DOI: 10.5176/2251-1970_BizStrategy14.06
Authors: Professor Erik A. Borg, Professor Karl Gratzer, Assist. Prof. Kjell Ljungbo
Abstract: The health service industry is becoming increasingly internationalized. People are travelling increasingly longer distances for medical treatment. A new rapidly expanding medical tourism industry has emerged. For health service providers to compete they have to specialize and become more innovative. These innovative strategies are not limited to technical innovation, but also organizational- and service-related innovations. Treatment costs which influence the price paid for treatment are becoming a major factor influencing competition. We have looked at recent changes made within the European health care sector, to find evidence of a new innovative climate for the provision of medical treatment to patients. The emergence of Centers of Excellence is an example of responses to a new competitive climate in a global industry.
Keywords: Center of Excellence, Globalization, Innovation, Medical tourism, Specialization, The European Union
Updating...