The Medical Tourism Association (http://www.MedicalTourismAssociation.com)

 who was the organizer of the congress show-cased the pioneering effort as part of its endeavor to initiate several educative measures to acquaint the average medical traveler with important aspects of the seeking medical assistance from foreign lands. The documentary provides insight into the high quality of healthcare that Americans and traveling patients worldwide can receive when they travel to a foreign country.

“This portrayal will bring to the notice of global audiences the high quality of healthcare available across several countries and change the image of medical tourism. MTA has diligently worked on this project for over a year with the sole goal of making available a patient’s actual experience,” said Prem Jagyasi, chief strategy officer, Medical Tourism Association.

Free for public viewing on the official MTA website, it is expected to be watched by patients, employers, insurance companies and medical tourism facilitators. MTA is committed to its mission of elevating the levels of public awareness about medical tourism and works such as these are a demonstration of this. We will continue to work on many more documentaries and other educative tools.

“This is just one of the many initiatives the MTA has rolled out to educate the public across the world about the potential of medical tourism,” said Vivian Ho, strategic development officer, Medical Tourism Association.

The one hour film traces the experience of an American patient Bob who traveled to Costa Rica to undergo a double knee placement in an alien environment. He not only saves $80,000 but gets an excellent medical attention. His journey becomes even more pertinent as he represents a sizeable breed of first timers who until now had never left the shores of their homeland as they do not have a comprehensive health insurance. Deloitte estimates that in 2012, 1.6 million Americans will leave the US for medical care overseas.

Angels Overseas ~ Costa Rica edition is available for viewing on http://medicaltourismassociation.com/documentary.html.

 To get more information on the film please contact Jessica Johnson JJohnson@MedicalTourismAssociation.com

About MTA

The Medical Tourism Association (Medical Travel Association), also known as the Global Healthcare Association, http://medicaltourismassociation.com/ is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

 

The Medical Tourism Association Releases Podcast with Wouter Hoeberechts, CEO of WorldMed Assist - July 2009

Medical Tourism Magazine Announces a Call for Articles- July 2009

The Medical Tourism Association Releases Podcast with Alex Piper, President of OneWorld Health Solutions- July 2009

The Medical Tourism Association Announces Its Newest Member, Ageless Wonders Panama - July 2009

The Medical Tourism Association Announces Renee-Marie Stephano as President - July 2009

The Medical Tourism Association, the first international non-profit trade association for the medical tourism industry, announces Renée-Marie Stephano as the new President of the MTA.  Renée-Marie Stephano, formally the COO of the Medical Tourism Association still also serves as Editor of the Medical Tourism Magazine.  The growth of the MTA has been significant this year and this growth demands increased management. 

“We are pleased to announce Jessica Johnson as our new Operations Director and Jonathan Edelheit will remain as CEO.  MTA will soon be opening a new regional office in Pamana and Turkey and with the development of its regional offices; the Association foresees a greater ability to proactively improve communication and education for medical tourism through the world,” explains Stephano.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for me to further the development of the association in the areas of research and education,” adds Stephano.  “The MTA have been a leading driver in the industry through our education workshops and conferences.  From a business perspective, we are confident in our membership’s ability to provide the highest quality of care to their patients.  It is now time to take the next step in raising consumer awareness of this great potential.  With greater consumer awareness we should see medical tourism explode in consumer markets around the world including Russia, Asia, Europe, Canada the Middle East and in the United States,” she added.

Ms. Stephano received her Juris Doctorate degree in Law in Pennsylvania. She has a background in international marketing and health law and then went on to open her own law firm, spending six years serving as general counsel for a US national healthcare administrator which was the first US healthcare administrator to implement medical tourism into both self-funded and fully insured health plans in the United States.

Ms. Stephano works full time for the Medical Tourism Association and is considered a leader in her field in medical tourism. In her role at the Medical Tourism Association, Ms. Stephano helps countries and hospitals create strategic marketing plans and helps identify target markets.  Assisting in the creation of healthcare clusters composed of government bodies, hospitals, clinics, hotels and tour operators, Ms. Stephano has helped many countries further their goals of attracting foreign patients and international insurance companies. Ms. Stephano works with global health care providers to maintain transparency with respect to quality of care as they increase their flow of patients and she also works with medical tourism facilitators to establish best practices which ultimately ensure patient safety.

The Medical Tourism Association is made up of the top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical tourism 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

The Medical Tourism Association seeks to provide transparency in both quality of care and pricing. Every day we see more and more that the globalization of healthcare has created a very flat world. We exchange technology, information, communication, physicians and patients. In order to ensure patient safety, it is our goal to create a transparency about the quality of healthcare that can be found in each country. With this, it is increasingly important to create a transparency in pricing as well so patients traveling overseas for care can be sure of what they are receiving without hidden costs or unforeseen expenses. The Medical Tourism Association is also working on the Quality of Care Project, which will change the way we look at the reporting of global healthcare statistics and the quality of care available at hospitals around the world.

The MTA Hosts Jordan FAM Tour - July 2009

The World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress™ announces it’s 2009 Pre Conference Workshops and Agenda! The congress will be held in Los Angeles California, October 26th through October 28th. Given the challenges that most companies and industries are facing this year with the economic crisis, Medical Tourism is more important than ever before, creating more economically viable healthcare solutions  and providing a profitable return on investment. This is the one event per year where Employers, Self Funded Health Plans, Insurance Companies, and Medical Tourism Facilitators that are looking to outsource healthcare overseas have the opportunity to meet with top International Hospitals and Medical Tourism Companies in one place for the ultimate networking event. 
 
For 2009, we have greatly expanded the pre-conference workshops and panel sessions. We have a full agenda complete with additional breakout sessions which is sure to provide topics that every delegate will find riveting.

Workshop 1 - Marketing to International Insurance Companies, Employers, and Patients

Workshop 2 - International Patient Department Workshop

Workshop 3 - Medical Tourism 101 Workshop

Workshop 4 - Hospital/Clinic Contracting Workshop

Workshop 5 - Marketing to Health Insurance Agents Workshops

Workshop 6 - Implementing Medical Tourism in US Health Insurance Plans, a Employer, Third Party
Administrator (TPA) and Agent Workshop

Workshop 7 - Medical Tourism Facilitator Workshop

Workshop 8 - Internet Marketing, Email Marketing, Blogs and Social Networking as New Ways to
Attract Patients Workshop

Workshop 9 - Stop Loss Carrier/Reinsurer – Self Funded Employer Medical Tourism Workshop

Workshop 10- Creating a Healthcare City, Medical Cluster or Healthcare Provider Association to                
promote Medical Tourism

Workshop 11 - Ministry of Tourism Workshop

Workshop 12 - Ministry of Health Workshop

Workshop13 - After care and continuation of Care Workshop

Workshop 14 - Investment Opportunities in Medical Tourism Workshop

Workshop 15- Financing Healthcare Projects Workshop

Workshop 16 - Quality and Accreditation Workshops

Workshop 17- Health Leaders Private VIP Roundtable

Workshop18 - Legal Contracting Workshop Reducing Risk & Liability with Medical Tourism

Implementing Medical Tourism into a US Health Insurance Plan

Implementing medical tourism into a US health insurance plan for both fully insured and self funded employers requires modifying the benefit plan design, a proper enrollment plan with education on medical tourism, and implementing the correct incentives for employees that will result in utilization and employees traveling internationally for medical care.   This panel discussion will address these issues and many more and discuss what is needed to successfully implement medical tourism into a US group health insurance plan.

Employers Views on Medical Tourism & International Healthcare

What are the positive and negative views employers have for medical tourism? Why are employers in the US starting to implement medical tourism and what incentives are they providing to their employees in terms of waiving deductible, coinsurance and giving cash incentives or paid vacation leave? Learn what some employers are requiring from international hospitals and countries before implementing medical tourism.   Find out the how employers view international healthcare and the quality of healthcare delivered internationally.

