Objectives:
The goal of research was to analyze the potential impact of the language barrier and the information obtained about the barrier on medical patients' perceptions of risk, as well as the impact of perceived risk on their attitudes and intentions to use medical tourism services.

Material and methods:
Based on the results of existing research and current theory, a research model was developed, in which six research hypotheses were formulated. Then, through random-quota sampling, 1148 Poles aged 18 and over were surveyed using a fully structured survey questionnaire.

Results:
The perceived risk of medical tourism services by survey participants significantly influenced both attitudes toward such services and the willingness to travel in question itself. The factor significantly moderating the relationship between perceived risk and attitudes toward medical tourism services was the age of the respondents. Moreover with the simultaneous increase in the importance of the language barrier and the increase in the importance of acquired information on communicating with medical personnel, the perceived risk of medical tourism services decreased in the respondents. This indicates that the importance of the information about a language barrier in communication with medical personnel may influence a reduction in the level of perceived risk accompanying the services in question.

Conclusions:
The conclusions of the study showed the vital importance of patients obtaining information about a possible communication barrier in a foreign medical facility. This findings can be useful to medical tourism players in the context of creating effective marketing communication in this regard, as well as developing tools to break down such barriers.