ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
This critical literature review re-examines the foundations of Sharia-compliant healthcare within the context of Malaysia’s Islamic medical tourism. Using Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS), it interrogates interdisciplinary discourses to construct a conceptual framework—Ethical-Spiritual-Clinical Alignment (ESCA+)—that synthesizes five interlinked domains: Ethical Justice, Spiritual Sensitivity, Clinical Competence, Institutional Integrity, and Patient Agency. The review challenges dominant checklists that reduce compliance to visible rituals, advocating instead for structural ethics rooted in maqasid al-shariah and contemporary healthcare governance. It identifies key epistemic tensions between global standards (e.g., JCI) and Islamic moral imperatives, exposing gaps in policy coherence, institutional sincerity, and the agency of Muslim patients. The ESCA+ model reframes compliance as a dynamic, negotiated system capable of enhancing patient satisfaction and loyalty. This study contributes a novel ethical paradigm that bridges faith and medical systems, providing a foundation for future empirical validation, policy translation, and curriculum integration in Islamic health systems.
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