Davao City :
Fresh from renovation and facilities upgrade, Davao Doctors Hospital (DDH) has started securing international accreditation to become a medical tourism facility by 2016.
Raymund C.S. del Val, president and chief executive officer of DDH, said the hospital has also started discussing with possible partners on how to package and promote the facility — 34% owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. — to both local and foreign tourists.
“The first issue is the facility where you will avail of the services is one that you think is internationally accepted,” Mr. del Val said.
The hospital specializes in orthopedics, nuclear medicine and spine surgery, among others.
Among the accreditations the hospital is seeking is a certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Hospitals that want to be declared as a medical tourism facility are required to have an ISO certificate under the amended Tourism Code of Davao City.
The city council approved the revised Tourism Code last month, which now includes medical services as a potential driver of tourism.
International consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers forecasts that global medical tourism could be a $10-trillion industry by 2020, from about $2.7 trillion in 2002.
source: http://www.bworldonline.com / Business World Online / Home> Corporate News / by Carmelito O Francisco, Correspondent / Manila, Phillippines – December 31st, 2014
