Legal Consideration On Development Of Medical Tourism Service Industry

Medical tourism industry has become one of the rapidly growing emerging industries in the world.With the emergence of budget airline and easier access to overseas medical institutions and experts for medical advice through internet,many countries in the Asia-Pacific region all join this field,hoping to build themselves into the medical tourism center of the regional and even the world at large;among these countries,India,Korea and Thailand have already fostered their competitiveness in medical tourism.China is also taking proactive actions so as to hitch a ride of medical tourism as soon as possible.Official Reply of the State Council Concerning the Establishment of Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone was officially issued in 2013,marking the formal completion of an international medical tourism industry pilot development area,low-carbon and low-emission ecological environment demonstration area and the domestic and international cooperation and exchange platform for medical tourism with a total area of 20.14 square kilometers and an area of structure of 996 hectare.The establishment of Hainan Boao Lecheng,the first medical tourism pilot zone in China,is the first water testing of the medical tourism industry.For this reason,the country has attached much importance to the building of this pilot area,as evidenced by the nine favorable policies and the advantages in capitals,exit and entry,medical treatment and tourism given by the country.Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone is of universal significance to the development of medical tourism in China.From the perspective of the operation of pilot area,consumers are less enthusiastic and the investors,the foreign investors in particular,also sit on the sidelines because of the unimproved protection system of consumer privacy,medical system and relief system as well as the ambiguous and unspecific regulations for the establishment of medical institutions with foreign capitals.However,these issues can only be properly handled by the countries at legal and institutional level instead of the general favorable policies from the central government or Hainan.Based on the investigation of Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone,this paper analyzes the operational and institutional situation and reflects the legal issues in the process of developing medical tourism industry in China.By studying the successful experience of developing medical tourism in foreign countries and combining the real practice in China,this paper is targeted at exploring the relevant systems of improving the medical tourism industry in China.Part one offers a analysis and summary of the service flow and model of medical tourism,expounds on the legal relations and provides the basic theoretical basis.Part two analyzes the operational and institutional situation of Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone and probes into the existing problems.Part three puts forward the legal problems existing in the process of developing medical tourism in China by studying the pilot area.Part four introduces the current development status of Indian and Korean tourism industry and then evaluates them.Part five proposes the measures for the improvement of medical tourism from the institutional perspectives.