Marketing

Marketing is one of the most important aspects of getting patients to engage in medical tourism and travel internationally for healthcare.   Many hospitals and healthcare providers fail at marketing themselves to international patients, employers, insurance companies and medical tourism facilitators.   As the medical tourism industry grows, more countries and hospitals are promoting their services making the competition in medical tourism much greater.   As this competition grows, hospitals, countries and healthcare providers need to be even more aggressive and creative in their marketing plans.   Learn what techniques and methods healthcare organizations need to do today to compete in a global marketplace.

The American Medical Tourist

Almost 50 million Americans have no health insurance and they make up the largest emerging market for medical tourism.   These 50 million Americans are commonly mistaken for being poor an unable to afford medical care, when in fact the average American without health insurances is estimated to make over $50,000 in annual income per year. Over 120 million Americans have no dental insurance. For these Americans without insurance, many are going to have little to no option because of the high cost of healthcare in the United States, except to travel internationally for healthcare.  The cost of surgeries and medical care internationally can be as much as 90% less than the cost in the United States.  As US health insurance companies and employers start to implement medical tourism and give financial incentives for patients to travel international for medical care, this expands the potential marketplace for Americans traveling internationally for healthcare to hundreds of millions.  This panel session will discuss why the American patient is one of the most sought after patient and how the American patient is anticipated to be the largest type of patient traveling internationally for healthcare.

Providing Effective and Quality Healthcare for International Employees and Expatriates

As the world is becoming more flat and our economies more globally dependent, more employers global operations and offices throughout the world.   These employers have employees working in multiple countries who need quality healthcare.  In addition to this, more people are retiring in foreign countries and these expatriates present huge potential for hospitals and healthcare providers.    For these international employers and these expatriates finding the right health insurance and receiving high quality of healthcare at top international hospitals is one of the most important priorities. This panel session will discuss issues with providing health insurance and high quality healthcare on an international basis for employees working internationally and expatriates.

Health Tourism and Spas

Health Tourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the Medical Tourism industry. Health Tourism typically refers to alternative medicine and spa treatments.  Millions of patients are traveling spending billions of US dollars each year and engaging in health tourism and using medical wellness, medical spas and spas.  This panel will discuss where the health tourism industry is headed, what type of health tourism activities most people are engaging in, why they are doing it, and where they are traveling to.

Choosing the Best Destination and the Best Hospital

How do you make the decision of what country and city to travel to for medical care and which is the right hospital and the right surgeon in that country.  This session will address how to make the right choice and create an open forum for discussion from the delegates as to what should the criteria be in a patient’s decision to travel internationally for healthcare.

Creating the Best Return on Investment (ROI) on Investing in Medical Tourism

Many hospitals, governments, facilitators, employers and insurance companies are analyzing how to achieve the best Return on Investment (ROI) when implementing and getting involved in the medical tourism industry.   This session will examine the economics of medical tourism and what are the best ways to maximize your organizations ROI in medical tourism so that you can achieve the best results and best outcomes.

Patient Perspective

This panel was the most popular panel from our 1st Medical Tourism Congress, and it will have several patients who have traveled internationally for healthcare explaining their experience leaving their home country and going to a foreign country for healthcare. They will explain their entire experience, what they liked, what they didn’t and what they would recommend to others. This panel gives a unique perspective into the thoughts and minds of those patients who have actually engaged and traveled for medical tourism and allows attendees to ask questions to them.

Accreditation & Quality, the Big Debate and the Next Step Forward

The experts on this panel will discuss how accreditation integrates with quality healthcare, and what the differences are between different accreditation systems. Is one accreditation system better than another? What are the differences between accreditation systems? What does accreditation and quality really mean? All these questions will be answered in this exciting, fast paced open forum discussion.

MTA Annual Member Meeting

This is the annual member meeting of the Medical Tourism Association. This meeting will have a short presentation of the past years projects and achievements of the medical tourism association and the goals and projects for the upcoming year. It will then be an open forum for members and non-members to discuss what the future of medical tourism holds and what projects and tasks the Medical Tourism Association should focus on.

The Internet and the International Patient

The internet is playing a huge role of how international patients are finding information on medical tourism and making their decision as to what country and hospital to go to for medical or dental care.   The majority of patients traveling internationally are finding their information on medical tourism through the internet.  This panel will discuss how the internet is playing a role in patients’ education and knowledge of quality of healthcare around the world and how and where those patients are finding their information.

After Care and Creating a Successful Continuation of Care Plan

Managing and putting in place a proper After Care and Continuation of Care plan for international patients is one of the most important aspects of medical tourism. This panel will discuss the importance of this process and what elements need to be in place to ensure a proper transition and continuation of care between the foreign provider and the domestic provider.

Technology Solutions for Medical Tourism & the Delivery of Global Healthcare

As patients travel throughout the world for the highest quality healthcare, and as medical barriers break down and collaboration occurs across country borders for the delivery of healthcare, new technology solutions are being developed to help efficiently deliver this healthcare and to increase the quality of medical care being delivered around the world. 

Role of Medical Tourism Facilitators

Medical Tourism facilitators play a critical role in the whole process of dealing with the patient.  Medical Tourism Facilitators sometimes referred to as Medical Travel Facilitators, hold the patients hand and guide the patient throughout the whole process. These organizations deal with the patient from the start and help educate the patient on country destinations, hospital options, surgeon options and even tourism options. They handle every detail of the process and are even getting involved in transferring medical records, helping patients get passports, and handling travel logistics and getting involved in the patients after care and rehabilitation. This session will discuss the role that the medical tourism facilitators provide to patients.   This panel will also discuss the importance of the medical tourism facilitator certification program launched by the Medical Tourism Association. The Medical Tourism Association certification program is meant to provide guidance as to those facilitators who are working towards the best practices in the industry for patients engaging in cross border healthcare.

Travel Agencies and Airlines Roles in Medical Tourism

Travel Agencies and Airlines will be playing an integral role in patients traveling for healthcare. It is estimated that as many as 23 million Americans could be traveling for medical tourism in 2017.   Millions of Patients from other countries will also be traveling each year for medical tourism.  For Travel Agencies and Airlines this represents millions of transactions as patients bring companions with them while they travel.   Prospective patients will need assistance in booking travel accommodations. Travel Agencies are starting to partner with Medical Tourism Facilitators and become the link to a seamless and 24 hour protected travel plan. Travel Agencies and Airlines can also offer facilitators additional discounts on tickets and hotel stays which will bring down the overall cost for the prospective patient.   Some of the most important issues for the prospective patient are affordability and quality.

Mini-Medical Plans / Limited Medical Plans and Medical Tourism

Mini Medical Plans and Limited Medical Plans are low cost healthcare plans for US employers for part time, hourly, and full time employees who are not eligible or who can’t afford for a major medical health insurance plan through their employer.  Millions of Americans are insured through these healthcare plans, which provide only basic healthcare coverage and do not offer comprehensive coverage and do not cover expensive surgeries. This session will explain how medical tourism can provide a significant benefit for mini medical and limited medical plans and how they can help turn the plans into a much more comprehensive and robust health plan fully covering major surgeries through medical tourism.

Alternative Medicine & Oriental Medicine

Many people throughout the world are traveling for alternative medicinal treatment and oriental medicine as an alternative or a complement to traditional medical care. Some hospitals have started to implement a “integrated approach” to medicine where they are mixing traditional medicine with alternative medicine for amazing results. Natural medicine will also be addressed as international insurance companies start to cover for patients treatment for “natural treatments” such as dead sea treatment for psoriasis and other medicinal treatments. This panel will address the different forms of alternative medicine and oriental medicine being performed around the world.

Travel Insurance, Air Ambulance and Emergency Evacuation

Services for International Patients

As patients and their companions start crossing borders for healthcare, many important pieces of a larger puzzle come into place in the areas of providing travel insurance and having the right procedures and partnerships in place for emergency evacuation and contingency plans. This panel will address what pieces of the puzzle need to be put together and how to form these partnerships.

International Health & the Law

When dealing with international medical care there are many legal questions and issues that may come up. This legal panel session will discuss what some of those legal questions and issues are and how to best address those issues, from jurisdiction issues, patient waivers, complications, insurance coverage and many more issues.

