THE EVALUATION OF THE WEB SITES OF THE HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS IN KAYSERI HAVING MEDICAL TOURISM LICENSE IN TERMS OF MEDICAL TOURISM

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to emphasize the importance of medical tourism, to evaluate the suitability of the web sites of the health care institutions in Kayseri having the right of receiving Medical Tourism Licence, which is provided by T.R. Ministry of Health and to provide recommendations regarding this issue. Methods: The web sites of the 17 health care institutions located in Kayseri that had the right of receiving Medical Tourism Licence until August 2022 were included in the study. The web sites were evaluated based on 10 criteria and scored by standardizing them. Results: The web sites did not get the maximum score from any criteria. While the criteria of information regarding communication and transport to the hospital got the highest scores, the criteria of information regarding news and the statistics got the lowest scores. The websites got the scores below average from the criteria of general information, information regarding international patients, photo galleries, appointment system and the information regarding treatment follow up. Conclusion: It is believed that the health care institutions’ that provide service in the field of medical tourism rearranging their websites considering the elements under the analyzed criteria and correcting the deficiencies will affect the use of international patients and the promotion and the images of the institutions positively.