President’s Blog, Renee-Marie Stephano

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