Comparing the status of medical tourism in private and public hospitals in Tehran city

Introduction: Today, medical tourism is deemed as one of the most growing units of industrial sector in the world. This has caused the governments to plan for developing this industry in private and public sectors in their healthcare system. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the status of medical tourism in private and public hospitals in Tehran city. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional type of research was conducted in some private and public hospitals in Tehran. The statistical population included employed nurses in these hospitals. In order to gather data, a valid and reliable questionnaire was used. For data analysis, descriptive statistics (frequencies, mean and standard deviation) and analytical tests (t test) were applied. SPSS version 17 was used for data analysis. P value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Findings indicated that the status of medical tourism in all dimensions, including expert manpower, medical equipment, type of services, information and communication technology (ICT), and marketing, in public hospitals was better than in private hospitals. Conclusion: Although the status of medical tourism in public hospitals is better than private hospitals but healthcare policymakers should find strategies to increase tourist attraction in private hospitals in order to earn income and promote health tourism in the country as well.