A major trend in the future of health care is the boom in medical tourism. One way to reduce future health costs for individuals, insurers or government is to move patients abroad for treatment, and we will see a lot more of this in a world beyond COVID.

‘Medical tourism’ is already a $40bn industry, growing 20% a year, with over 11 million people annually travelling to another country for private treatment, and possibly convalescence in a nice hotel.  The market could be worth over $130bn by 2025. 

The savings in all types of medical tourism can be huge: private health care in Brazil is only 25% of the cost in America, India 73%, Mexico 50%, Thailand 65%, Turkey 60%. Within the EU itself there are also major cost differences – for example, dental treatment in Hungary is far cheaper than in Paris.

* "How AI Will Change your life - A Futurist's Guide to a Super-Smart World" - Patrick Dixon's latest book on AI is published in September 2024 by Profile Books.  It contains 38 chapters on the impact of AI across different industries, government and our wider world, including impact of AI on the future of of health care.

As I predicted when the COVID pandemic began, we've seen very few if any new trends, just acceleration of existing ones.

Here is the truth about the longer term impact of the COVID pandemic. I have been forecasting global trends for over 25 years, with a strong track record of proven results, advising over 400 of the world's largest multinationals, in every industry, across every region, often sharing platforms with their CEOs at their most important events.  And I also warned many times of new global pandemics like COVID-19.

It's easy to get carried away by sensationalist headlines, and to imagine that life on earth will never be the same again, that COVID-19 will permanently reshape our whole world, causing revolutions in every industry and nation. But the reality is going to be rather different...  (Article posted July 2020 with minor edits in October 2021 - Judge for yourself how accurate it was.)

* "How AI Will Change your life - A Futurist's Guide to a Super-Smart World" - Patrick Dixon's latest book on AI is published in September 2024 by Profile Books.  It contains 38 chapters on the impact of AI across different industries, government and our wider world.

The same has happened to the church in lockdown in many nations.  For example in the UK, 12.5 million people participated in online church services, many regularly, most of whom had little or nothing to do with the church in the years before.  Churches forced to go online each week discovered that they were reaching a vast new audience as a direct result.

How should marketing and advertising executives respond in the coronavirus crisis?  How should marketing messages be adapted to be more appropriate?  What campaigns should be stopped?  How do we act as good corporate citizens and avoid risks of alienating customers, general public and damaging the brand? What will be the longer term impact of the coronavirus pandemic on marketing and product / services sales as well as customer expectations and behaviour?

As a physician by first training and a Futurist advisor / keynote speaker on marketing / advertising trends and strategy to over 400 of the world's largest 2000 companies, including many of the world's largest retail brands, with a proven track record of longer term forecasting over the last 25+ years, here are some guiding principles for marketing directors.

The global coronavirus crisis will accelerate pre-existing marketing and advertising trends and requires agility, sensitivity and boldness to make the right marketing decisions.