Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40486040›Full record

ArticleMedical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran2025

Challenges and Solutions in Medical Tourism at Iran University of Medical Sciences: A Qualitative Study.

Niloofar Hosseinabadi, Ali Badizadeh, Rouhollah Zaboli, Ali Nemati

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Niloofar HosseinabadiInternational Business Management, Qazvin Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran.
Ali BadizadehIndustrial Management, Department of Management and Accounting, Qazvin Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3141-5391
Rouhollah ZaboliHealth Services Department, Faculty of Health, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ali NematiHealth Management and Economics Research Center, Health Management Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Iran University of Medical Sciences holds significant capacities and opportunities for entering various fields of international health services trade. Medical tourism, in particular, holds considerable potential for boosting the country's economy and enhancing its healthcare system. This study aimed to identify the challenges in medical tourism at Iran University of Medical Sciences and provide solutions to enhance its growth. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with purposive sampling in the years 2023-2024. Participants included 15 healthcare professionals and administrators involved in medical tourism. Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis, coding, and theming methods with ATLAS. TI software. Results: The challenges related to health tourism include 8 main themes-including governance, service delivery, financing, human resources, monitoring and evaluation, technology and infrastructure, facilities, and information management-and 20 subthemes. The solutions, based on expert perspectives, include 9 main themes-including enhanced governance, improved service delivery, increased financing, better human resources, effective monitoring and evaluation, upgraded technology and infrastructure, enhanced facilities, robust information management, and Advertising and Marketing-and 24 subthemes. Key challenges identified include inadequate governance and limited technology and infrastructure, while proposed solutions focus on improving governance structures and investing in technology upgrades. Conclusion: The study results indicated that health tourism requires interdisciplinary cooperation, necessitating appropriate policy-making. Medical treatments provided by hospitals, which have competitive advantages, should be promoted globally through advertising. Hospitals should provide amenities for patients and their companions-including facilities for financial transactions and currency exchange-to enhance comfort. Empowering human resources is highlighted as an effective strategy in this regard. The role of advertising and marketing in attracting foreign patients through social networks was also emphasized. Quality service delivery and its appropriate receipt are crucial aspects of healthcare services, and hospitals can assure patients of receiving quality services by obtaining accreditation.

Indexed as

ChallengesHealth tourismQualitative StudySolutions

Identifiers

PMID40486040
PMCPMC12138773

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.