Russia and the Former Russian States – Demanding Quality Medical Care

Many hospitals are working hard to attract patients from Russia and the former Russian states as many of these patients are traveling internationally to receive the highest quality healthcare and are paying cash, and paying top dollar for the best medical care. This panel session will analyze this type of  “Russian” patient, and why are they traveling, what treatments are they traveling for, and why are they going to specific countries and hospitals for treatment.

Caribbean Medical Tourism: The Island Perspective

The Caribbean is slowly emerging as a future hot spot of both medical tourism and health tourism. Leaders from the Caribbean will discuss what the Caribbean has to offer in the areas of medical and health tourism and what the government sector and private sector are doing to grow this marketplace in the future.  This panel will also discuss how the Caribbean is a huge market of medical tourists.  Many people in the Caribbean leave and travel to other countries to receive complex high quality healthcare and surgeries.

The Future of Middle East Healthcare & North Africa

The Middle East provides an interesting model for review. Some countries in the Middle East do not have enough high quality hospitals to meet the demand of healthcare by the local population and thousands of patients are leaving each year spending billions of US dollars in top hospitals around the world.  Other locations in the Middle East such as Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) have invested a significant amount in high quality healthcare and developing centers of excellence. This panel session will examine opportunities in the Middle East for both inbound and outbound medical tourism.  This panel session will also discuss the huge potential market for medical tourism in North Africa, and why some hospitals and countries are extremely successful in attracting patients from North Africa to their hospitals.

Governments Role in Medical Tourism International Healthcare and Increasing Quality of Healthcare For the Local Population and Creating Healthcare Clusters and Medical Clusters

Many governments throughout the world are starting to promote Medical Tourism and work with their hospitals on a country initiative to promote the country for high quality of healthcare and for investment of healthcare infrastructure. This panel will discuss what countries are doing to promote their country and what other countries who are interested in promoting their country must do to successfully increase and grow medical tourism to their country.

Creating the Complete Patient Experience

Creating the complete patient experience is the reason why some hospitals are famous for medical tourism and are receiving the most international patients and are the envy of other hospitals from around the world. Find out what the top hospitals in the world are doing to create the complete patient experience.

Stem Cell Therapy / Stem Cell Treatment

Stem Cell Therapy is one of the most controversial topics around the world. There are some legitimate companies who are providing high quality treatments with success stories. At the same time there are others who are referred to as “charlatans”. This session will take a hard line approach and analysis of the global stem cell marketplace. What works, what doesn’t, and where people are traveling for stem cell therapy.

High Quality of Healthcare and Centers of Excellence

There are top hospitals in around the world known for their high quality of healthcare and their high volume and positive outcomes for complex medical procedures. This session will examine the quality of care available in several countries throughout world and how medical tourism offers patients the opportunities to be treated at worldwide centers of excellence.

Inbound Medical Tourism to the United States

For many years foreign patients have traveled to the United States because of the belief that the US has the highest quality of care and advanced medical equipment. This panel will discus why patients are traveling to the US from around the world, what medical procedures they are coming for.

Patient Safety in Cross Border Healthcare

A patient’s safety is the most important part of medical tourism. This session will discuss patient safety and what needs to be in place in order to ensure patient safety.   The session will also address the many issues surrounding patients crossing borders for healthcare.

Cosmetic Surgery

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of patients around the world are traveling to other countries to receive plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery, such as bariatric/obesity surgery, face lifts, breast implants and more. Find out what cosmetic procedures these patients are traveling for, what countries they are traveling from and where they are traveling for their cosmetic surgeries.

Dental Tourism

Thousands of patients each year are crossing borders and traveling to other countries to receive high quality dental care and dental surgery. Find out what dental procedures these patients are traveling for, what countries they are traveling from, why, and where they are traveling for their dental surgeries and dental treatments.

The Economics of Medical Tourism and it’s Future

The Medical Tourism Industry is one of the fastest growing segments of healthcare throughout the world. This panel session will discuss the economics of medical tourism and where the future of medical tourism is headed and what it will be like in the future.

"The best Medical Tourism Conference of the year." This is a comment we have heard over and over from delegates who participated in the first World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress which took place in San Francisco California September 2008. The 2009 World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress promises to match that sentiment and, at the same time, provide even more networking and advanced panel sessions for this international gathering. The conference will feature up to 2,000 attendees, up to 200 speakers, and up to 125 exhibitors!

The World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress™ announces its 2009 Speakers! The congress will be held in Los Angeles California, October 26th through October 28th. Given the challenges that most companies and industries are facing this year with the economic crisis, Medical Tourism is more important than ever before, creating more economically viable healthcare solutions and providing a profitable return on investment. This is the one event per year where Employers, Self Funded Health Plans, Insurance Companies, and Medical Tourism Facilitators that are looking to outsource healthcare overseas have the opportunity to meet with top International Hospitals and Medical Tourism Companies in one place for the ultimate networking event. 
 
We are excited to announce our confirmed speakers with many more to be announced in the upcoming months! Speakers include:

Michelle Lerow, Sr. Network Manager of Aetna Global Benefits; Robert Frary, VP of Select Benefits & Worksite Symetra Financial; Alexandra Jung, Senior Vice President Aon Consulting; Joseph Heyman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees American Medical Association; Armando Baez, President Self Insurance Institute of America; Matt Leming, Vice President Swiss Reinsurance Company; Ross Rendergraft, President Elect LAAHU; Alex Piper, Former Buyer of Healthcare for Chrysler, President of OneWorld Global Healthcare Solutions; Kemal Canlar, United Healthcare; Kimberly Smith, Director of Development Research Assurant Health; Peter Lozier, Executive Vice President, CMN Inc.; Denis Storey, Editor of Benefits Selling Magazine; Patrick Martin, Chief Medical Officer Ministry of Health, St. Kitts and Nevis; Edison Vallejo, Healthcare Purchasing Manager BUPA Insurance Company; Robert Whiddon, Editor of the Employee Benefit Adviser Magazine; Vincent Vanderpool Wallace, Honorary Minister of Tourism, Bahamas; Curtis Schroeder, CEO Bumrungrad; Stuart Rowley, CEO Prince Court Medical Center, Malaysia; Dr. Dato Jacob Thomas, Chief Operating Officer, SJMC Healthcare Group; Brian Keeley, President & Chief Executive Officer Baptist Hospital South Florida.

"The best Medical Tourism Conference of the year." This is a comment we have heard over and over from delegates who participated in the first World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress which took place in San Francisco California September 2008. The 2009 World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress promises to match that sentiment and, at the same time, provide even more networking and advanced panel sessions for this international gathering. The conference will feature up to 2,000 attendees, up to 200 speakers, and up to 125 exhibitors!

The Medical Tourism Association announces its Release of the last twenty educational videos which consist of interviews from the Medical Tourism Association’s annual conference World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress. The conference took place in September 2008 with 850 attendees, 53 exhibitors from over 45 different countries.

Twenty new video interviews launched this week on the Medical Tourism Magazine website! A total of thirty interviews are available for you to view. This week’s interviews feature the following:

Cynthis L. Carrion – Department of Tourism Philippines:

Cynthis L. Carrion, Undersecretary of the Department of Tourism Philippines, speaks on the growing industry of the Health and Wellness Industry. She speaks on the huge success rate of medical tourism in the Philippines because of the quality of care and professional doctor and nurse support.

Dato Dr. Jacob Thomas – President of the Association of Private Hospitals (Malaysia):

Dato Dr. Jacob Thomas, President of the Association of Private Hospitals (Malaysia), speaks about the growth of the Medical Tourism Industry and the globalization of healthcare. Dato Dr. Jacob Thomas believes the topics of the panel sessions at the congress were both educational and had great involvement with the crowd, to provide an overall successful conference.

Jorge Cortés Rodríguez,M.D. – Hospital Clinica Biblica:

Jorge Cortés Rodríguez M.D, Medical Director of Hospital Clinica Biblica, speaks about the history and growth of Hospital Clinica Biblica. He speaks about Costa Rica as a medical tourism destination and what the most important aspects of patient travel and care are in the industry.

James Bae – Korea Health Industry:

James Bae, liaison officer of Korean government for Medical Tourism, speaks about the involvement of government with Korean hospitals to help grow the industry. He speaks about what differentiates countries in Medical Tourism care and how working together will help globalize medical tourism.

