Category Archives: Associations/Organisations/Government/NonGovernment

Kerala all Set to Become a Global AYUSH Destination

Posted on March 5, 2016 | Comments Off on Kerala all Set to Become a Global AYUSH Destination

 

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala releasing the Kerala Ayush Health Policy 2016 by handing over a copy to Health Minister V S Sivakumar in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. K Muraleedharan MLA and M Beena, Secretary, Department of Ayush, are also seen | Manu R Mavelil

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala releasing the Kerala Ayush Health Policy 2016 by handing over a copy to Health Minister V S Sivakumar in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. K Muraleedharan MLA and M Beena, Secretary, Department of Ayush, are also seen | Manu R Mavelil

Thiruvananthapuram  :

The state government envisages to make Kerala the global capital of AYUSH systems of healthcare and to position the state as a preferred AYUSH destination in the global Map.  The Kerala AYUSH Health Policy 2016, which was released on Thursday, states that AYUSH systems of medicines will be made a preferred choice of treatment in primary health centres.

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala released the policy by handing over a copy to Health Minister V S Sivakumar. K Muraleedharan MLA, ISM director Dr Anitha Jacob, Homoeopathy director K Jamuna, Ayurveda Medical Education director Dr T Shivadas and others were present at the function.

The policy urges the Ayush Department to jointly partner with the national and international tourism establishments to make the state the most preferred destination of AYUSH medical tourism and wellness tourism.

According to the policy, the state should have a public sector drug manufacturing unit for Siddha and Unani.  On Medical Pluralism, the policy says that the state government should strive to provide the public with the right to choose treatment as envisaged by WHO and the National policy. It also says AYUSH holistic treatment centres will be established throughout the state and the potentials of AYUSH would be explored into other areas like veterinary sciences and agriculture.

It also says that efforts would be taken to start block-level Ayurveda hospitals, taluk- level homoeopathy hospitals, specialty clinics in district and taluk hospitals. Moreover, the feasibility of starting Siddha hospitals would also be assessed.

Considering that AYUSH has a wider acceptance among the tribal population, steps would be taken to provide AYUSH healthcare services to them. The policy also moots the establishment of wellness and palliative care centres.

It has been said that the existing Government Ayurveda Research Institute for Mental Diseases in Kottakal, will be upgraded to a centre of excellence.

As part of medical education, AYUSH University would be established to enhance the quality of AYUSH health stream. It also states that efforts would be  taken to frame accreditation standard for medical colleges.

It also calls for establishing different streams of medical colleges. In  school syllabus, AYUSH subjects would be included, the policy says. It also plans to provide effective control and treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

What Ayush Envisages

■ Make Kerala 100 per cent Ayurveda and Homoeopathy state by providing these facilities to all local self- government institutions.

■ Exclusive state research centre, upgradation of the existing infrastructure and developing new facilities, including hospitals and dispensaries.

■ To establish the state as the model state for best quality AYUSH education in the country.

■ Kerala to be a model state for best quality AYUSH education in the country.

■ AYUSH holistic treatment centres will be established throughout the state

■ AYUSH University to be established to enhance the quality of AYUSH health stream.

■ To provide the public with the right to choose treatment as envisaged by WHO and the National policy

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service / March 04th, 2016

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Posted in Associations/Organisations/Government/NonGovernment, Health /Medical Treatment For Overseas Treatment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Medical Treatment/Health Treatment Subject By Speciality, Reports,Features, Statistics, Wellness Tourism

Medical fees for foreign patients to be disclosed

Posted on March 3, 2016 | Comments Off on Medical fees for foreign patients to be disclosed

 

Fifty medical centers have disclosed their fees to prevent illegal brokerage activities and provide credible service information, as a growing number of foreign patients seek treatment here.

The move is the first of its kind, in line with the central government’s efforts to push plastic surgery clinics to disclose their fees for price comparisons.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Organization said Thursday that the information is available on www.visitmedicalkorea.com.

The 50 centers, ranging from hospitals to clinics, are partners with the city government, including Asan Medical Center, Samsung Medical Center, Severance Hospital, Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Wonjin Beauty Medical Group, Oracle Clinic and Cheil General Hospital & Women’s Healthcare Center.

“This is part of the city’s efforts to build trust among medical tourists in Seoul,” said the city government. “We hope this will prevent brokers and hospitals from overcharging their clients.”
However, the disclosure of the medical services fees is limited to certain categories. For example, Asan Medical Center only reveals the price for its cancer health checkup package. Likewise, Severance Hospital only discloses the price for a general health check.

“It was impossible to get them reveal all the fees,” one official said. “The prices are secret for the hospitals, and they strongly resisted the plan when we first brought the idea to them. But we believe it is a good start and will motivate them to disclose more.”

According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, the number of medical tourists in 2014 was 155,000, a 25 percent rise from the previously year. Most of them are Chinese patients. Internal medicine was found to represent the largest portion of treatments, followed by plastic surgery, dermatology and general health checks.

With the rise of medical tourism, complaints have also risen from patients that they were overcharged.

To prevent overcharging, the health ministry has pushed plastic surgery clinics to reveal their fees. The government has also allowed medical tourists to get taxes refunded at the airport on departure.

