ArticleBMC health services research2016
Opportunities for reproductive tourism: cost and quality advantages of Turkey in the provision of in-vitro Fertilization (IVF) services.
Article in BMC health services research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ethical challenges in reproductive donation tourism: a qualitative study of clinicians' perspectives in Iran.BMC medical ethics · 2026Article
- Healthcare provision for medical tourism: A comparative review.Journal of education and health promotion · 2024Review
- Treating Infertility: Current Affairs of Cross-border Reproductive Care.Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland) · 2019Article
- Correction to: Opportunities for reproductive tourism: cost and quality advantages of Turkey in the provision of in-vitro Fertilization (IVF) services.BMC health services research · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe scale and scope of medical tourism have expanded rapidly over the last few decades. Turkey is becoming an important player in this market because of its relatively better service quality and large comparative cost advantage.
methodsThis paper compares cost, quality and effectiveness of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in the USA and in Turkey. The data from Turkey were obtained from a hospital specializing in IVF services and the US data came from secondary sources. Package price offered by the dominant IVF-service provider to international patients in Turkey was used as a measure of cost for Turkey while IVF-specific service prices were used to estimate the cost for USA. To compare quality and effectiveness of IVF services, a number of general clinical quality indicators and IVF success rate were used.
resultsIndicators of quality, cost and success rate in the Turkish hospital were found to be better than the corresponding indicators in US hospitals. The cost difference of IVF services between USA and Turkey is so significant that the overall cost of obtaining the service from Turkey remains lower even with additional expenses for travel and accommodation.
conclusionsCost-effectiveness ratio of IVF treatment per successful clinical pregnancy was much lower in Turkey than in the USA. It appears that cost and quality are the two most important factors affecting demand for health care services by international patients in Turkey. Like other important players in the medical tourism market, Turkey should be able to take advantage of its success in IVF, a highly specialized niche market, to transform its health system into an important exporter of general health services.
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