Given recent international trends in globalized healthcare systems an analysis of the cultural representations of patient and physician imagery was conducted on 66 medical tourism websites. Results revealed the type of website (travel, government, private, general) and region of care varied both representations of care toward patients and the depictions of physicians, as well as their associated environmental surroundings. The data reveals a cause for concern resulting from distortion and diminishment of the ethnicity of physicians who offer services in overseas medical facilities. Future directions are offered to explore the consequences of these images among organizations advancing medical tourism services.

 Key words: Expectancy violations, medical tourism, cultural identity, advertising, websites