Trust, Transformation, and the Future of Global Medical Travel
In 2025-2026, Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) conducted its largest research initiative to date to better understand what drives trust in global medical travel. The GHA IMPACT™ Study surveyed 469 participants across three key stakeholder groups: prospective and actual medical travelers, healthcare leaders from accredited organizations, and international buyers and facilitators. The findings reveal a clear connection between accreditation, patient confidence, organizational performance, and international growth.
Download the Full Report →The Message Is Clear: Trust Matters
Across all stakeholder groups, accreditation emerged as one of the strongest indicators of trust, quality, and confidence in medical travel. Patients, buyers, and healthcare leaders consistently associated accreditation with safer care and better outcomes.
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What Patients Told Us
For patients considering medical travel, accreditation helps reduce uncertainty and build confidence in the quality, safety and reliability of care.
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Accreditation Builds Trust Where It Matters Most
Among patients who used an accredited facility, trust increased across multiple dimensions of the healthcare experience.
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The Business Case for Accreditation
Beyond quality improvement, accreditation creates strategic value. Nearly 87% of accredited facilities reported moderate or substantial performance improvement within three years, while healthcare leaders identified reputation, patient trust, and safety as the areas where accreditation delivers the greatest impact.
86.8%
of accredited facilities report moderate or substantial performance improvement within three years
The Care Gap Is Real
Despite growing demand for international healthcare, significant gaps remain in care coordination, follow-up, and information sharing. These findings highlight some of the most common challenges patients and organizations continue to face across the medical travel journey.
- 61% of patients worry about care coordination after returning home
- 45% of facilities offer no emergency virtual follow-up care
- 56% of facilities still share patient information through email
- 37% rely on messaging apps for patient record sharing
These are exactly the types of challenges that accreditation standards are designed to address.
Explore the Full Findings
The complete GHA IMPACT™ Report provides deeper insights by stakeholder group, facility type, and region, along with practical recommendations for healthcare organizations seeking to strengthen trust, improve quality, and grow internationally.
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