The New Role of Health Tourism Intermediaries: Managing the Patient Journey
The New Paradigm of Health Tourism – Part 16
Behlül Ünver – President, World Health Tourism Platform
Last week, we asked why patients choose Türkiye. We considered trust, first contact, digital reputation, family, insurance, the patient’s own physician and uncertainty after treatment, alongside prices, hospitals and doctors.
Another often invisible but important actor is the intermediary. The familiar description “a company that finds patients” is no longer sufficient. International patients need more than a referral.
They want the right institution, clinical assessment, an understandable plan and price, travel arrangements, communication in their language, support in Türkiye and continuity after returning home. Future intermediaries must manage the journey.
Intermediation or patient navigation?
“Intermediary” suggests a link between two points. The journey now includes dozens of contacts.
Enquiry, records, referral to the right specialty, second opinion, explanation of options, pricing, travel, accommodation, interpretation, admission, tests, treatment, discharge, review, return home and follow-up all require coordination. Patient navigation may therefore become a more important concept. Patients are finding their way through an unfamiliar system; this is where good intermediaries’ responsibilities begin.
The right patient must reach the right institution
Appropriate matching differs fundamentally from choosing the highest commission. Hospitals and physicians have different competencies. A patient may need a university hospital, a specialist centre, a public hospital clinic or multidisciplinary assessment. Some may be treated at home without travelling. Trust begins here.
True professionalism means showing patients the right option.
Sometimes saying “You do not need to travel for this treatment” builds a stronger long-term relationship.
Clinical and commercial decisions must remain distinct
Intermediaries and hospitals conduct economic activity, but physicians must determine treatment and medical assessments must establish whether surgery is necessary.
The intermediary’s role is to enable access to appropriate assessment. Unnecessary procedures, misdirection and unrealistic promises can damage trust far beyond one institution, reaching a country’s healthcare brand.
First contact is already part of healthcare
Patients often speak to an intermediary before a physician. Even the first WhatsApp message matters: tone, requested information, record protection, response time, clear answers and promises about care and prices signal the coming experience.
International patient representatives need terminology, understanding of patient psychology and cultural differences, awareness of clinical boundaries, crisis escalation skills and communication competence. Sometimes a call-centre worker creates the first impression.
Discuss responsibility alongside commission
Commercial sustainability matters, but the central question should be which responsibilities an intermediary accepts.
Does support end at the hospital door? Do records reach the correct institution? Is clinical information conveyed accurately? Are price and scope clear? Who manages complications? Does follow-up continue at home?
Without answers, debating commission alone means little. A good intermediary can operate as an external extension of a hospital’s international patient department.
Each market also needs its own intermediary model
Family relationships and personal contact may matter more in the Middle East; insurance, data security, transparency and follow-up in Europe; institutional connections in the Turkic republics; government, fund or major organisational agreements in some African countries; and physician networks, employer programmes, digital second opinions and selected treatments in America. Success depends on understanding the market as well as reaching patients.
A different model for public hospitals
Public hospitals need not conduct individual marketing like private providers. Programmes with governments, social security organisations, health funds, foundations, associations, municipalities, major companies and international organisations may suit them better.
Intermediaries can organise groups, document flows, travel, interpretation, coordination and post-treatment communication. Public providers can then maintain their core service organisation while benefiting from professional external coordination.
Technology will also change intermediaries
AI and digital health can support file classification, specialty matching, multilingual communication, follow-up, appointments, satisfaction analysis and identification of journey problems.
We may soon see structures very different from conventional medical tourism agencies.
Patient navigation platforms, international second-opinion networks, digital follow-up centres, insurance–hospital integration and AI-supported matching will make the difference between professional and unprofessional providers more visible.
Patient data is entrusted to us
Intermediaries handle passports, medical reports, images, diagnoses, laboratory results, genetic and financial information. Data security is everyone’s responsibility throughout the chain. A medical file cannot be treated as an ordinary sales document. Health information is entrusted to us. This understanding is essential to professionalisation.
Winning a patient or building a country relationship?
With trust, intermediaries can become connections between physicians, insurers, public institutions, employers and even countries’ health relationships. Referrals can develop into long-term cooperation, where commerce and health diplomacy meet. Alongside patient numbers, we should ask:
How many patients reached the right centre? How many journeys were managed throughout? How many problems were resolved before harm occurred? How many patients received follow-up at home or recommended Türkiye? Above all:
Did the patient feel recognised as a person entrusting their health to the institution?
I believe this will distinguish future intermediaries.
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