The city government began addressing the problem on its own to prevent overcharging of foreign patients. The city also introduced a pickup service for tourists from the airport this month.

source: http://www.koreatimes.com / The Korea Times / Home> National> Briefs / by Kim Se-jeong  , skim@ktimes.com / March 03rd, 2016

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Posted in Associations/Organisations/Government/NonGovernment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Reports,Features, Statistics, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

Malaysia Airlines promotes Malaysia as a premier medical tourism destination with Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council

Posted on March 2, 2016 | Comments Off on Malaysia Airlines promotes Malaysia as a premier medical tourism destination with Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council

The FINANCIAL — Malaysia Airlines Berhad on February 29 announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC).  Under the MOU, Malaysia Airlines will be positioned as MHTC’s preferred healthcare tourism airline with both parties jointly exploring marketing activities to position Malaysia as the premier healthcare destination regionally and globally.

As the official airline, Malaysia Airlines will support MHTC with sponsored tickets for familiarization trips to Malaysia.  This will also be supplemented with discounted rates for guests traveling to Malaysia for medical tourism purposes.  The offer begins today and is valid for a period of one year.

The MOU was signed by Mr. Paul Simmons, Chief Commercial Officer of Malaysia Airlines and Ms Sherene Azli, Chief Executive Officer of MHTC and witnessed by the Minister of Health Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam and Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, the Director General of Health, according to Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer said, “Malaysia Airlines is delighted to be partnering Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council for this important market segment.  As the country’s national airline, we are fully supportive of the country as the leading destination for medical tourism. Guests who choose Malaysia for health tourism will have the opportunity to benefit from the internationally accredited medical facilities as well as the beauty and tranquillity of Malaysia to recuperate in. Our comprehensive network within the country is the perfect complement to this, as the best way to fly to, from and around Malaysia”.

Sherene Azli, Chief Executive Officer of MHTC added “We are pleased with the collaboration with Malaysia Airlines in our efforts to position Malaysia as a premier healthcare destination regionally and globally. With the strong backing of our government, the assurance of quality health care and the accolades received, it certainly reinforces the fact that Malaysia has all the makings to be the world’s leading healthcare provider, and that is what we will continue to strive towards”.

The signing took place during the Malaysia Healthcare Media Week (MHMW), which was Organised by the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), an agency under the Ministry of Health Malaysia.  The MHMW is used as a platform to further strengthen and grow the Malaysia Healthcare brand positioning among the local and international media.

source: http://www.finchannel.com / Financial / Home / by News Editor / Published in Travel Biz News / Tuesday – March 01st, 2016

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Posted in Associations/Organisations/Government/NonGovernment, Health /Medical Treatment For Overseas Treatment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Reports,Features, Statistics

Spanish health tourism is up 20%

Posted on February 1, 2016 | Comments Off on Spanish health tourism is up 20%

Health tourism is growing in Spain at a rate of 20% per year, in both revenue and patient volume. It is estimated that the sector has brought more than 500 million euros into the country in 2015. Globally, the health tourism industry generates more than 75,000 million euros every year.

spanishCT01feb2016

Inigo Valcaneras, the director of Spaincares, the organization that released the data, commented that while the growth has been maintained, Spain, at the moment, is getting only a small share of the potential market. “We were looking at 500 million euros, while I believe we should be among the 3 or 4 countries capturing most of the business,” said Valcaneras. “Spain has all the potential to be one of the leading countries in health tourism globally.”

Currently, the most popular countries among health tourists are Germany, UK, USA, and other countries with less reputable healthcare systems such as Israel or Turkey, according to Valcaneras. Although globally Spain is the country receiving the third highest number of leisure tourists, at the same time, he adds: “We have a very efficient and a very good healthcare system.”

Spaincares is a strategic alliance between Spain’s tourism and health sectors. The Spanish Health Tourism Cluster was formed with the dual aim of positioning Spain as a leader in the market and attracting patients to the local healthcare facilities.

According to Valcaneras, Spain meets all the requirements to offer a very competitive value for health tourists. 2016 is expected to the year of health tourism in Spain. “Spain’s commitment will be very clear; it is going to grow the business,” he noted.

Hospitals specializing in the care of foreign patients, spas, rehabilitation centers and specialist tour operators, as well as insurance companies and health tourism destinations are some of the main areas of focus.

“From the health tourism industry point of view we see that there are different markets which we have to segment. There is a high demand for health spas in countries like Germany or France with great thermal culture as well as the rehab centers in the Nordic countries where 20% of the population is over 65,” he stated.

Moreover, hospitals have a better chance in Arab countries and Russia where there is a demand for highly complex treatments such as oncology or cardiac surgery. There is also a demand for less complex treatments such as cosmetic surgery for which there is a large market among the European population.

source: http://www.tourism-review.com / Tourism-Review.com / Home> .TR News / February 01st, 2016

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Posted in Associations/Organisations/Government/NonGovernment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism

Gallery

Health tourism tipped to boost Tunisian economy

Posted on January 24, 2016

This gallery contains 1 photos.

The promotion of health tourism is a promising niche market able to boost Tunisia’s economy, says Tunisia’s ambassador to France Mohamed Ali Chihi Speaking at 34th international water and wellness fair “Thermalies” in Paris, Ali Chihi said health tourism could … Continue reading →

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