The Globalization of Health Care

RUNNING HEAD: The Globalization of Health Care

  Case Analysis: The Globalization of Health Care Nizana Solognier Saint Leo University

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THE GLOBALIZATION OF HEALTH CARE Case Summary Globalization has affected one of the industries that was long thought of as safe: health care. Back in the days, health care was considered a service that was only deliverable on location. However, along with increased technology and innovative methods of communication came an era where activities and procedures can be performed on different locations, varying from a neighboring state to a different country at the other side of the world. With a rapid growth in population came an increase in the demand of health care. The United States was faced with a lack in the supply of radiologists, thereby increasing the costs involved in employing “local” radiologists. During the early 2000s an Indian radiologists employed by the Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Sanjay Saini, found a way to deal with the shortage and expense (Hill, 2013). His solution was to send the images to radiologists in India, who would interpret these overnight and report back to the hospital with professional results and advise. Activities that started off as “innocent” services provided by foreign countries have now moved to a more complex structure, with medical tourists travelling across the globe visiting clinics in search of medical care at a much lower cost than in the US. In addition, the industry provides a solution for the over 45 million Americans that are either uninsured or underinsured (Hill, 2013). The boost provided by these trends to the hospitals abroad has enabled the countries involved, like Singapore and India, to establish high-quality private hospitals. Allowing them to improve the services rendered and opening even more doors, for example by offering services to large American corporations...