Revisión de estrategias de turismo de salud e identificación de aportes para Santander, Colombia.

Introduction: Colombia is one of the countries with the greatest potential to export services in the next years, in terms of health tourism. The image of its doctors in different specialties has been increasing, thanks to their preparation, quality and relative low cost with respect to the countries of the region. Santander, specifically with the free trade zones in health, has been achieving recognition in Latin America. The potential of this tourism is argued in the achievements of the health area and the effects in terms of international tourism and the socio-economic development of some regions. Objective: To identify the successful strategies, strengths and weaknesses of medical tourism in the national and international scope that allow recommending strategic actions to create competitive advantages to the health sector in Santander and guide it to leadership. Methodology: A topic review with a systematic search of bibliographic information, in which DeCS descriptors were used such as Marketing of Health Services, medical tourism, Health economics, Health services, trading and Hospital economy in the databases Scielo, Google Scholar and Pubmed; in addition, interviews were conducted with experts from the entities. Results: It was found that Colombia has a good position in the world and Latin America in terms of health tourism, standing out for the offer of services in cardiology, aesthetic surgery and orthopedics; Spain has one of the best health systems and has the seventh position in the marketing of hospital services. India, Israel and Singapore lead the research and innovation issues, positioning them also as powers in medical tourism. Conclusions: Comparing Bucaramanga and Metropolitan Area with other cities and countries, it needs even more recognition as a region and although there are internationally certified entities, it is necessary to work as a team with other health providers, the government, associations and train staff to serve the international market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]