HEALTH TOURISM’s LOCOMOTIVE: QUALIFIED HUMAN RESOURCES

The healthcare industry’s ‘temporary’ workforce of countless employees transferred to the sector on the basis of a proficiency in foreign languages has become a priority issue crying out for change.

Turkey has gained incomparable experience in health tourism over the past ten years, yet the country is now entering a watershed period in which the destiny of our world-recognized destination will be set for the decade to come.

We have reached a point where an industry that now has an impact on the health care conjuncture of neighboring countries and continents has developed without specific training and educational support in spite of its obvious requirements for a wide range of experience and skills. The competitive environment is not only framed by medical outcomes and the need to meet ever rising expectations; fresh competitive parameters that will gain significance in the new period are being added to job descriptions all the time. 

Apart from cases in which patients and their loved ones seek treatment that is unavailable in their own countries, some are now drawn by superior treatment protocols or services. Yes, price is a sensitive factor, but at the end of the day everyone is faced with the question of receiving healthcare services in a country they have never visited in a language they do not know.  

OUR PERSPECTIVE ON HOSPITALITY SERVICES IN HEALTHCARE NEEDS TO DIVERGE FROM THE CONTEXT OF TOURISM 

The provision of ancillary services capable of competing with five-star hotel services has become the norm for many hospitals. The inclusion of services that would incur extra charges in other countries as part of the standard package has become an indispensable element in Turkey’s competitive edge.

But does not their outsourcing, or the failure to consolidate them in fragmented models, actually lead to problems in terms of organization and the transmission of information to a target market whose principal objective is not actually tourism? The disparate nature of the various units dealing with patient referrals, transfers, greeting, language support and accommodation provision creates disconnections that can undermine the integrity and efficient operation of the whole process. And this service chain can only be managed smoothly with the support of a range of organizational skills, experience and flexibility.

Even this most basic example indicates the need for every part of the process to be meticulously followed and monitored by experienced individuals and units. In healthcare tourism, the fields of medical specialization and expertise in which Turkey excels are of course the bedrock of the sector.

But other aspects are also critical in fulfilling the expectations of those coming from abroad, including empathy and organizational skills; language interpretation and translation competence; mastery of the sector’s technical terms and jargon; a welcoming corporate culture; continuous engagement, kindness and support; hospitality; skillsets that transcend time and space; and positive energy.

The question is, do we have the personnel who are qualified over such a disparate range of skills and experience?      

THE BEATING HEART OF THE ALL-CRITICAL ‘PATIENT EXPERIENCE’: THE RISE OF THE INTERNATIONAL PATIENT DEPARTMENT

Even in the most challenging cases in the most comfortable hospitals, the process does not end with physical recovery. Planning, coordinating and organizing a plethora of situations and events beyond treating the patient and meeting the immediate needs of their accompanying persons represents a separate field of expertise. International Patient Department employee skills are critical in terms of managing cancellations, changes, waiting periods, expectations, language barriers, patient satisfaction, morale, communications and coordination; these personnel constitute the frontline representatives of every medical unit in the institution that seeks to offer treatment to foreign patients. This responsibility requires employees to fulfil more than a mere bridging duty.   

THE PRIVATE SECTOR CANNOT MEET THE NEED FOR QUALIFIED PERSONNEL

Healthcare tourism personnel shaped in line with the dynamics of the private sector may face an existential problem within the context of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). While it may not be necessary for personnel to have a formation entirely molded to PPP dynamics, there is a high probability of a mismatch between the vision of ‘pre-shaped’ personnel and the requirements of individual institutions.     

THE NEED FOR HEALTHCARE TOURISM MANAGERS HAS BECOME CHRONIC

The system-nurturing vision and narrative to be forged by the sector’s game makers will never be sufficient unless backed by solid experience. In the competition between the private sector and PPPs, our weaknesses in creating a new market and views on portfolio sharing mean that high level management and directorship positions will play a key role and the people filling those positions need to be carefully selected. Our workforce limitations are exposed as much by our need to wait for new employees to gain experience as by challenges in nurturing qualified personnel.   

FOREIGN PATIENT SATISFACTION: NOT THE DUTY OF INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENTS, BUT PART OF THEIR REMIT

In the healthcare sector, service satisfaction is as immediate as it is transparent and remains the most significant marketing investment. More than hugely expensive marketing efforts, the most effective and rapid return is to be made from patient satisfaction. The only point of connection and coordination between generating return patients, attracting new patients, improving medical outcomes, clinician-patient communications, briefing and information, patient monitoring, and every other area beyond the patient-accompanying person-doctor triangle, is the unit that follows foreign patients. A failure to please the accompanying person can cast a shadow over even the most successful medical treatment. An approach that focuses on high levels of satisfaction over multiple parameters at the same time is a quality indicator that transcends JCI certification.      

SERVICE DUPLICATION AS PART OF THE NARRATIVE

The ability to provide the same services that would be afforded to a domestic patient to those from other countries, faiths and cultures requires a vision and experience that goes beyond translation services. Deciding to admit patients from abroad involves a series of repeat operations backed by total commitment to fulfil every patient need. And this is a niche area requiring intense cooperation between every institution and department, rather than a burdensome chore to be shifted onto a single department. 

INTERNATIONAL PATIENT SATISFACTION: THE SIGN OF A WELL RUN INSTITUTION

The success of departments that follow overseas processes can never be complete in the absence of a strong overall management vision. This is why we observe that any valid checklist of healthcare tourism deficiencies must include management and the need for the positive contribution of a committed management in their resolution.

Success or failure in operations dealing with patients from abroad is the shared work of departments and units starting off from every service management level to take ownership of a single department. Well-functioning teams led by the right managers taking the correct steps ensures sustainable success.

 HASAN ARSLANYUREGI