Jason Tomlinson – The Crowne Group:

Jason Tomlinson works with the Crowne Group, an insurance and consultant agency. He speaks about the benefits that the Medical Tourism Industry will give them and what their involvement means for everyone in the spectrum.

Jerry D. Turney – U.S. Now:

Jerry D. Turney works for U.S. Now, the largest marketer of Limited Medical Plans. He speaks on the benefits and savings the consumer will receive because of Medical Tourism and the value that this industry brings to them.

Jim Follett – InterContinental Hotel Group:

Jim Follett, works for InterContinental Hotel Group, the largest hotel company in the world, with over 4,000 hotels plus other international brands. He speaks about the topic of hotel stay when a patient travels for medical care and the effect of having an internationally known brand.

John Lowdermilk – Lowdermilk & Associates, Inc.:

John Lowdermilk, owns Lowdermilk & Associates, Inc., brokers in the insurance industry. John speaks about benefits the Medical Tourism Industry will give to the consumer, employers and insurance companies. He believes education is the key to implementing this industry and providing quality care with a fracture of the cost.

Joseph M. Heyman, MD – American Medical Association

Joseph M. Heyman, American Medical Association, speaks about implementation and growth of the involvement of Medical Tourism within the Association. He speaks about how the association believes that domestic conditions are actually facilitating the rising costs of healthcare. The AMA will most likely be more involved in policy guidelines within this industry.

Judy Lim – MOH Holdings Pte Ltd

Judy Lim, Director of Marketing at MOH Holdings, speaks on the perspective about medical tourism in Singapore and the strengths and capabilities that Singapore hospitals provide. MOH Holdings is the holding company of Singapore’s public healthcare establishments.

Margaret Ball – Health Links International

Margaret Ball, President of Health Links International, speaks about the quality of Latin America healthcare. She speaks on her development of an international network of hospitals that will help result in quality patient outcomes.

Marsha Proctor Killen, J.D. – Blue Cross Blue Shield

Marsha Proctor Killen J.D, with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, speaks about the consumer demand of the cutting edge industry of Medical Tourism. Blue Cross Blue Shield’s vision is to promote healthcare of all its citizens.

Mauro Batesteza – Barcelona Medical Centre

Mauro Batesteza is the Head of International Marketing at Barcelona Medical Centre. Barcelona Medical Centre is a unique project in Europe. It not only promotes Barcelona’s healthcare capabilities, but is in charge of giving the international patient special attention. He speaks on Barcelona’s aspiration to become a world class Medical Tourism destination.

Mtro. Luis F. Gutierrez Munoz – Medica Sur

Mtro. Luis F. Gutierrez, the Marketing Manger of Medica Sur, speaks on the trends and crises within the industry of Medical Tourism. Medica Sur is a hospital based in Mexico City containing 39 specialty units.

Philip Hassen – ISQUA

Philip Hassen, President Elect of ISQUA, speaks on the role of ISQUA and of credentialing organizations and how it is critical to the success of medical tourism.  ISQUA, the international society of quality in health care, is a non-profit, independent organization with members in over 70 countries.

Richard Mathews – DMCO

Richard Mathews, with DMCO insurance broker, speaks on the consumer driven healthcare unit and the medical tourism industry. He speaks on the viable opportunity that the industry is providing to the consumers and employers.

Sebastian Viramontes – Hospital San Jose Tec de Monterrey

Sebastian Viramontes, the head of the international program at hospital San Jose Tec de Monterrey in Monterrey Mexico. San Jose boasts a modern high end facility with multi specialty offerings and top notch surgeons. Sebastian Viramontes speaks on patient safety and security and what he believes makes up the best quality of care for traveling patients.

Shadey Fawzy Nawar – Abu Dhabi, U.A.E./ Damon Health

Shadey Fawzy Nawar is with Damon Health Company. Damon Health provides insurance to citizens of U.A.E. They provide anywhere from a basic plans for low income individuals to advance plans for companies, these plans cover internationally.

Stephen M. Weiner – Mintz Levin

Stephen M. Weiner, Chair of the Health Law Practice of Mintz Levin, speaks on the issues that arise within the medical tourism industry and international health care. One specific issue he speaks on is standards in quality.

Trevor Gunn, Ph.D – Medtronic, Inc.

Trevor Gunn, of Medtronic, Inc., speaks on the hope that the Medical Tourism Industry brings. Medtronic is the largest medical electronic technology firm. Trevor speaks on how technology is an important contributor of quality in medical care.

Check the website for weekly updates! The Medical Tourism Magazine is a bi-monthly Medical Tourism industry magazine in both print and electronic versions. The Medical Tourism Magazine will address important issues affecting the Medical Tourism industry and have a primary focus on the quality of healthcare available at leading international hospitals. Each issue of the medical tourism magazine will cover the world as a whole, but also have a special inside focus on one specific country.

The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

1st Latin America Medical Tourism & Health Tourism Congress – April 26-28th, 2009.

The Medical Tourism Association and Monterrey Healthcare City have partnered together to create the 1st ever Medical Tourism and Health Tourism Conference for Latin America, which will take place April 26-28th, 2009 in Monterrey, Mexico.

The Medical Tourism conference will feature over 50 speakers and up to 400 attendees and 20 exhibitors.

The medical tourism conference and health tourism conference will focus on opportunities in medical tourism and health tourism to Latin America. Millions of Americans and Canadians are traveling to Latin America for high quality health and dental care.

The Speakers for the conference include:

Dr. Enrique Ruelas Barajas, Undersecretary Innovation and Quality Ministry of Health Mexico

Jose Natividad Gonzalez Paras, Constitutional Governor State of Nuevo Leon

Nubia Stella Martinez, VP for Tourism Proexport Colombia

Ing. Alejandro Paez Aragon, Secretario de Desarrollo Economico del Gobierno de Nuevo Leon

Jorge Woodbridge Gonzalez, Minister of Competitiveness Republic of Costa Rica

Dana Citron, Global Health Analyst with American International Group

Kemal Canlar, United Healthcare

Matt Leming, Swiss Reinsurance Company

Massimo Manzi, Executive Director, ProMed

Kimberly Smith, Assurant Health

Dr. Jesus Horacio Gonzalez Trevino, President Monterrey Healthcare

Dr. Jorge Cortes Rodriguez, Hospital Clinica Biblica

Ernesto Dieck-Assad, Hospital San Jose

Juan Brothers, Aero Mexico

Renee-Marie Stephano, Medical Tourism Association

Jonathan Edelheit, Medical Tourism Association

Saroja Mohanasundaram, Healthbase

Ross Pendergraft, LAHU

Luis Diego Osborne, Homewatch CareGivers

Wouter Hoeberechts, WorldMed Assist

Alex Piper, One World Global

Jeff Carter, Patients Without Borders

Brad Cook, Clinica Biblica

Thomas O’Hara, Surgical Trip

Jerry Turney, US Now

Mauricio Gojman, Nurses Now International

Dr. Rafael Lorenzana, El Salvador Medical

Jim Arriola, Sekure Healthcare

Peter Lozier, CMN

Cecile Billiet, Spa Med Holiday

Guillermo Gonzalez Prieto, Medical Tourism Association

Hector Xavier Martinez Sanchez, Sonora

David Vequist, University of the Incarnate Word

Jim Krampen, Seven Corners

Dr. Carlos Ramos Hinds, El Salvador

Chad Holloway, Global Health Solutions

Shai Gold, Global Triage

Stephen Weiner, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo

Irving Stackpole, Stackpole and Associates

The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

The Medical Tourism Association seeks to provide transparency in both quality of care and pricing. Every day we see more and more that the globalization of healthcare has created a very flat world. We exchange technology, information, communication, physicians and patients. In order to ensure patient safety, it is our goal to create a transparency about the quality of healthcare that can be found in each country. With this, it is increasingly important to create a transparency in pricing as well so patients traveling overseas for care can be sure of what they are receiving without hidden costs or unforeseen expenses. The Medical Tourism Association is also working on the Quality of Care Project, which will change the way we look at the reporting of global healthcare statistics and the quality of care available at hospitals around the world.
 

