Abstract:

Outbound medical tourism is becoming common in Nigeria as patients are frequently sent to other countries for specialized care. The frequency and pattern of Outbound medical tourism help to direct the investments in medical tourism. This study sought to assess the frequency and pattern of outbound medical tourism in government-owned Hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 160 medical doctors who had made referrals for medical tourism in other countries. A multi-stage sampling technique was used, and data was collected using an Interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. In the last 12 months, 227(36.15%) respondents had not done any referral, In the last 6 months, 381 (60.67%) had not done any referral outside the country, 215 (34.24%) had referred one (1) patient in the last 6 months 32 (5.1%) had done two (2) referrals. Commonest destinations included India 268 (42.68%), USA 98 (15.61%), UAE 71 (11.31%), UK 68 (10.83%), Saudi Arabia 42 (6.69%), Germany 27 (4.3%), Israel 18 (2.87%), Egypt 12 (1.91%), Canada 10 (1.59%), Singapore 8 (1.27%).  Sixty-six percent of the clients selected their destination themselves, while 211 (33.60%) were selected by the doctors. The Top five referrals done by doctors in the last 12 months include Childbirth 53 (13.22%), Transplantation surgery 112 (27.93%), Ophthalmological surgery 44 (10.97%), Checkup 42 (10.47%), and Diagnostics 17 (4.24%). Improvements in local healthcare services will reduce outbound bound medical tourism and put Nigeria in a position to gain from inbound medical tourism.

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