celebrity endorsements to promote highly speculative and risky financial products. Cryptocurrency mining, demanding considerable energy consumption, causes significant environmental damage. Financial practices include hundreds of outright frauds targeting low- and middle-income countries. Cryptocurrency investment, with 24/7 access and promises of huge wealth, mirrors gambling and is likely to result in public health harms through the same mechanisms as other forms of gambling. Despite the supposed potential of blockchain technology for improving payment and contract systems, the lack of realization of these benefits contrasts sharply with the immediate and growing costs associated with cryptocurrency speculation. Cryptoassets are a case study for the need for health promotion professionals to critically evaluate new technologies and advocate for regulatory measures to protect public health in the face of novel, high-risk products that overlap gambling and finance.
Sarah M. Thornton, Pradeep K. Attaluri, Ellen C. Shaffrey, Peter J. Wirth · 6 authors
Cryptocurrency offers a decentralized alternative to traditional financial systems, facilitating peer-to-peer transactions with minimal fees and heightened security. It also transformed into a financial asset similar to gold. Despite its volatile valuation, recent developments, such as the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds by the Securities and Exchange Commission, underscore its evolving role as an investment opportunity. Plastic surgery has increasingly embraced cryptocurrency as a form of payment, leveraging its speed, security, and privacy benefits. However, alongside its potential advantages, risks such as volatility, irreversibility of transactions, and regulatory uncertainties warrant careful consideration. Moving forward, the integration of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency is poised to revolutionize various aspects of plastic surgery, from patient privacy to postoperative monitoring devices, necessitating a proactive approach from surgeons to navigate this evolving landscape. This article explores the intersection of cryptocurrency and plastic surgery, delving into its current applications, risks, investment potential, and future prospects.
Health tourism is a rapidly growing health service model in the world. Today, its use by health service demanders has become widespread. The health tourism sector is a sector that combines health and tourism, where individuals who demand health services can receive treatment services by traveling. In the health sector, where technology is used intensively, innovative approaches are emerging in the provision of health services. NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), a new digital asset that has emerged in recent years with the development of blockchain, offers different usage areas in health tourism with its features. NFTs are defined as unique digital assets and are supported by blockchain technology. This new approach offers innovative opportunities for health tourists and health tourism organizations, data security, and payment methods. This innovative technology can make the health tourism experience more transparent and secure. This study is expected to contribute to the sector with an innovative alternative payment method for practitioners in health tourism, which is an international service model.
Giovanni Guarducci, Gabriele Messina, Simona Carbone, Nicola Nante
BACKGROUND: In a Beveridgean decentralized healthcare system, like the Italian one, where regions are responsible for their own health planning and financing, the analysis of patients' mobility appears very interesting as it has economic and social implications. The study aims to analyze both patients' mobility for hospital rehabilitation and if the beds endowment is a driver for these flows; Methods: From 2011 to 2019, admissions data were collected from the Hospital Discharge Cards database of the Italian Ministry of Health, population data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics and data on beds endowment from the Italian Ministry of Health website. To evaluate patients' mobility, we used Gandy's Nomogram, while to assess if beds endowments are mobility drivers, we created two matrices, one with attraction indexes (AI) and one with escape indexes (EI). The beds endowment, for each Italian region, was correlated with AI and EI. Spearman's test was carried out through STATA software; Results: Gandy's Nomogram showed that only some northern regions had good hospital planning for rehabilitation. A statistically significant correlation between beds endowment and AI was found for four regions and with EI for eight regions; Conclusions: Only some northern regions appear able to satisfy the care needs of their residents, with a positive attractions minus escapes epidemiological balance. The beds endowment seems to be a driver of patients' mobility, mainly for escapes. Certainly, the search for mobility drivers needs further investigation given the situation in Molise and Basilicata.
I have tried to stay abreast and on the cutting edge of new technology, ideas, and investments. However, NFTsâor non-fungible tokensâhave so far eluded me. I have asked my children and their contemporaries, and no one has been able to explain it to me. When it comes to NFTs, or the emerging form of digital certificate that certifies an asset as one-of-a-kind, the medical community seems to be divided between pro- and anti-NFT camps. Those belonging to the former camp tout it as a novel approach to finance and ownership of digital data. Those against NFTs point toâamong many other thingsâtheir devastating impact on global climate or their use of tremendous amounts of energy to compute the blockchain transfers of billions of dollars that take place regularly in the metaverse. On the other hand, NFTs represent a unique potential in the digital health age: that of patients, rather than companies, owning their digital healthcare data. With such a level of ownership, physicians and patients could leverage its advantage to monetize their data rather than have companies profit off them, as traditionally has been the case. This article walks you through the basics of NFTs, explains how they can further empower patients in the digital health age, and raises concerns pertinent to the technology.
