improving medical tourism services through human behaviour and cultural competence

Background: medical tourism is a type of service sector in which there is direct interaction between healthcare practitioners and patientcustomers, leading to several challenges due to cultural and social background differences. we aimed to investigate the determinants of delivering a culturallyoriented service in medical tourism sector.methods: adopting an exploratory qualitative approach, interviews were conducted through a semistructured procedure with authorities across various medical sectors in south korea in winter 2017. participants were all involved in and aware of the medical tourism sector, both academically and clinically. the interview transcripts were coded through a systematic thematic analysis.results: in order to focus on nonclinical service in medical tourism sector, and a system of  cultural competence delivery, three main themes were identified: 1) the personal characteristics of doctors; 2) external supports to be provided by the associated organisations; and finally, 3) skilfulness, which implies the culturallyoriented interaction with foreign patients.conclusion: several strategies are suggested to address the nonclinical challenges and conflicts in doctorpatient interaction in the sector of medical tourism. it is likely that providing a culturallyoriented service in this sector demands for a comprehensive planning, and several strategies for implementation in order to support and train a team of skilful doctors with nonclinical characteristics. these finding will likely have insights for those organisations searching to improve their performance in the medical tourism sector.