Category Archives: Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

Dubai medical tourism packages with visa, hotel

Posted on May 19, 2014 | Comments Off on Dubai medical tourism packages with visa, hotel

Providers of medical tourism packages will be required to acquire membership of Medical Tourism Club

by Majorie van Leijen

Come September, and people visiting Dubai seeking medical care will be met with more than a treatment on a hospital bed: visa, hotel accommodation as well as recreational activities for families who accompany patients will be included in the medical tourism package.

Hospitals and healthcare facilities that wish to provide services to medical tourists will be required to provide all-inclusive medical tourism packages and acquire membership from the Medical Tourism Club from September 1, 2014, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) said.

The initiative is aimed to streamline medical tourism for the emirate by including all stakeholders in the process. “All relevant stakeholders including immigration, aviation industry, hospitality sector, and public and private hospitals will work together to ensure medical tourists receive both excellent treatment as well as world-class hospitality that Dubai is synonymous with,” explained Ramadan Ibrahim, Director of Medical Regulation and of the Medical Tourism Programme.

Under the scheme, providers of medical tourism packages will be required to acquire membership of the Medical Tourism Club, a non-profit club subjected to eligibility of the provider.

“For example, they need to provide us details of the specialties they would like to promote, details of the doctors who provide those specialties, the number of procedures they have conducted, etc,” said Ibrahim.

“In addition to medical facilities, we will also evaluate hospitals on the basis of the comfort and ease they provide patients. This includes checking whether they have translators, chauffer services etc., which will all be part of the medical tourism package.

Based on the score, which is to be evaluated by the DHA, providers will receive platinum, gold or silver membership. “The first package will be launched in September this year and will be wellness and preventive services package,” adds Ibrahim.

Priority areas of medical tourism services in the UAE are orthopaedic and sports medicine, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, dental procedures, dermatology and preventive health check-ups.

In a business that globally turns around $30 billion annually and is expected to double by end-2020, Dubai aims to utilise its position as a leading tourism destination and extend it to include an offering of its medical services.

A Dubai Medical tourism website will be launched by the last quarter of 2014 and will include all details and hyperlinks of the approved members.

source: http://www.emirates247.com / Emirates247 / Home> News> Emirates / by Majorie van Leijen / Tuesday – May 13th, 2014

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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, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

Germans to Travel to Poland for Treatment?

Posted on May 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Germans to Travel to Poland for Treatment?

WARSAW, Poland :

Medical tourism experts see Poland as potentially significant player in this industry. The country’s popularization as a hotspot for foreign patients is the result of implementation of the Ministry of Economy’s program: “Promotion of the Polish economy on international markets”. Promotion is underway in Germany, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia, and theUSA.

A commercial mission of Polish medical centers was organized in Germany on 9-11.04. There were 60 participants fromPoland and Germany and invited guests. Polish companies returned home with the prospect of new contracts on the German market.

Representatives of Polish companies met with German experts, representatives of medical tourism environments, and other potential business partners. Two conferences were held during this mission: in Cologne and Berlin.  The first, in Cologne, was addressed to travel agencies and medical tourism intermediaries. The meeting in Berlin concerned health care funds. The leitmotif was the cross-border health care directive, discussed by leading expert and co-author of the directive, Dr. Günter Danser.

Talks between potential partners from both countries also took place during matchmaking sessions in Cologne and Berlin. Hospitals enjoyed the greatest interest among German health care funds, and among medical tourism intermediaries, sanatoriums and dental clinics attracted the most interest.

Still planned for 2014: studio visit of foreign journalists to Poland (May), a mission to the United Kingdom and participation in The Health&Medical Tourism Show (July); mission to Denmark and Health&Rehab Scandinavia (September); international conference in Washington “Poland – fast growing health destination” and World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress (September); mission to Sweden and Norway (November), studio visit of foreign industry partners to Poland(December).

source: http://www.prnewswire.co.uk / Home> Healthcare & Hospitals> Travel Industry / May 07th,  2014 / www.polandmedicaltourism.com

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Posted in Reports,Features, Statistics, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

“Meditels” Provide High-Quality Korean Medical Care and a Resort-Like Space to Foreign Patients

Posted on May 16, 2014 | Comments Off on “Meditels” Provide High-Quality Korean Medical Care and a Resort-Like Space to Foreign Patients

Seoul ,  South Korea :

WE Hotel is constructed as a “Meditel” in South Korea’s best resort province of Jeju Island.

Over 20 Meditels, which are built for patients to experience both the high-quality medical services of South Korean hospitals and a resort-like space, will be established nationwide by 2020.

