foot soldiers in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
Konstantinos Konstantinidis, M.D., Ph.D.
Director - ExCtu - addressing the Health Tourism Sector "Builder Class" (a.k.a. the "growth makers" and “developers”) by providing the infrastructure supporting economic activity and enabling the system to function
…an absurdity
To illustrate this article, on the transition of the Medical Tourism “foot soldier” to the Medical Tourism “chatbot”, I used the front cover of the book titled “Foot Soldier in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, by Jeffrey Cooper, a paperback edition of which one can buy for $15.99, through Amazon (? https://www.amazon.com/Foot-Soldier-Fourth-Industrial-Revolution/dp/B0BMSZLC45 ?).
First World War tactics vs Star Wars tactics
…the Old Guard vs the Avant-Garde
BTW, the author of the book I used to illustrate this article, talks about “the foot soldiers in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
In 2006, at the 1st World Health Tourism Congress, Wiesbaden, Germany, (at which I was an invited and hosted speaker), I met (and have kept in contact with), one of the Medical Tourism Facilitation “pure plays” – those I refer to as “foot soldiers” – because they literally hand-held and took the “International Patient” to the hospital and back.
Ever since, I have been keeping an eye on the Medical Tourism Facilitation Business (as part of the ExCtu Health Tourism Watch “agenda”).
And as part of the “agenda”, I am following the progress of a small number of Modern-Day Medical Tourism Facilitation “startups” – who are intent on replacing First World War tactics with Star Wars tactics – and replacing the foot soldier with the chatbot.
They clearly want their business to be part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) refers to the current era of rapid technological advancement, characterized by the fusion of technologies that blur the lines between the physical and digital spheres.
Key “technologies” driving this revolution include:
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These avant-garde players (who are replacing First World War tactics with Star Wars tactics) talk about:
BTW, in the context of services, a white-label solution is a service that a company can rebrand and sell under its own name - essentially, it's a generic service (Medical Tourism Facilitation) that can be customized to fit a specific brand or market – allowing businesses to quickly enter new markets or offer new services without having to develop them from scratch.
These “Star Wars fighters” (because it is inevitable that there will be “rivalry” between those using the same technology tools to “dominate”), seem to focus on:
In other words, it's about "bringing them in" or "sending them out".
BTW, I am also keeping track of a few established Medical Tourism Facilitators (the “incumbents”), who, sensing the “threat” from the “newcomers”, have resurfaced, with “revived vigor”, aiming to come to the attention of their targeted audience.
These “resurgents”, by rebranding themselves, not only as “agents” (intermediaries) for hospitals and clinics – but also as trusted Business Advisors (for the hospitals and clinics they claim to be able to refer international patients to).
And to end this story, it is disheartening to see some Medical Tourism Facilitation “veterans”, (i.e., no longer "active" facilitators) who have become Medical Tourism Business Consultants, offering to teach - and even certify – new Facilitators – to get them into the lucrative Medical Tourism Facilitation “business” – based on the existing (conventional) model.