President’s Blog, Renee-Marie Stephano

The Medical Tourism Association announces the first medical tourism facilitators/medical travel facilitators to be certified by the Medical Tourism Association’s, Medical Tourism Facilitator Certification /Medical Travel Facilitator Certification.   The first medical tourism facilitators to be certified are:

●     Debson Medical Tourism (http://debsonmedicaltourism.com/)

        ●     Surgical Trip, LLC (http://surgicaltrip.com/)

        ●     MedVoy, Inc. (https://www.medvoy.com/)

Medical Tourism Facilitators are organizations that are involved in the coordination of patient care for patients traveling from one country to another.  The certification process is a detailed process of evaluation which may take up to 120 days to complete. The standards have been developed by healthcare leaders from around the world in an effort to create best practices in the medical tourism industry.  The key to the MTA’s program is transparency in the services being offered to international patients.

“Our certification program has successfully completed the pilot program stage.  The best practices outlined in the program have been used by many companies as a blueprint for developing their business models in the medical tourism industry. We know that patients will find a tremendous value in understanding what services can be made available to them and that their facilitation partners have transparency at the forefront of their business practices,” said Jessica Johnson, Director of Operations at the Medical Tourism Association. 

“We are very excited to be one of a select few facilitators to receive certification.  This certification will show insurance companies, employers and health insurance agents that we hold ourselves to the highest standard when it comes to patient practices, processes and HIPAA privacy,” stated Tom O’Hara of Surgical Trip.

Raj Joseph of MedVoy stated, “MTA certification not only enabled us to put the right processes and procedures in place but also provided an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment towards patient safety and positive outcomes.  Patients must take the time to understand whom they are working with to avoid any surprises.”

“Debson Medical Tourism is privileged to be one of the first 3 certified members of the Medical Tourism Association.  It has been a long road towards achieving this goal and we understand that the elements of transparency, education and communication are the key to ensuring patient safety. For anyone considering certification, I personally believe that the Certification process of the MTA in itself is a good tool for preparing any medical tourism company to properly handle international patients,” said Dr. Zoumanan Debe.

To learn more about Medical Tourism Facilitator Certification go to:  http://medicaltourismassociation.com/certification.html.

For more information about medical tourism facilitator certification/medical travel facilitator certification contact Jessica Johnson at Jessica@MedicalTourismAssociation.com or call US 561-791-2000.

The Medical Tourism Association officially releases Issue 5 of our leading onlineHealth Tourism Magazine.

The issue features special articles such as Medical Tourism Comes to Macau~ World’s Largest Integrative One-Stop Wellness Center, The Caribbean ~ Next Health Tourism Mecca and many more including Healthy Mind Set For Higher Awareness and Sound Therapy.

To read the whole issue please Click Here…

Renee-Marie Stephano

The Medical Tourism Association along with KHIDI announces Ori Karev, Chief Executive Officer, UnitedHealth International as a speaker for the upcoming regional conference, the Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Conference Korea.

To learn more please go to:

http://www.prlog.org/10547297-unitedhealth-international-to-present-at-asia-medical-tourism-and-global-healthcare-conference.html

and to learn more about the congress go to:

http://www.asiamedicaltourismcongress.com/

The MTA is the first international non-profit assn. made up of the top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical travel facilitators, insurance companies, members with the common goal of promoting the highest level of quality of healthcare.

The 1^st Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Korea Congress will feature up to 800 attendees from over 25 countries and will focus on the high quality of healthcare available in Asia. It will also bring together the stakeholders involved in Asian medical tourism for intense networking event and educational opportunities.