The Medical Tourism Association (MTA) and Los Angeles Association of Health Underwriters (LAAHU) partnered in the area of Medical Tourism to present Medical Tourism as a viable solution to the healthcare crisis in California and the US, during the LAAHU annual conference which takes place May 19-20 at the Pasadena Convention Center.

LAAHU is one of the largest chapters of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) in the United States. It is made up of both US healthcare organizations and professional agents who represent them that are involved in US healthcare insurance. The LAAHU conference expects approximately 800 attendees. The LAAHU conference is one of the largest attended US health insurance conferences.

“Medical Tourism has become a very attractive option especially due to the financial and budgetary crisis the California government is having. We have decided to make this a priority for this year’s annual LAAHU conference because of the strong interest in medical tourism from our members. The savings of medical tourism is something that cannot be ignored”, said Ross Pendergraft, President-Elect of the Los Angeles Association of Health Underwriters and organizer of the LAAHU annual conference.

The Medical Tourism Association will be a major sponsor of the LAAHU Conference and will be exhibiting at the conference promoting medical tourism and Medical Tourism Association members. Jonathan Edelheit, President of the Medical Tourism Association, will be the featured speaker on Medical Tourism and will be coordinating other medical tourism speakers and a medical tourism workshop for attendees to the LAAHU healthcare conference.

“The Medical Tourism Association is very excited to be a part of this large event and to educate LAAHU members and attendees on the high quality of healthcare available around the world, and which countries and hospitals offer the best solutions. Medical Tourism is quickly becoming a standard adopted benefit in US health plans”, said Jonathan Edelheit, President of the Medical Tourism Association.

“Los Angeles is one of the major centers of healthcare buyers in the country, and LAAHU is the largest chapter in the country of Health Insurance specialists.

Medical Tourism Association is the international non-profit trade association for the medical tourism industry, made up of the top hospitals, doctors, governments, insurance companies, health insurance agents and medical tourism facilitators in the industry. The Medical Tourism Association puts on the largest annual convention and exposition of Medical Tourism in Los Angeles each year, October 26-28th, 2009 with up to 2,000 attendees, almost 200 speakers and over 100 exhibitors.
 

Medical Tourism Magazine to Feature United Arab Emirates – UAE

The Medical Tourism Association has entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Health of the United Arab Emirates to do a special edition of the Medical Tourism Magazine dedicated to the United Arab Emirates.

The special UAE Edition of the medical tourism magazine will focus on

Medical Infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates
Investment Opportunities in the UAE
Quality of Healthcare in UAE
The Future of healthcare in UAE
The rise of Dubai in the medical tourism industry

The Medical Tourism Magazine is the official publication of the Medical Tourism Association and a bi-monthly Medical Tourism industry magazine in both print and electronic versions with a readership of over 100,000 readers per year.

The Medical Tourism Magazine addresses important issues affecting the Medical Tourism industry and has a primary focus on the quality of healthcare available at leading international hospitals and destinations.

The Magazine addresses issues such as:

Quality of Health Care Overseas
After Care Issues
The importance of Accreditation
Legal Issues Surrounding Medical Tourism
The American, UK and Canadian Health Care Crisis and the opportunities for Medical Tourism in these countries
What Foreign Patients look for in overseas hospitals and providers offering Medical Tourism
Issues International Insurance Companies, Employers and Healthcare companies should consider when entering the Medical Tourism Industry.

Who is the Medical Tourism Association?
The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

The Medical Tourism Association seeks to provide transparency in both quality of care and pricing. Every day we see more and more that the globalization of healthcare has created a very flat world. We exchange technology, information, communication, physicians and patients. In order to ensure patient safety, it is our goal to create a transparency about the quality of healthcare that can be found in each country. With this, it is increasingly important to create a transparency in pricing as well so patients traveling overseas for care can be sure of what they are receiving without hidden costs or unforeseen expenses. The Medical Tourism Association is also working on the Quality of Care Project, which will change the way we look at the reporting of global healthcare statistics and the quality of care available at hospitals around the world.
 

The Medical Tourism Association in partnership with Jordan Hospital held the 1st Jordanian Medical Tourism conference from Jan 30 to Feb 2nd, 2009 in Amman Jordan at the Jordan Hospital. Abdalla Bashir, Director of Jordan Hospital organized the event. The event featured over 100 participants from the top hospitals in Jordan, the Minister of Health of Jordan, and representatives from the Ministry of Tourism.

“The event was extremely well organized and put together and the MTA wants to thank Jordan Hospital for it’s efforts to bring together all the key players in Jordan. We are very proud to say that Jordan Hospital is a member of the MTA and one of the leading hospitals in the world,” said Jonathan Edelheit, President of the Medical Tourism Association.

Jordan has several Joint Commission International Accredited Hospitals. Even more important is that Jordan’s healthcare accreditation system, HCAC (Jordan Healthcare Accreditation Council) is accredited by ISQua. The American Medical Association has recognized accreditation systems that have received ISQua accreditation as having a high level of quality healthcare. This is an important step forward in Jordan’s position as a leader in high quality healthcare being provided to international patients.

The Medical Tourism Association met privately with the Prime Minister of Jordan, Engineer Nader Al Dahabi, to discuss Jordan’s healthcare and ways the Medical Tourism Association can partner with Jordan to grow it’s reputation and patient flow in medical tourism. Present at the meeting was Jonathan Edelheit, President of the Medical Tourism Association, Renee-Marie Stephano, Esquire, Chief Operating Officer and Genreal Counsel of the MTA and editor of the Medical Tourism Magazine, Abdalla Bashir, Director of Jordan Hospital, and Alex Piper, President of One World Global Healthcare Solutions.

The Medical Tourism Association visited the leading hospitals of Jordan and found an extremely high quality of healthcare. Jordan already has a reputation of having some of the highest quality of care in the Middle East. Jordan’s world class hospitals are also heavily staffed with doctors who are America board certified.

The Medical Tourism Association also visited several Tourism spots the Medical Tourists and their companions could visit when receiving medical care in Jordan. The MTA visited Petra and the Dead Sea and found that Jordan provides many amazing tourism options for traveling patients and their companions.
 

The Medical Tourism Association in partnership with ISI Scientific held the 1st Medical Tourism Conference in Israel on January 22nd, 2009 in Tel Aviv. The 1 day free conference focused on Medical Tourism opportunities for the country of Israel.

The event featured over 60 participants from the top hospitals in Israel, representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Health.

The Medical Tourism Association opened it’s office in Tel Aviv in partnership with ISI Scientific. “The event was extremely well organized the MTA wants to thank Israel's ISI Scientific’s efforts to bring together such a group of healthcare leaders and government officials.” said Jonathan Edelheit, President of the Medical Tourism Association.

Israel has one internationally accredited hospital with other hospitals starting the process of international accreditation. Currently Israel receives most of it’s Medical Tourists from Russia, but is also expecting growth from American patients.

The Medical Tourism Association visited the leading hospitals of Israel and found an extremely high quality of healthcare with extremely modern and state of the art facilities.

The Medical Tourism Association also visited several Tourism spots the Medical Tourists and their companions could visit when receiving medical care in Israel. The MTA visited Jerusalem and other “holy land” tourism spots that provide great opportunities for medical tourists and their companions.

The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

The Medical Tourism Association seeks to provide transparency in both quality of care and pricing. Every day we see more and more that the globalization of healthcare has created a very flat world. We exchange technology, information, communication, physicians and patients. In order to ensure patient safety, it is our goal to create a transparency about the quality of healthcare that can be found in each country. With this, it is increasingly important to create a transparency in pricing as well so patients traveling overseas for care can be sure of what they are receiving without hidden costs or unforeseen expenses. The Medical Tourism Association is also working on the Quality of Care Project, which will change the way we look at the reporting of global healthcare statistics and the quality of care available at hospitals around the world.
 

The Medical Tourism Association has coordinated a “Fam” Familiarization Tour in conjunction with Export Salud to bring medical tourism facilitators to El Salvador. The Fam Tour for medical tourism will take place February 9 – 13, 2009. The attendees will perform site visits to El Salvador’s top medical and dental providers in the country and meet with government officials to discuss the country’s initiatives.

