Demand of Health Care for People Traveling Abroad－An Innovative Service Model at the Travel Medicine Center of National Taiwan University Hospital

The number of Taiwanese traveling abroad is increasing and it has been noted that greater risk for travel-related illness and injury is found during travel due to personal and environmental factors. Therefore, a health care network comprising services of prevention and medical care can not be over-emphasized for the abroad travelers. The study aimed to investigate the awareness and experiences of health care services during travel abroad. Based on the results, we proposed an innovative model of hospital based health care for the travelers.
Participants aged greater than 18 years of the travel clinic at National Taiwan University Hospital, planning to travel abroad, were recruited into the study with a three-part questionnaire administered. The questionnaire included the items of socio-demographic characteristics, travel itineraries, awareness and experiences of 9 health care services provided by travel insurances. A total of 397 participants, mean age =36.5 ±13.9 years, were recruited. Among them, 66.4% were under 40 years and 68% planning to the developing country areas. The females were more likely to arrange special activities, such as scuba diving, mountain climbing, and river rafting than males (31% vs. 19%). The females also had more experiences of travel-related infectious diseases and other medical events (25% vs. 15%). People were aware of most health care services of travel insurance and also considered the services important. However, they seldom used the services. The better known services which were also recognized important were as follows: 24-hour telephone medical advice, emergency medical repatriation, arrangement for hospital admission, arrangement for appointments of doctors after travel, and arrangement for appointments of nearby hospitals. There was no difference between age, sex, educational level and other variables with awareness and importance of health care services by travel insurance during travel. There was no association between age, sex, educational level, and personal income with willingness to pay for those services. The willingness to pay was about 648 NT dollars and the potential market was over 6 billions according to the number of Taiwanese travelers going abroad last year.
The future plan of items of the health care services by travel insurance during travel is as the following order: 24-hour telephone medical advice, emergency medical repatriation, arrangement for hospital admission, instant messaging of medical advice, medical records translation and transfer, arrangement for appointments of doctors, arrangement for appointments of doctors after travel, and monitoring medical condition during hospitalization. Using value net analysis, we then established an innovative model of health care service during travel abroad. Furthermore, the strategy of future development was supported by the SWOT matrix analysis consisting of opportunities and threats of environment, and internal forces of strength and weakness.