Last March, the South Korean government officially allowed the construction and management of Meditels for foreign patients visiting South Korea to enjoy both high-quality medical services and tourism.

Meditel is a compound of “medicine” and “hotel”. It is built to provide Korean medical services and lodging facilities in one building to foreign patients. Currently, five Meditels, where foreign patients are expected to visit, are under construction.

The first Meditel that opened in South Korea is the WE Hotel in Jeju Island, the best tourism site of South Korea.KRW 60 billion was invested and the WE Hotel recently opened with 90 guest rooms. In particular, the hotel provides five-star hotel services and medical services. The Jeju Provincial Government prepared for three years for the construction of the Meditel. WE Hotel is a five-storied Meditel with a land area of 29,980 sq. m and a building area of 4,830 sq. m. Taking advantage of the beautiful natural scenery of Jeju, the Hotel provides diverse programs, such as trekking and hiking to foreign patients.

WE Hotel is drawing much attention among high-income patients of Asia, including China and Japan. Many foreign dignitaries participated at the WE Hotel’s opening ceremony. Its primary goal is to draw over 5,000 patients annually.

In addition, the construction of a Meditel with 700 five-star class guest rooms is expected to be completed in 2017 in Gimpo-si Gyeonggi-do Province in South Korea. The Gimpo Municipal Government is recently building a medical tourism business hotel in the Gochon logistics complex jointly with an investment consulting firm in Hong Kong.

In turn, Daegu-si will open two Meditels with five-star class hotel facilities by May this year. These Meditels will provide five-star class hotel services and medical services of 10 hospitals.

The Busan Metropolitan Government will also create a medical resort town with a Meditel in its Dongbusan tourism complex jointly with the Busan Medical Industry Association by 2017.

“Starting this year, Meditels are expected to be actively constructed to provide both high-quality medical services and tourism services to foreign patients visiting South Korea,” an officer of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute said. “They are expected to provide better services to foreign patients visiting South Korea, whose number is rapidly increasing by the year.”

Inquiries: KHIDI, Global Healthcare Business Department

JAY. Lee / 82-70-8146-8980 / widersceo@gmail.com

Source : KHIDI

source: http://www.news.gnomes.es / Gnomes National News Service / Seoul, South Korea / May 06th, 2014

 

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Posted in Health /Medical Treatment For Overseas Treatment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Medical Treatment/Health Treatment Subject By Speciality, Reports,Features, Statistics, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

The Flourishing Medical Tourism Business in America

Posted on April 27, 2014 | Comments Off on The Flourishing Medical Tourism Business in America

The Jackson International program at Miami’s Jackson Health System draws patients to the U.S. with concierge services. Elective international patients want extra amenities in addition to high-quality care.

Jackson Health System

Jackson Health System

For the average person on the street, “medical tourism” still conjures images of the rich and fabulous getting nipped and tucked in Mexico or southeast Asia, recovering in a cabana by the pool with bottomless pitchers of mai tais.

Yet as many hospital executives know, the United States is a leading destination for medical tourists—the third-most popular healthcare destination worldwide in 2012, with 800,000 international patients flying in to seek care, according to Patients Beyond Borders , an informational publisher for medical tourists.

And in Florida, legislators are trying to boost that number even more. Recent proposals in the state’s House and Senate would pump $5 million into efforts to the local healthcare industry to draw potential patients worldwide . The measures have support from bipartisan lawmakers and several Florida health systems, which stand to benefit from a potential increase in patients coming from abroad.

One such organization is Jackson Health System, a Miami-based nonprofit academic medical system that already treats about 2,500 foreign patients a year, generating $78.3 million each year in gross charges from international payments. The six-hospital health system, which is affiliated with the University of Miami and Florida International University medical schools, has made an investment in catering to medical tourists, spending around $2.1 million a year to run the program.

“International patients seek treatment in the United States to access medical services with high success rates and good outcomes for surgeries and procedures that are not available in their country of origin,” says Sonia Valdez, marketing manager for the health system’s international department told HealthLeaders Media. “The elective international patient tends to look for value-added services or amenities when choosing a treatment facility.”

The health system’s Jackson International  website describes such services and amenities in detail, including 24-hour concierge services, lavish patient amenities, and executive physicals.

“Jackson’s international program offers international patients unmatched medical expertise, exceptional service, and peace of mind,” Valdez says. “Our program was designed to provide patients with compassionate support and valuable guidance, as well as quick access to one of the top-rated hospitals in the United States.”