Renee-Marie Stephano, Chief Operating Officer for the Medical Tourism Association and Editor of the Medical Tourism Magazine assisted in the organization of the Fam Tour inviting MTA members and other prospective buyers. “This is the fifth Fam Tour we have organized in several countries around the world. MTA Fam Tours have been a great success and helped to significantly increase patient flow to those countries we work with,” she added.

The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

The Medical Tourism Association seeks to provide transparency in both quality of care and pricing. Every day we see more and more that the globalization of healthcare has created a very flat world. We exchange technology, information, communication, physicians and patients. In order to ensure patient safety, it is our goal to create a transparency about the quality of healthcare that can be found in each country. With this, it is increasingly important to create a transparency in pricing as well so patients traveling overseas for care can be sure of what they are receiving without hidden costs or unforeseen expenses. The Medical Tourism Association is also working on the Quality of Care Project, which will change the way we look at the reporting of global healthcare statistics and the quality of care available at hospitals around the world.
 

The World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress would like to announce ReachMD as a Media and Bronze Sponsor for the 2nd Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress in 2009. They are looking forward to the having ReachMD Sponsor and Exhibitor.

The Medical Tourism Association is the first international non-profit association made up of the top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical tourism 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. Their Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

Non-profits Medical Tourism Association (www.medicaltourismassociation.com) and Monterrey Health Care City (www.monterreyciudaddelasalud.com.mx) have partnered together to create the 1st Latin America Medical Tourism and Health Tourism Congress, which occurs April 27-29th, 2009 in Monterrey, Mexico at the Intercontinental Presidente. Monterrey is known as one of the top destinations of medical tourism in Latin America, has several JCI Accredited hospitals and is the location of one of the first established "Healthcare Cities" in the world.

The 1st Latin America Medical Tourism Congress will feature up to 400 attendees from over 25 countries and will focus on the high quality of healthcare and advanced medical technology available in Latin America.

Poised to be one of the top destinations for medical tourism from the United States, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean, many patients can receive equal to or in some cases more advanced treatment in Latin America than they can receive in the average local hospital, especially for advanced treatments such as stem cell therapy and cancer treatment.

Medical Tourism is the fastest growing segment of the healthcare industry worldwide and many US Health Insurance Companies have started to implement Medical Tourism in their healthcare plans. Deloitte's 2008 report on Medical Tourism estimated 750,000 Americans traveled overseas for medical tourism in 2007 and that by 2017 as many as 23 million Americans may travel internationally for healthcare. The spending for these patients by 2017 is estimated at as much as $79.5 billion dollars.

Several of the largest US health insurance companies have implemented "pilot projects" of medical tourism, including Aetna Insurance Company, Wellpoint, one of the largest Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance Companies, Swiss Reinsurance Company, and USNOW, one of the leading providers of limited medical and mini-medical insurance plans. Many US health insurance companies are now positioning themselves to implement medical tourism and selecting their international partner hospitals and clinics.

In 2006, the US Census Bureau released updated figures that estimated the Hispanic population at 42.7 million -- as of 2005, about 14.4 percent of the total US population. Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States. Experts predict that Hispanic Americans will number more than 50 million by the year 2025 and could reach 102.6 million by the year 2050. Mexican Americans, numbering approximately 21.5 million, are the largest subgroup of Hispanic Americans. Millions of Hispanics from other countries in Central and South America live in the USA. Moreover, the 2008 Deloitte Report stated that in a survey, 51.4% of American Hispanics and 36.9% of non-Hispanics said they would consider traveling outside the USA for medical care.

The Latin American Medical Tourism Congress will feature advanced educational sessions on the implementation of Medical Tourism in US health insurance plans, how to create international patient departments, the high quality of health care in Latin America, the creation of healthcare cities and how to attract foreign patients overseas.

Speakers will include key government officials from Latin America including Ministries of Health, Ministries of Tourism, US Health Insurance Carriers and Providers, Health Insurance Consultants and Top Hospitals in Latin America and the US, as well as the top leading medical tourism facilitators, which are coordinating care for patients internationally.

The Congress will also feature Monterrey site tours where attendees can visit some of the most advanced hospitals in Mexico and see the advanced technology the hospitals use to treat foreign patients.

The Medical Tourism Association is the first international non-profit association made up of the top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical tourism 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

Monterrey Healthcare City is a non-profit association of the most prestigious hospitals located in the city of Monterrey and its goal is to promote its integral health services to national and international patients by announcing its specialized medical assistance within a framework of high quality, commitment, respect and warm attention. From prevention and timely diagnosis or treatment and rehabilitation, the hospitals in association with Monterrey Healthcare City provide specialized medical assistance that improves the quality of life of the patients and their relatives.

For more information on the Latin America Medical Tourism and Health Tourism Congress go to www.LatinAmericaMedicalTourismCongress.com or email info@MedicalTourismCongress.com. For more information about the Medical Tourism Association call US 561-791-2000, or go to www.MedicalTourismAssociation.com or email info@medicaltourismassociation.com

Source: Medical Tourism Association

CONTACT: Renee-Marie Stephano, Esquire, Chief Operating Officer, Medical
Tourism Association, +1-561-791-2000, renee@medicaltourismassociation.com

The Medical Tourism Association announces another release of educational videos which consist of interviews from the Medical Tourism Association’s annual conference World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress. The conference took place in September 2008 with 850 attendees, 53 exhibitors from over 45 different countries.

Five new video interviews launched this week on the Medical Tourism Magazine website! A total of thirty interviews will be available over the next few weeks, with new interviews being added weekly. This week’s interviews feature the following:

Chad Holloway – Global Health Solutions, LLC

Chad Holloway, CEO of Global Health Solutions, LLC, speaks about creating relationships, contracting services, and representation.  Global Health Solutions, LLC assists international healthcare providers in negotiations with insurance companies, offers marketing services for providers, provides strategic planning specific to medical tourism and aids in project management.

David M. Prebble, DDS – American Dental Association (ADA)

David Prebble, the Director of the Council of Dental Benefit Programs at the American Dental Association (ADA) speaks about the World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress and its impact on the Medical Tourism Industry.  He also talks about the positive and negative aspects of dental tourism.

Devendra Dabak – Asian Heart Institute

Devendra Dabak is Chief Marketing Officer for Asian Heart Institute based in Mumbai, India.  Dabak speaks about how the Asian Heart Institute is the only institute in India that has JCI, ISO and NIH accreditation.  He talks about the hospital’s international relationships and his hopes for expanding the international patient department to the United States. 

Leonore Boscher – University Medical Center

Leonore Boscher is the Director of the International Department for International Patients of University Medical Center in Hamburg, Germany.  The University Medical Center offers high end medicine with a high quality of care and highly trained staff.  Boscher speaks about the different approaches between American and European healthcare and how the Congress educates on the American Market and insurance industry.

Dr. Abdallah Bashir – Jordan Hospital

Dr. Abdallah Bashir, the Chairman of the Board of Directors speaks about Jordan Hospital, the largest private hospital in Jordan.  He speaks about Middle East healthcare including the high quality of care, the modern technology used, and the quality of the physicians and doctors from all over the world. He also speaks about the hospital and how it is expanding its patient base.

Check the website for weekly updates! The Medical Tourism Magazine is a bi-monthly Medical Tourism industry magazine in both print and electronic versions. The Medical Tourism Magazine will address important issues affecting the Medical Tourism industry and have a primary focus on the quality of healthcare available at leading international hospitals. Each issue of the medical tourism magazine will cover the world as a whole, but also have a special inside focus on one specific country.

The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

Three Medical Tourism Facilitator Members of the Medical Tourism Association (MTA) are the first medical tourism facilitators to enter into agreements with insurance companies and marketers of insurance products to offer medical tourism facilitators to their members and participants.

MTA Members on the Move.

The Move is On. Three Medical Tourism Facilitator Members of the Medical Tourism Association (MTA) are the first facilitators to enter into agreements with insurance companies and marketers of insurance products to offer medical tourism to their members and participants.

