ABSTRACT

Medical spas and wellness represent new career opportunities across the healthcare spectrum. Registered dietitians and nutritionists are well positioned to have expanded roles in medical tourism, spa, and wellness management services as this segment expands in the future. The world of healthcare delivery is evolving due to the remarkable merging of the hospitality and medical industries. Medical Spas and Medical Tourism represent a broad spectrum of the healthcare continuum. This chapter explores the evolution of the medical spa/tourism continuum and the role that nutrition plays in the evolution. Medical Spas have expanded beyond the role of simply addressing clients' beauty needs. Today, they provide value to address patient needs of well-being and healing, providing a full continuum of goals. Medical Spas utilize a variety of healthcare professionals to meet the broad spectrum of services and health conditions addressed by the setting. A holistic-integrated model is a trademark of Medical Spas.