IMTD 2009 ?Indian Medical Travel Conference held at Toronto, Canada draws tremendous response
An impressive array of speakers at the IMTD Conference led by Dr Narottam Puri, President –Medical Strategy & Quality, Fortis Escorts Hospitals Group, Mark Fam from Deloitte Centre of health Solutions, Canada , Ms. Ann Kaplan, President & CEO, Medicard Finance, Dr Vasanthi Srinivasan, Director, Health System Planning & Research, Ontario Ministry of Health and Mr Pradeep Thukral, Executive Director, Indian Medical Travel Association (IMTA) impressed the audience and showcased the strengths of Indian healthcare in Canada.
Mrs Preeti Saran, Consulate General of India, Toronto who inaugurated the event on 20th November, 2009 also utilised the presence of Indian delegates to host a special business networking breakfast meeting a day before the event, which was attended by more than 100 Canadian business and healthcare leaders, who deliberated on ““Developing synergies between India and Canada in the Healthcare sector”
The major highlight of the events were an experience sharing session by Canadian patients who were recently treated at Indian hospitals and a Roundtable Meeting at the Ontario Provincial Health Authority Office where leaders from the Canadian and Indian Healthcare industry discussed possibilities of cooperation in areas as diverse as telemedicine and public health. The Ontario Health Authority also evinced interest in the excellent quality and cost of healthcare delivery by leading Indian hospitals and announced plans to send a senior delegation to visit hospitals in India and look at how strengths of Indian healthcare can be utilised for bringing down the wait lists.
Indian Medical Travel Association, the Embassy of India in Canada, Ministry of Tourism and Surgical Tourism, Canada joined hands to hold this first ever specialized trade show in Canada to promote Medical Value Travel to India. Major exhibitors and presenters at the IMTD 2009 from India were Fortis Healthcare, Max Hospitals, Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre, Chennai, Lakeshore Hospital and KIMS from Kerala, Madras Joint Replacement Centre from Chennai, Soukya Wellness Centre, Bangalore, and Mann Medicity from Jalandar.
The Indian Ministry of Tourism which has launched a highly successful “Incredible India” campaign to promote India, has approved participation in IMTD 2009 by JCI and NABH accredited Indian hospitals and other eligible medical travel facilitators under its MDA – Market development Assistance Scheme. Therefore the participating hospitals were able to get financial support for a major part of the promotional expenses under the MDA scheme from the Ministry of Tourism.
According to Mr Pradeep Thukral. Executive Director, Indian Medical Travel Association, “Canada as a market for promoting medical tourism to India holds great potential. It has socialised system of healthcare delivery that is under strain and waiting lists are growing. A large surgical wait list of almost 850,000 Canadians , pointed towards the need for this conference. Canadians tired of waiting are now open to visit and learn about their multitude of options beyond the realms of the public health system. IMTD therefore attracted massive local media interest in Canada with leading channels like CBC, Toronto Star and The Epoch Times covering the event. “
About Indian Medical Travel Association. www.indianmedicaltravelassociation.com
A non profit body aimed at preparing India for facing the challenges of global competition in Medical Tourism space and actualise the tremendous opportunity for India to become a leading global healthcare destination. IMTA’s membership has a diverse base of India’s leading JCI, NABH accredited hospitals, Indian System of Medicine and Wellness service providers, travel industry, Insurance, Assistance and Medical Tourism facilitation companies.