“The Medical Tourism Association has worked very hard to promote our members. We are very excited that our members are the only companies in the world to have received these special agreements and relationships to coordinate medical care for Americans traveling overseas. We are even more excited that the hospitals which have been selected to receive patients from America are also Medical Tourism Association members,” said Jonathan Edelheit, President of the Medical Tourism Association.

They are very proud of one of their Members, WorldMed Assist, which has received an agreement with Swiss Reinsurance Company.

Swiss Reinsurance a leading and highly diversified global reinsurer which operates in more than 25 countries recognized medical tourism as part of their existing insurance policies and are making it available throughout the United States to employers who purchase their insurance. “By recognizing medical travel coverage offered by our self-funded stop-loss employer client base, we facilitate the availability of top-quality health care at more affordable levels than is possible in the U.S.,” said Matt Leming, Vice President and Sales Leader within Swiss Re's Commercial Insurance Division. Swiss Reinsurance has selected WorldMed Assist as the third-party medical logistics provider to manage its medical tourism option. Medical Tourism coverage will be coordinated with the employer's primary policy and with the patient's primary physician in the U.S through WorldMed Assist. As Swiss Reinsurance's medical logistics provider, WorldMed Assist will ensure that strict standards for the level of care offered by the medical staff, the hospital, clinic and any recuperative care facilities are followed. worldmedassist.com

The second member, Surgical Trip and USNow are joining forces to offer a medical tourism program to all of it's members. Surgical Trip, LLC, of Boca Raton, Florida, has entered into an agreement with USNow, L.P., of Plano, Texas, to offer Surgical Trip’s medical tourism program to all USNow groups. This monumental event will be the first time a national marketer of limited medical health insurance plans will make a medical tourism program available to all of its members.

The Surgical Trip medical tourism program will provide USNow members with access to surgical procedures at significantly lower cost when performed at select, accredited hospitals overseas. “The high quality of care available overseas through medical tourism is amazing and the cost savings are equally so. We felt medical tourism would add meaningful value for all participants on USNow limited medical plans. We are extremely excited to have Surgical Trip as our partner,” said David Lindsey, President and CEO of USNow. www.surgicaltrip.com

“This is an exciting moment in the employee benefits world, as we see a major marketer like USNow, enhancing value by offering our medical tourism program to all of its members,” said Tom O’Hara, President of Surgical Trip. The program will be offered to all new USNow groups and all existing USNow groups upon their renewal.

They are also very pleased to announce that Healthbase has collaborated with Wellpoint Blue Cross Blue Shield to handle their “pilot” program of offering medical tourism for Americans traveling to India. Healthbase will handle all the medical tourism logistics and arrangements for WellPoint members. “We advise insurance companies and employers to work with medical tourism facilitators who are Medical Tourism Association members because the association has done a level of due diligence and the facilitators have agreed to promote transparency in quality and pricing,” said Renee-Marie Stephano, Chief Operating Officer of the Medical Tourism Association and editor of the Medical Tourism Magazine. “Healthbase, Surgical Trip and WorldMed Assist are excellent companies, as well as the other medical tourism facilitator members of our association.”

“We are pleased to work collectively with Healthbase to deliver an international medical tourism pilot product to our clients who are interested in exploring a medical tourism solution," said Dr. Razia Hashmi, vice president and medical director for WellPoint's national accounts division. "Medical tourism is a promising option for improving access to affordable, quality health care. Working with Healthbase, our case managers will coordinate all steps of the medical tourism process for members interested in receiving care overseas." Healthbase will assist WellPoint members with coordination of the trip, medical appointment scheduling, digital medical records transfer, and concierge travel service," according to Saroja Mohanasundaram, CEO of Healthbase. www.healthbase.com

Who is the Medical Tourism Association?

The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

The Medical Tourism Association announces it’s first release of educational videos which consist of interviews from the Medical Tourism Association’s annual conference World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress. The conference took place in September 2008 with 850 attendees, 53 exhibitors from over 45 different countries.

Five new video interviews launched this week on the Medical Tourism Magazine website! A total of thirty interviews will be available over the next few weeks, with new interviews being added weekly. This week’s interviews feature the following:

Dr. June Smailes – Trent Accreditation Scheme:

Dr. June Smailes, director of Trent Accreditation Scheme (TAS), speaks on the activities Trent has been involved with in regards to Medical Tourism. Having operated in the UK since 1993, Trent moved into international accreditation in 1999 and is currently working with Hospitals in Europe, the Philippines, and other regions as well. Dr. Smailes speaks on how TAS differs from other accreditation companies and how the TAS is moving forward with regard to Medical Tourism.

Alex Piper – One World Global Healthcare Solutions Inc:

Alex Piper, former buyer of healthcare for Chrysler and president of One World Global Healthcare Solutions, Inc, speaks about the opportunities and challenges for marketing medical tourism to the employer marketplace. His company is dedicated to the globalization of healthcare by opening up the US market to foreign based hospitals and clinics via a network solution.

Arthur B. Seifert- US Risk Underwriters:

Arthur B. Seifert, President of US Risk Underwriters, the 5^th largest specialty insurance organization out of Dallas Texas, speaks on the insurance products that help grow and negate risk to the emerging industry of Medical Tourism. Listen to Seifert’s perspective on the 1^st annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress, which took place in San Francisco 2008.

Brad Cook – Hospital Clinica Biblica Costa Rica:

Brad Cook, Head of the International Patient Department at Hospital Clinica Biblica, speaks about developing an International Patient Department with the focus being on customer service, quality, and price. From the time the patient first contacts or is contacted by the International Patient Department to when they are sent home, the patients overall satisfaction and safety is most important.

Catherine Fritsch Societe d’Assistance Medicale –France:

Catherine Fritsch is a Medical Tourism Facilitator based out of France that handles the patient’s journey for Medical Tourism from start to finish. They take care of all the worries and burdens, whether it is picking the patient up from the airport, driving them to the hotel, finding the right doctor, making the appointments, and sending them home. 

Check the website for weekly updates! The Medical Tourism Magazine is a bi-monthly Medical Tourism industry magazine in both print and electronic versions. The Medical Tourism Magazine will address important issues affecting the Medical Tourism industry and have a primary focus on the quality of healthcare available at leading international hospitals. Each issue of the medical tourism magazine will cover the world as a whole, but also have a special inside focus on one specific country.

The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

The Medical Tourism Association’s Latin America Medical Tourism and Health Tourism Congress announces its official conference venue and hotel for the 1st annual Latin America Medical Tourism and Health Congress, April 27th-29th, in Monterrey Mexico.

The Official Congress Hotel is the Intercontinental Presidente in Monterrey, Mexico. InterContinental Hotel Group is one of the leading hotel chains in the world and offers modern style and impeccable service, which makes it the ideal destination for the Latin America Congress. Located in the middle of the business district of Monterrey, the hotel is also near points of interest such as the Museum of Mexican History, the Huasteca Canyon and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Attendees to the conference will receive a significantly discounted rate of $100 USD per night.

The Congress will feature up to 400 attendees from up to 25 countries and will focus on the high quality of healthcare available through Medical Tourism in Latin America. It will also bring together the stakeholders in Latin American Medical Tourism and Health Tourism Congress for the ultimate networking event and educational opportunities.

Latin America is poised to be one of the top destinations for medical tourism for the United States, Canada, and Europe. Come to this amazing Congress and network with attendees from over 25 countries to uncover the many possibilities of this exciting medical tourism industry.
Conference Highlights

Up To 400 Attendees
US Health Insurance Companies and Insurance Providers Invited
Understanding Marketing Opportunities In The US, Canada, and Europe
Industry Players From Over 25 countries
Highlighting The High Quality Of Care Available In Latin America
The Top US Medical Tourism Facilitators Invited

The 1st annual Latin American Medical Tourism and Health Tourism Congress is sponsored by the Medical Tourism Association. The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

Medical Tourism Association's Medical Tourism Magazine Announces Issue 7 The Conference Issue San Francisco 2008. A follow up to the 1st Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress which featured 850 people, and 53 exhibitors from over 40 different countries

The Medical Tourism Association is pleased to share their newly released Issue 7 of the Medical Tourism Magazine with you. Please click on their magazine link located at the top right hand corner of their website. Scroll down to Issue 7: Special Issue - World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress 2008.

