ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2018
Government roles in regulating medical tourism: evidence from Guatemala.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A bilingual systematic review of South Korean medical tourism: a need to rethink policy and priorities for public health?BMC public health · 2021Pooled it
- Between opportunity and equity: navigating medical tourism in Türkiye's public hospitals.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Arab Medical Tourists in Iran: A Phenomenological Study of Lived Experience.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Research on ways to attract foreign patients to a Korean medicine clinic: a retrospective 2024 case study from Seoul.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Approaches, enablers and barriers to govern the private sector in health in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.BMJ global health · 2024Article
- A comprehensive perspective on local drivers in community-based health tourism industry development: a qualitative study of Mazandaran Province, Iran.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Cross-border healthcare-seeking and utilization behaviours among ethnic minorities: exploring the nexus of the perceived better option and public health concerns.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Achieving sustainable medical tourism: unpacking privacy concerns through a tripartite game theoretic lens.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- "Medical tourism will…obligate physicians to elevate their level so that they can compete": a qualitative exploration of the anticipated impacts of inbound medical tourism on health human resources in Guatemala.Human resources for health · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRegulation of the medical tourism and public health sectors overlap in many instances, raising questions of how patient safety, economic growth, and health equity can be protected. The case of Guatemala is used to explore how the regulatory challenges posed by medical tourism should be dealt with in countries seeking to grow this sector.
methodsWe conducted a qualitative case study of the medical tourism sector in Guatemala, through reviews and analyses of policy documents and media reports, key informant interviews (n = 50), and facility site-visits.
resultsKey informants were critical of the absence of effective public regulation of the emerging medical tourism sector, noting several regulatory gaps and the importance of filling them. These informants specifically expressed that: 1) The government should regulate medical tourism in Guatemala, thought there was disagreement as to which government sector should do so and how; 2) The government has not at this time regulated the medical tourism sector nor shown great interest in doing so; and 3) International accreditation could be used to augment domestic regulation.
conclusionsThe intersection of domestic and international regulation of medical tourism has been largely unexplored. This case study advances new research in this area. It highlights the need for and dearth of regulatory protections in Guatemala and lessons for other, similarly situated countries. National regulatory models from Israel and Barbados could be adapted to the Guatemalan context. Global governance could help to protect national governments from any competitive disadvantages created by regulation. Underlying the concerns over growth in medical tourism, however, is how it contributes to the ongoing privatization of health care facilities worldwide. This trend risks undermining efforts to reach targets for Universal Health Coverage and exacerbating existing inequities in the global distribution of health and wealth.
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