Running Head: Medical Tourism

Medical Tourism
Pedro Garcia
University of Texas at El Paso

Medical Tourism
Medical Tourism
The act of medical tourism has always been an option for people
who cannot afford to have medical procedures done in their home
countries. However more attention has been put on the affects that it
can have on a global scale and on the patients. Medical tourism is
when a person travels to another country to receive health care with
the intent to save money on the procedures. This requires for the
person going to, for the most part, a developing country. This brings
millions in revenue to those countries but there are some long-term
effects that can harm a countries health system. Kristal Rampalli, MPH,
and addresses these issues in a TED talk presentation held in the
University of Minnesota in 2013. A TED talk is a series of privately
organized lectures given by reputable people with extensive
knowledge on the topic they are speaking of. When it comes to
receiving intensive health care in a developing country there are
differences in the way the procedure is done, and this can cause harm
to the person receiving the healthcare. This is where the Center for
Disease Control addresses the concern in their web page. On the web
page the CDC warns of the possible dangers and shows ways of
helping the tourist make a wise choice in choosing where to get the
health care.

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Audience and Purpose

The first genre is intended for awareness on medical tourism but

is not intended for a specific discourse community since it was
presented in a TED talk with a very diverse audience. However the
presentation can be directed to indirectly to people who want to
change the way medical tourism works and want to make it better. The
second genre is directed for people who are planning to make the
travel to receive medical treatment in another country or the people
who are considering that alternative as an option.
Both genres try to inform the listener or reader on how medical
tourism can affect the patients. However they both have different
perspectives. The first genre shines light on the big picture in regards
to the effects of global health and the strain it causes to the country
that is attracting the tourists. The speaker talks about how the influx of
medical tourists can have a strain on the health care system of a
developing country. Also another point the speaker makes is the effect
it has on the developed country that is losing money by losing the
patients to another country. The second genre is mostly focused on the
negative effects it may cause the traveler and gives awareness of the
possible dangers of getting the outpatient care. Since the second
genre was the CDC, its main focus will always be to keep diseases from

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coming to the United States, the spread of disease is one of the
possible dangers it shows on its website.
Ethos
In the first genre the speaker is presenting to an audience in a
University so that establishes credibility because to be presenting in
front of an educated audience the speaker must have knowledge of the
subject. The speakers also received her masters in Public Health from
the University of Minnesota so that establishes more credibility. The
presenter also cites her sources on all her graphs and charts that are
shown in her presentation. For the second genre the credibility is
established automatically because the website is a government run
and reputable website. The CDC does work world wide so their
knowledge about possibilities of infections and diseases in foreign
countries is accurate for the most part. Also since the CDC works
worldwide there wouldnt be a bias to keep patients in the United
States.
Pathos
The first genre portrays a very informative emotion towards it
self, the auditorium is dark except for the light shining on the presenter
and the projector screen where the presentation slides are being
shown. That way the audience focuses only on the presenter and the
images she is showing. The presenter uses a fictional character named
bob which she uses as an example of a typical medical tourist. The

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speaker is clearly against the act of medical awareness and it is shown
by how bob has a negative result towards his surgery. However she
does not want to endorse the banning of medical tourism but more of
an awareness of it and a call for a solution. The second genre is a
webpage from the CDC that is very plain in color. The whole
background is white and has little images. The lack of images and
colors makes the page seem neutral on the topic. The website does
focus more on the dangers of participating in medical tourism but it
also establishes links to reputable websites that make the travel safer
for the ones who wish to partake in it.

Logos
The first source uses information from sources that focus on
medical tourism in an international level. And her use of charts and
graphs to compare the data from the United States to the not
developed countries helps the audience have a point of reference to
compare the information relative to the United States. The Speaker
also uses her knowledge that she has learned while getting her
masters in pubic health. That degree and the topic of medical tourism
work hand in hand. The presenter uses information from the Medical
Tourism Association, Global Health Workforce Statistics, the

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Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and many
more reputable sources. The second genre simply states out facts of
what a person might expect when traveling to another country for
medical purposes. The potential risks are simply listed and advice is
also just listed, mostly just to make the message simple and direct. The
CDC uses its information from the National Center for Emerging
Zoonotic Infectious Diseases and from the Division of Global Migration
and Quarantine. These sources also come from the same CDC website.

Structure and delivery

The structure and delivery of the first genre work in
chronological order from the perspective of someone who is in need of
a surgery and will be traveling to another country to receive the proper
care. After the fictional patient has completed the surgery the speaker
points out several risks that the patient faced and the consequences
he suffered. After the story of the fictional character the speaker gives
the pros and cons of medical tourism and the affects it has from a
personal level all the way to a global scale. The second genre has a
brief description of what medical tourism is, it also includes a basic list
of what the possible risks are and advice for the people who are
considering traveling to get medical care done. The CDC website does

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not inform the reader about any economic affects, purely health
related.

Conclusion
The topic of medical tourism is a delicate issue to address since
it involves many countries and their source of revenue. There are many
solutions that can help make medical tourism a much safer practice
but it is difficult to find solutions that benefit everybody. For the mean
time developing countries still accept foreigners for medical
procedures.

Rampalli, K, (speaker) (2013). Medical tourism, your health can now be

outsourced. TedxUMN. Lecture conducted by Ted, Minneapolis,
Mn.

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Center for disease control. (2015, February 23). Medical tourism.
Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/features/medicaltourism/