The most popular services promoted on by Jackson International are high-risk obstetrics, pediatric cardiovascular services, trauma, and neurology. A “concierge process” offers quick admissions; “streamlined coordination” of all care; and “hospitality coordinators” for each patient, available 24 hours a day, who arrange transportation for patients (via air ambulance) and accompanying family members and friends, lodging for family and friends, and other non-medical needs. Jackson uses online registration to pre-qualify patients and determine “financial eligibility,” including insurance coverage.

To drive potential medical tourists to their website and hospitals, Jackson reaches out to international patients in several ways.

“Jackson’s international program focuses on marketing strategies to reach out to international patient referral sources through academic exchanges with foreign physicians,” Valdez says. “[We also use] traditional brand awareness activities, such as industry conferences and tradeshows, which have both proven to be successful in fostering the Jackson Health System brand abroad.”

For other healthcare organizations in many parts of the country, it could be worth the extra investment to learn more about how to attract and cater to these patients, many of whom pay cash.

“Hospitals in geographic areas with high tourism will always have international patients seeking medical attention,” Valdez says. “Any hospital would benefit from expanding those services to patients seeking expert medical treatment on an elective basis.”

So will Florida become America’s Bangkok of medical tourism? The jury is still out, but one enthusiastic state lawmaker thinks the state has been for quite some time.

“Medical tourism has existed in Florida since Ponce de Leon set out in search of the Fountain of Youth,” says state Sen. Aaron Bean, who is co-sponsoring the Florida legislature’s bill, told the Miami Herald.

Move over, Mickey—Disney might not be Florida’s main draw for international tourists much longer.

source:  http://www.healthleadersmedia.com / HealthLeaders Media / Home> Marketing> Marketing – Spotlight / by Marianne Aiello for HealthLeader Media / April 16th, 2014

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Posted in Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Reports,Features, Statistics, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

Florida Lawmakers: Come for Surgery; Enjoy the Sunshine

Posted on April 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Florida Lawmakers: Come for Surgery; Enjoy the Sunshine

Tallahassee :

Florida lawmakers have a new vision for the tourism industry.

Forget Mickey Mouse and the beaches. Their goal is to make Florida an international destination for people seeking top-notch medical care.

Proposals in the state House and Senate seek to pump $5 million into efforts to promote Florida’s health care industry to potential patients worldwide.

That’s welcome news to providers like Broward Health, a public health system that already sees thousands of so-called medical tourists each year.

“It will only enhance the activities that have already been going on at our hospital, as well as others around the state,” said Abbe Bendell, vice president of Broward Health International.

Also standing to benefit: hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions near hospitals and clinics.

The measure has bipartisan support in the Legislature and the backing of key leaders such as Senate President Don Gaetz.

But Renee-Marie Stephano, president of the Palm Beach County-based Medical Tourism Association, said it will take more than marketing dollars to make Florida a hot spot for medical tourism.

“Advertising is not enough,” Stephano said. “Some of those funds should be allocated to underlying service development, like helping (health care providers) understand the unique needs of international patients.”

Medical tourism isn’t a new concept for the Sunshine State.

“Medical tourism has existed in Florida since Ponce de Leon set out in search of the fountain of youth,” said Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, who is sponsoring the bill with Rep. Patrick Rooney Jr., R-West Palm Beach.

But as transportation and communications technology have improved, more people are seeking medical care outside of their immediate com­mu­nities.

Experts say the global medical tourism market is valued somewhere between $10 billion and $60 billion annually. The size of the industry in Florida is not clear.

One thing is certain: Health care providers in the Sunshine State already are drawing patients from other states and countries.

International patients, in particular, can be a boon. Many pay cash.

Forty percent of patients at the Lung Institute, a private pulmonary practice in Tampa, come from outside Florida, director of operations Lynne Flaherty said.

“We see patients from Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia,” Flaherty said. “They come from Canada, the United Kingdom, the Philippines and South Africa, too.”

The Lung Institute helps patients book hotels and secure transportation.

The bills moving through the Legislature (SB 1150 and HB 1223) would require the state’s tourism marketing organization to beef up its promotional efforts.

The legislative proposal are also are establish a matching grant program encouraging local and regional economic development organizations to create targeted medical tourism marketing initiatives.

The price tag: $5 million from the state’s general revenue account for each of the next four years.

Other proposals would work in concert with the medical tourism bill. For example, both chambers are considering a bill that would expand access to tele­medicine.

source: http://www.theledger.com / The Ledger / Home> News /  By Kathleen McGrory – Times / Herald / Thursday – April 10th, 2014

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Posted in Health /Medical Treatment For Overseas Treatment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Medical Treatment/Health Treatment Subject By Speciality, Reports,Features, Statistics, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas