Addressing Global Health Goals With AI-Enhanced Medical Tourism

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping medical tourism into a strategic pathway for advancing global health goals. It enhances clinical decision-making, improves patient experience, increases cost efficiency, and strengthens cross-border continuity of care. At the same time, it raises critical ethical, regulatory, and sustainability challenges that must be carefully addressed. Integrating technological innovation with global health perspectives provides a more comprehensive understanding of these developments. AI-driven medical tourism offers new opportunities for more equitable, high-quality, and accessible healthcare worldwide. Addressing Global Health Goals With AI-Enhanced Medical Tourism critically examines how AI can be integrated into medical tourism to advance global health goals, while extending and enriching existing scholarship in healthcare innovation, health systems, and international patient mobility. By synthesizing current research, global health agendas, and real-world applications, this book moves beyond descriptive accounts of medical tourism and offers evidence-informed insights into how AI can improve access, quality, efficiency, and continuity of care across borders. Covering topics such as accountability in cross-border healthcare, edge computing in patient care, and AR and VR for medical solutions, this book is an excellent academic resource for graduate and doctoral students, healthcare administrators, hospital managers, medical tourism facilitators, digital health professionals, policymakers, public health officials, and more.

Viana Hassan is actively involved in academic and research work in Tourism & Cultural Management in Lebanon and Malta. She is the Founder and CEO of European Tourism and Events training Academy, She got her Ph.D. in Tourism Management and Cultural from Saint Joseph University, Beirut. Her Thesis was entitled “Medical Tourism in Lebanon”. She has more than 19 years of tourism experience in many related Travel and Tourism Fields, varying from airline sales experience (MEA), to Co-management several Lebanese Travel agencies. She is an Experienced Lecturer with more than 16 years’ experience at several universities in Lebanon (Lebanese University, A.U. L, Lebanese International University, Islamic University), the Institute of Tourism Studies, STC higher education partner of Wolverhmapton University UK and University of Malta (Malta), GBS Malta, Scholars School system (UK) with a demonstrated history of working in the Higher education industry, Skilled in Tourism Management, Customer service, Branding, Event Management, Airline Business Management, Niche Tourism, Business operations management, Customer acquisition and Medical Tourism. Dr. Viana has participated in international conferences (Expo Dubai 2020, 7th Medical Tourism World Summit..) including Athens, Paris, Vienna, Dubai, Valencia, India, Turkey , Thailand , Malaysia , Cyprus , Poland , Tanzania etc.

Vikas Sharma is an Assistant Professor in the field of Hotel Management with experience spanning academia and the hospitality industry. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Subharti College of Hotel Management, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut, where he has been employed since June 2022. His previous academic roles include positions at Om Sterling Global University, Hisar, and HRIT University, Ghaziabad. Before his academic career, Dr. Sharma worked as a Demi Chef de Partie at ITC Grand Bharat, Gurugram, further solidifying his industry expertise. Dr. Sharma holds a Ph.D. in Hotel Management, focusing on the regional cuisine of Braj and its application in tourism promotion, from Swami Vivekanand Subharti University. He also has a Master of Tourism and Travel Management and a Bachelor's degree in Hospitality and Hotel Administration. Additionally, he has gained various certifications, including an Advanced Diploma in Computer Applications. Dr. Sharma has contributed to several research papers, many of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals, including studies on tourism, digital marketing, work-life balance, and sustainable practices in hospitality. His work has appeared in indexed journals like Journal of Tourism Insights and International Journal of Scientific Research in Multidisciplinary Studies. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Sharma has been actively involved in research and development, including the publication of several chapters in books related to sustainability, AI in tourism, and food tourism. He has also presented at numerous national and international conferences. His research interests and contributions include AI-driven customer engagement strategies, sustainable tourism practices, and the intersection of food tourism with local culinary traditions. Dr. Sharma has also been awarded for his excellence in teaching and service in the hospitality industry.