The 21st century is the century of the health industry. With health as the core, the development of a multi-level, diversified, and all-around health industry chain will become the main feature of economic development in this era. More and more countries have begun to conduct in-depth research and exploration in this field to jointly build a blueprint for the global health industry.
In the process of the development of the health industry, countries have combined their advantages to form their own unique industrial development models. In the following, we select Japan, the United States, Canada, India, Thailand with rapid development of the health industry to make a brief analysis of their industrial development.
1 Overview of the development of the health industry in major developed countries
1.1 Japan
Japan is a famous country of longevity and a leader in the world’s health industry. In 1979, Japan began to advocate a health campaign for middle-aged and elderly people to deal with the aging population. In 1988, the National Health Plan was implemented. In 2002, the “Health Promotion Law” was promulgated.
At present, the total output value of Japan’s health industry accounts for more than 10% of GDP. It has become a pillar industry in the national economy and an important link in the current strategic layout of Japan’s economic development. Japan is the second-largest health equipment market in the world, with an annual output value of over US$200 billion. At the same time, Japan is also one of the most developed countries in the world for health care products, and is known as the “country of health care products invention.”
The Japanese health industry is led by health management, combined with active participation in nutrition and health care, and at the same time attaches importance to the development of healthy food. As early as the 1960s, Japanese health foods began to enter people’s lives. In the late 1990s, Japan suffered the collapse of the bubble economy and a severe economic recession, but the development of healthy food has always maintained a double-digit growth rate. Japan has made great contributions to the development of healthy food in the world in terms of product development and technological application of healthy food.
1.2 The United States
Thanks to a large amount of government financial support and the continuous development of biotechnology, the United States has become the most developed country in the health industry in the world. The US health industry is characterized by universal health management, health commercial insurance and dietary supplements, and has a complete industrial system and mature industrial operation model. It mainly involves health management, health insurance, health food, medical services, family and community health services, medical equipment, etc.
The health industry in the United States began in the health management industry in the 1960s. At that time, the aging of the population, the chronically ill population, and the rising medical costs caused a high medical economic burden, which gave birth to a new type of health service model centered on health management. Subsequently, health management was incorporated into the health care plan, and a special health bill was established. At present, the health industry expenditure in the United States accounts for more than 18% of GDP, and it has become a sunrise industry in the United States.
1.3 Canada
As a model of high welfare among developed countries, Canada’s health industry has grown against the trend, bringing huge economic and social benefits to the country. At present, the output value of health-related industries has reached 10% of the total economic output. According to the survey, more than half of citizens recognized the quality of medical care, and more than 90% of citizens were satisfied with the country’s medical system.
The Canadian government attaches great importance to the health industry, especially the establishment of “Health Canada”-Health Canada, which is mainly responsible for providing health products to the public and popularizing health knowledge, as well as providing financial support for health-related projects. The establishment of this department has played a very positive role in improving the health of the people.
In general, the development of Canada’s health industry has the following characteristics: First, a complete universal medical security system. Canada’s medical security system began in the 1940s, emphasizing people-oriented, composed of three parts: public medical care system, medical assistance system, and private commercial medical insurance. Among them, the public medical care system is funded by the government through taxation and financially allocated to medical institutions to provide citizens with free or low-cost medical services. Second, a strict hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system. Receive corresponding medical services according to the patient’s condition. Canada has general practitioners covering the whole country, which form the basis of the primary health care system and play a role in the triage of patients.
2 Overview of the development of the health industry in developing countries
2.1 India
In the field of the health industry, India has continued its unique advantages in physical and mental healing and traditional herbal medicine. Although the concept of the health industry has not been put forward, the health-related industries have developed well, such as medical tourism, spiritual retreat, and health-preserving yoga. They are all at the forefront of the world.
Among them, India’s medical tourism industry is even more famous. Medical tourism refers to tourists receiving health care services and medical treatment while traveling abroad. It can be said that medical tourism is a tourism service project with the theme of medical care. Medical tourism in India first began in the mid-1990s. In recent years, India’s medical tourism industry has matured, attracting a large number of patients every year, and has developed into one of the most popular medical tourism destinations in the world.
As a world medical tourist destination, India has three advantages that are worth learning from. First, India has high-quality medical services, unique traditional therapies, and extremely low medical costs. Patients only need to spend the “third world price” to enjoy “first world medical services”. Second, as one of the world’s four ancient civilizations, India has become a tourist attraction with its famous historical sites and abundant natural resources. Every year, a large number of overseas tourists come to India for leisure and vacation while receiving medical services. Third, the government vigorously supports the country’s medical tourism industry and establishes a medical and health tourism bureau to ensure the quality of medical services for overseas tourists. At present, the booming medical tourism industry has become a new engine for India’s economic development.
2.2 Thailand
Thailand’s health industry is mainly composed of three fields: medical tourism, traditional herbal medicine, medical beauty, and healthcare. In particular, Thailand’s medical tourism industry is the largest in the world and dominates the world. Since its inception in 1997, Thailand’s medical tourism industry has received great attention from the government. In 2004, the Thai government formulated the first five-year plan for the development of medical tourism, integrating Thailand’s characteristic herbal medicines into medical and healthcare services, and building a “world medical tourism center” in an all-around way.
At present, with the rapid increase of medical expenses in developed countries and the shortage of medical resources, Thailand has become the “leader” of the world’s medical tourism industry and has accumulated rich experience in the development of the health tourism industry. The summary is as follows: First, the international medical level. Thailand’s medical services have reached the international leading level. The professional medical team and modern medical equipment have won a lot of international reputation. Second, the price is low and the transparency is high. Thailand has a high level of medical care, but the price is very low, 40%-70% cheaper than most Western countries, and medical prices can be publicly checked on the website. Third, humanized service. The hospital provides comprehensive, multi-level, and convenient services such as international visas, service appointments, and language translation for customers from all over the world.
As the income of the health industry continues to increase, Thailand’s medical and healthcare standards and service items are also constantly being upgraded and improved. Thailand’s international-level medical tourism integrates health care, culture, leisure, and tourism, and is very popular among tourists from all over the world.