Conference Highlights

• Up To 800 Attendees
• US Health Insurance Companies and Insurance Providers Invited
• Industry Players From Over 25 countries
• Highlighting The High Quality Of Care Available In Asia Korea
• The Top Medical Tourism Facilitators Invited

Seoul, Korea is one the emerging leading destinations for medical tourism and global healthcare in the world. The 1st Asia Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress will take place April, 13-15th, 2010 in Seoul, Korea as a joint initiative between the Medical Tourism Association (MTA), Korean Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). http://www.asiamedicaltourismcongress.com/

Republican Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts in winning Senator Kennedy’s seat for the Senate could grind President Obama’s agenda to a halt and could be a vision of the future American’s not being happy with the current healthcare reform bill and not wanting it to pass as it currently is. No one expected this victory especially since in Massachusetts Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-to-1 in the state — 37 percent of registered voters are Democrats, 12 percent are Republicans and 51 percent are unaffiliated. Obama won Massachusetts by 26 percentage points in the 2008 presidential election. This could also be an eye opener for other Democrats who were pushing through healthcare reform who have elections upcoming in their states.

The Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Conference Korea (http://www.asiamedicaltourismcongress.com) will take place April, 13-16th, 2010 in Seoul as a joint initiative between the Medical Tourism Association (MTA) and Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). Seoul, Korea is one of the emerging leading destinations for medical tourism and global healthcare in the world. Asia is the first region to promote medical tourism, with millions of patients from all over the world traveling for medical care, dental care and cosmetic surgery as well as executive health checkups.

Jae-Hee Jeon, the Minister for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs stated, “Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Conference Korea 2010 is the first annual global healthcare conference hosted by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs of Korea. We are proud to have the event to prove to the world our excellence in quality of care and the readiness of Korea Government and healthcare providers to better serve international patients medically and financially in need.”

This Conference will feature up to 1000 attendees from over 25 countries bringing together the stakeholders for intense networking events and educational opportunities. The conference delegates would include worldwide selection of Healthcare Providers, International Insurance Providers, Employers, Top Medical Tourism Facilitators, Travel Agents and Referring Physicians.

Dr. Bupwan Kim, the President of KHIDI, said, “There has been a significant increase of the incoming foreign patients looking for Korea’s world-class healthcare services since 2007. As the leading healthcare country in Asia, we’d like to discuss all the critical issues in regard to the global healthcare industry and the best way to develop the industry through the Global Healthcare & Medical Tourism Congress Korea 2010. This conference will be the great opportunity to develop and reinforce global networks among medical providers, insurance companies and facilitators.”

This conference is a Global Healthcare Conference event in partnership with the Medical Tourism Association, the first international non-profit association made up of the top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical travel facilitators, insurance companies, and other affiliated companies and members with the common goal of promoting the highest level of quality of healthcare to patients in a global environment.

The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) is funded by the Korean government and was established to support the Korean health industry. KHIDI develops the national strategies and policies on global healthcare industry as well as promotes Korean healthcare brand “Medical Korea” to the world.

For more information on the Congress, please contact info@asiamedicaltourismcongress.com, http://www.asiamedicaltourismcongress.com

SOURCE Medical Tourism Association

Today, USA TODAY named Medical Tourism as on of Top Ten Travel Trends of 2010! To read more about this, check out the article at: http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com/media.html.

Renee

An increasing number of people are travelling outside of the UAE to undergo medical procedures, from hip replacements to face lifts. Sudeshna Ghosh takes a look at the top medical tourism destinations. To read more, please go to our MEDIA page at: http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com/media.html. Click on the article “Journey to Wellness from the UAE”

Renee

The MTA, along with Chihuahua Medical City,will be hosting a “FAM” Trip, or Familiarization Trip to Chihuahua Mexico January 18th-21st 2010.

Chihuahua Medical City is a strategy that brings together the best hopsitals and clinics in the city of Chihuahua. Their mission is to provide high-quality healthcare and travel services to both the domestic and international market, integrating the value chain sectors. In recent years Mexico has become a popular destination for Medical Tourism, especially for US citizens, since the proximity is very convenient. There is also a high rate of fluency of both English and Spanish. Like most Latin America countries, Mexico has of overall friendly and family oriented culture. Flights are offered in plenty from the US and airfares are reasonable. If you live in Texas you even have the option to drive, as its about a 3 hour drive from El Paso.

To learn more about MTA FAM Trips please go to http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com/familiarization-tour.html

Renee