BACKGROUND: The K-beauty industry has entered the global market and encompasses the global economy. In the future, it is necessary to recognize the need for rapid recognition and application of digital technologies such as non-fungible token (NFT) in a continuously changing and shared society. OBJECTIVES: This literature review presents various examples of ways to increase the value of beauty brands according to the latest digital trends. The potential value of blockchain technology was reviewed while understanding the current usage status of NFT. METHODS: As of July 2022, NFT's brand application cases can be confirmed, and comparisons and cases can be applied to how much it can contribute to the rise in the value of beauty brands in the future. The 41 references were finally selected using PRISMA flow diagram. RESULTS: In a rapidly changing time, the beauty industry pays attention to the NFT market that can develop economically. Therefore, the parts that various industries are preemptively trying were prepared by confirming the cases. CONCLUSION: The beauty industry should pay attention to the NFT market, which is an issue, and by creating a brand with scarcity value, it can apply economic activities in the beauty industry to the trend by releasing products that both consumers and sellers can satisfy.
Sreejith Balasubramanian, Shalini Ajayan, Cody Morris Paris
Abstract There are significant challenges facing the medical tourism industry: privacy and transparency concerns, lack of access to centralized medical records, fraudulent practices, opportunistic behavior of intermediaries, foreign currency risks, and contractual/legal issues. While blockchain technology has immense potential to address the industryâs inherent challenges and inefficiencies, the current understanding of blockchain application in medical tourism is fragmented. Through a pragmatic review of the literature, this study explores the blockchain applications and benefits for medical tourists across the stages of the medical tourism value chain, and in the process, proposes a meaningful and managerially relevant blockchain framework for medical tourism. The findings and the proposed novel framework to guide policy interventions and support mechanisms to take advantage of the full opportunities of blockchain in medical tourism.
Inessa Tyan, Antonio JesĂșs Guevara Plaza, Mariemma I. YagĂŒe
The paper discusses the benefits of blockchain technology for medical tourism. The major focus is placed on pre-procedure and post-procedure of medical tourism. The authors argue that blockchain technology can facilitate several stages of medical tourism by enabling disintermediation, allowing cryptocurrency payments, ensuring secure data sharing and privacy, and empowering trusted review systems. With regard to COVID-19 pandemic, the paper outlines the current challenges of the medical tourism industry and prop oses the opportunities for blockchain technology use. The paper attempts to provide important insights regarding the positive implications of blockchain technology use within the medical tourism industry as well as to further advance the current knowledge about blockchain technologyâs effects for medical tourism.
The relevance of the article is due to the process of progressive aging of the population, so it requires from society to find new ways to work with the elderly and their needsâ realization. The article characterizes the current state of the category of elderly people in Ukrainian society. It is noted that support for the elderly is provided through a variety of resources, for example, formal and informal support networks, volunteering, the state, family, community, and society in general. The formal support network is implemented through the social policy of the state, which is focused on assisting in ensuring the rights of the elderly to their social protection of constitutional rights and freedoms. The aim of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the needsâ realization of the elderly through formal and informal support networks. Research methods applied: generalization â to study the formal network of support, which is implemented through the social policy of the state and focused on constitutional rights for the elderly and social protection; analysis â combining and representing connections of individual elements, parties, components of a complex phenomenon and so in the comprehension of the whole in its componentsâ unity. The directions of reforming the system of social services are aimed at an authoritative legal framework, where social protection of the elderly would be enshrined at the appropriate level. They includ: deinstitutionalisation through the creation of a wide network of services and facilities that can provide quality services in the community; involvement of non-governmental organizations in the provision of social services; approach of social services to the place of residence; decentralization of management processes, financing, location of services; empowering older people to choose services and participate in the process; increasing the effectiveness of the provision of social services through the study of needs at the individual level and within individual administrative-territorial units; introduction of quality improvement technologies, including monitoring, evaluation and control.
Purpose This study aims to examine the use of cryptocurrencies and transactions in medical tourism and to discuss how this use provides advantages to healthcare institutions and states that provide medical tourism services. Design/methodology/approach This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational and methodological quantitative research. Data were collected through a questionnaire with 555 potential medical tourists. Data were analyzed with Pearson correlation and hierarchical regression using STATA. Findings The correlation results showed a statistically significant high and positive correlation between the use of cryptocurrencies and transactions in medical tourism and the medical tourist's intention. The variables that contributed to the medical tourist's intention were monetary risk minimization, access-security and malpractice-civil trial in the highest order of contribution. Accordingly, the monetary risk minimization was the most contributing to the medical tourist's intention. Originality/value This study provides a piece of initial empirical evidence on the contribution of using cryptocurrencies and transactions in medical tourism.
The rapid development of medical tourism has occupied a certain share in the international tourism market and Asian region has also become the main medical tourism reception market. However, the internationalization process of China's medical tourism industry is still relatively backward and it is inferior to the traditional power of medical tourism in Asia. With the development of the digital economy and the digital earth, China should seize the potential of blockchain digital technology to carry out technological innovations in the domestic medical tourism industry, create a new international product line for medical tourism, and highlight the encirclement of international medical tourism.
Sharing medical data with numerous stakeholders for varied purposes is a perplexing problem facing healthcare systems throughout the world. All this needs to be done, whilst ensuring patient and health data privacy and data integrity. Through this paper, an attempt has been made to present a novel distributed digital health record management system. The blockchain framework has been built using the tools provided by hyper ledger, an open source project. This system empowers patients with a comprehensive, secure, immutable, and easily accessible digital record of their health. Also, this information is available across multiple practitioners and healthcare providers throughout the world. This system can therefore empower the emergence of health data economics, empowering researchers with the health data and giving patients an opportunity to share their health data without losing anonymity. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a prototype of a health data management system utilising blockchain.
Background: This study aimed to explore the process of establishing a non-governmental and nonprofit hospital, as a corporate infantry, and a model for the establishment of autonomous and corporate hospitals. Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative case study. The data were collected by interviewing the founders of Moheb Mehr Hospital, staff and some university officials and charity organizations. The data analysis was conducted based on grounded theory principles and data were coded in three stages of open, axial and selective coding. Results: The primary factors behind the establishment of Moheb Hospital were the low level of physicianschr('39') fees and the physiciansâ dual practice in the public and private sectors. The existence of unused spaces at Hashemi-Nejad Hospital and the possibility of contracting supplementary insurance were the secondary factors. The reaction included welcoming from hospital physicians and opposition from the government and the Ministry of Health. A good patient access was created due to the lower charges, in comparison to the private sector, and having contract with the supplementary insurance. The negative comments from the government and the Ministry were gradually adjusted. Conclusion: The decentralization initiatives of the public sector in hospitals should be considered as a bottom-up process. Instead of turning government hospitals into independent or corporate, it is better to re-establish them in an autonomous or corporate form. Also, before any decentralization action, financial and managerial stability must be created in the organizations. Morevoer, employee benefits must be preserved. Instead of receiving government funding, it is better to use the capacity of the endowment and receive bank loans.
Grigorii Ursol, Alexandr Skrypnyk, O. M. Vasylenko
The article analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, potential opportunities and threats in the process of forming and making appropriate management decisions to integrate health facilities into united territorial communities (UTC) infrastructure, or other options, in the process of decentralization. The basic package of new legislative and regulatory documents has been worked out, which envisages radical changes and systemic reforms, decentralization of power - transfer from the executive bodies to local self-government bodies of a considerable part of powers, resources and responsibilities. A number of reform changes have been identified, which may lead to the expected institutional, organizational and structural-functional changes of the existing public health management system in Ukraine and changes in the individual functional characteristics of the entities of this system. The differences between medical reforms in terms of administrative reform, the role of UTC in this process, in relation to a number of other European countries are considered. On this basis, possible options for the development of events in the context of territorial governance of these processes in the system of health in Ukraine have been proposed. In order to continue scientific research in this direction, the next stage of the evolution of the formation and adoption of appropriate management decisions in the UTC is to consider the cooperation of the UTC in the creation of joint infrastructure medical facilities, their governing bodies, implementation of projects of activity, financing and maintenance.
Blockchain recording of digital transactions could have many healthcare applicationsâfrom patient records to tracing pillsâreports Stephen Armstrong , but is its potential overhyped? The cryptocurrency boom may be over, according to recent reports,1 but interest in its underlying technology, the blockchain, is far from it. Digital health experts are starting to wonder if blockchain could solve NHS data problems, and the UKâs first trial of blockchain technology to create and support electronic health records will begin in July at a southwest London general practice group (box 1).8 Box 1 ### Blockchain examples in health #### Countering counterfeits âThe blockchain provides a granular trail of a productâs journey,â explains Peter Bryant, chief operating officer of UK based global drug tracking system FarmaTrust. With the Drug Supply Chain Security Act in the US rolling out between 2015 and 2023,2 and the equivalent Falsified Medicines Directive in the EU coming into force next spring,3 all pharmaceutical products will require a label with a unique serial number, name, lot number, batch number, and expiry date. FarmaTrust is talking to 13 manufacturers as well as the Mongolian government to offer a blockchain tracking system that can link with existing databases. The company is also working with medicinal poppy and marijuana growers and the government in Thailand to ensure that products are traceable and the farmers are taxed on profits. #### Patient records Technology company Medicalchain is partnering with southwest London general practice group, The Groves, in the UKâs first trial of blockchain to create and support electronic health records.4 It offers registered patients a free digital wallet to hold and manage access to their health records. The platform includes a cryptocurrencyâMedicalchainâs MedTokensâto encourage patients to participate, which they can use as private patients to pay for telemedicine services. Elsewhere, MIT research project MedRec is trialling a health records system that leaves patient ⊠RETURN TO TEXT