18th International MTSR Conference: Exploring a Health Tourism Ontology Framework
At the “18th International Conference on Metadata and Semantics Research Athens” held from 19 to 22 November 2024, Sofia Gkevreki – Research Associate, delivered a noteworthy presentation on health tourism that captured the audience’s attention, entitled: “A Health Tourism Ontology Framework for Versatile Applications.” This research highlighted how semantic technologies and ontologies can streamline the diverse and complex world of health tourism.
Why Ontologies Matter in Health Tourism
Health tourism combines medical care with travel, but organizing the associated data—like healthcare services, travel arrangements, and local attractions—can be challenging. Ontologies help by structuring and standardizing this information, making it more accessible and easier to manage.
Key Takeaways
The presented framework offers:
- Interoperability between healthcare and tourism systems.
- Enhanced user experience, allowing personalized health and travel recommendations.
- Data standardization for consistent and reliable information exchange.
- Scalability, adapting to the growing health tourism market.
Real-World Applications
From integrating health data into travel platforms to supporting mobile apps that guide patients seeking treatment abroad, this ontology framework is set to make a significant impact.
For those interested in exploring the research in more detail, you can check out the GitHub repository for the ontology and visit the official Health Tourism Hub platform website for more information.
This presentation at MTSR 2024 showcases the potential of semantic technologies to transform health tourism, making it more user-friendly and efficient. Stay tuned for more updates on this evolving field!
