What Issues Arise in Doing Health Care Business Globally?

Health care is big business, with hospitals and medical facilities doing double duty as both patient care centers and large business platforms. The industry, overall, is a mix of patient care, cost issues, insurance concerns, and ever-changing medical technology. These problems are only exacerbated when doing health care business on a global level.

Varying Policies Among Facilities

• Because regulations change depending on the locale, medical care facility policies may vary between countries. Therefore, when doing business, you may find that what applies at a hospital in London is non-existent in a clinic in India. This applies to patient practices, financial management, employee and staff procedures and more. These differences can affect medical staff traveling to work in different facilities, as well as health care investors as well as administrators from parent companies managing international facilities.

Language Barriers

• Even the business side of the health care industry leaves little time for a learning curve, particularly since patient care is a main focus and one that requires round the clock attention. Language differences among the different regions means that industry professionals must retain the ability to communicate regardless of the country in which they are operating. This may sometimes mean learning a new language fairly quickly, or at least key phrases; at other times, this might mean invoking written communication in international areas.

Cultural Practices

• Another issue that might arise when doing business in the health care industry overseas is that of different cultural practices. Many countries are not welcoming to outsiders from other regions of the world, and this may present challenges in terms of doing business or even working with patients as a non-native. Women, in particular, may find it challenging to engage in health care business practices in the Middle East, while professionals working in Africa might find it challenging to work with the limited medical infrastructure that exists on this continent.