Highlights from this Issue Include:

Interview with Dr. Joseph Heyman, American Medical Association
Interview with Alex Piper, Former Buyer of Chrysler
Interview with Dr. James Fram, ISAPS
In focus articles on Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East

Other articles include:

American Healthcare & Economic Crisis ~ What Does It Mean for Medical Tourism?

Everyone around the world is aware of the ongoing healthcare crisis in the United States. While people know some of the statistics, such as almost 50 million Americans have no health insurance and hundreds of millions do have health insurance which costs continue to rise, no one really knows the true cost of healthcare.
By Jonathan Edelheit

Putting Country First ~ Costa Rica: The Challenges and Rewards of Creating a National Healthcare Cluster

Sometimes, setting aside your differences, and working with your competitors for a greater good or common cause can ultimately result in more generous rewards for all. It is the promotion of this concept ~ that the whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts ~ that has been the catalyst for the development of Costa Rica's healthcare cluster.
By Bill Cook

Creating the Patient Experience ~ Medical Tourism Facilitation Featuring WorldMed Assist, Premiere Medical Travel and Healthbase

We are seeing a tremendous rise in the number of medical tourism facilitators developing internationally, but how we go about delivering services to the patients is not provide in a handbook.So many facilitators gathered at the Congress for the workshops to gain some insight into how to develop their businesses and establish best practicesfor handling patients.
By Renee-Marie Stephano in collaboration with Vivian Ho

The Medical Tourism Magazine is a bi-monthly Medical Tourism industry magazine in both print and electronic versions. The Medical Tourism Magazine is free for subscribers in both print and electronic versions. The Medical Tourism Magazine will address important issues affecting the Medical Tourism industry and have a primary focus on the quality of healthcare available at leading international hospitals. Each issue of the medical tourism magazine will cover the world as a whole, but also have a special inside focus on one specific country. The Medical Tourism Magazine also has its own online website.

The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Their Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress announces Latin America Conference. The conference will be held on April 27-29th 2009 in Monterrey Mexico.

The 1st Latin America Medical Tourism Congress will feature up to 400 attendees from over 25 countries and will focus on the high quality of healthcare available through Medical Tourism in Latin America. It will also bring together the stakeholders in Latin American medical tourism for the ultimate networking event and educational opportunities.

Latin America is poised to be one of the top destinations for medical tourism for the United States, Canada, and Europe. Come to this amazing Congress and network with attendees from over 25 countries to uncover the many possibilities of this exciting medical tourism industry.

Conference Highlights Include:

Up To 400 Attendees
US Health Insurance Companies and Insurance Providers Invited
Understanding Marketing Opportunities In The US, Canada, and Europe
Industry Players From Over 25 countries
Highlighting The High Quality Of Care Available In Latin America
The Top US Medical Tourism Facilitators Invited

For more information please visit their website. The dates of the Conference are April 27-29, 2009 in Monterrey Mexico.

The World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress will be featured on C-Span Radio this Friday, December 5th at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. Tune in to C-span radio to listen to the session: Employers Views of Medical Tourism. Featuring speakers: Sandra Morris, Procter & Gamble; Peter Hayes, Hannaford Brothers; and Colleen DePadua, Black and Decker. The session will discuss what are the positive and negative views for employers about implementing medical tourism into their fully insured and self-funded healthcare plans? What incentives are used to encourage patients to travel overseas for care.

The show can be heard on XM Satellite Radio on channel 132. You can also listen live online at c-span's website.

The session is a previously recorded session from the World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress which took place in San Francisco, September 9-12th, 2009 and featured over 850 attendees from over 45 countries and over 53 exhibitors and sponsors.

The 2nd Annual World Medical Tourism and Global Health Congress which will be held October 26-28th in Los Angeles, California. With up to 2,000 attendees, over 100 exhibitors and industry leaders from over 40 countries, this will be the ultimate networking session.

The Medical Tourism Association is 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 Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical travel facilitator members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

Medical Tourism Congress Announces Call for Papers.

The 2nd Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress has released a Call for Papers. The Conference will be held from October 26-28th at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles, California.

Theoretical and empirical papers in all areas of Medical Tourism, Medical Travel, Health Tourism, Health Travel, and related fields are welcome. Papers must be submitted in English.

There are three ways in which to submit your paper or presentation ideas:
1) Submit your paper for a chance to present at the Conference, either in single or panel session
2) Submit you paper for a chance that it will be provided to all conference attendees
3) Recommend A Panel Session

The Conference is affiliated with The Medical Tourism Magazine. The Medical Tourism Magazine is a Bi-monthly Medical Tourism industry magazine in both print and electronic versions. The Magazine addresses important issues affecting the Medical Tourism industry and has a primary focus on the quality of healthcare available at leading international hospitals.

Papers submitted will also be considered for publication in the Medical Tourism Magazine. The latest issue of the magazine is available to read online.

The deadline to submit your paper is February 15, 2009. To read the submission guidelines and download an application to submit please go to the Medical Tourism Congress website.

The 2nd Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress is happy to announce another Media Sponsor, PlacidWay. PlacidWay is a leading authority in the field of health tourism through its vision, commitment to service and determination to be the most complete resource possible. PlacidWay offers world class healthcare providers in exotic destinations, a formidable knowledge and information base, quick response turnaround and a one-stop interactive approach to booking a health tourism experience.

The 2nd World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress which takes place October 26th – 28th, 2009 in Los Angeles California is the official Congress of the Medical Tourism Association. The Medical Tourism Association is the first and only non-profit association in the world for the medical tourism industry. The Medical Tourism Association is headquartered in the United States with branch offices in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The Medical Tourism Association's Magazine, the Medical Tourism Magazine has launched its online version of the Medical Tourism Magazine. Readers of the online version of the Medical Tourism Magazine will be able to read the full version of the magazine online for free and view past issues.

The Online Medical Tourism Magazine will have special features that aren’t in the printed magazine such as:

Audio Interviews with the advertisers, where readers can learn what services and benefits they provide in more detail
Access to medical tourism videos and other relevant news.
Expanded readership into the hundreds of thousands in over 50 countries
Advertisers in the print subscription of the magazine will automatically receive free advertising on the online version of the Medical Tourism Magazine. All issues of the magazine will be available online to readers.

As the only Magazine and publication in the Medical Tourism Industry, Medical Tourism Magazine has had tremendous success in and is read by thousands of readers from over 50 different countries, including insurance companies, employers, health insurance agents, medical tourism facilitators, hospitals, clinics, governments and other industry participants. The Medical Tourism Magazine is free for subscribers in both print and electronic versions. The Medical Tourism Magazine addresses important issues affecting the Medical Tourism industry and has a primary focus on the quality of healthcare available at leading international hospitals. Each issue of the medical tourism magazine covers the world as a whole, but also has a special inside focus on one specific country.

They are always looking for stories, articles, authors and input for their magazine. If you would like to submit an article or story idea or would like your hospital or country featured in their magazine please contact the Medical Tourism Association.

The Medical Tourism Association's Magazine is the industry magazine for the medical tourism, medical travel and health tourism industry.

If you don't have a subscription to the magazine, sign up today for a free subscription. If you are not an advertiser in the magazine and would like to advertise your company, hospital or clinic, please contact them today.

The Medical Tourism Association is 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. Our Association promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitators members. The Medical Tourism Association has three tenets: Transparency, Communication and Education.

The World Medical Tourism and Global Health Congress which will be held October 26-28th in Los Angeles California is pleased to announce three new sponsors. AllMedicalTourism.com, Orthopedic Surgery Center of Orange County, and FV Hospital have all signed on to sponsor and exhibit for 2009. Both AllMedicalTourism.com and FV Hospital were 2008 Sponsors.

Top International Hospitals, Clinics, Medical Tourism Facilitators, Insurance Companies and Insurance Providers will be exhibiting and showcasing their services and quality to up to 2,000 attendees. At the 1st year’s annual Congress almost 50% of the attendees were buyers of healthcare, including insurance companies, employers, insurance providers and medical tourism facilitators.

The exhibition hall will have room for approximately 140 exhibitors from over 50 countries. This is the only medical tourism and health tourism conference in the world where the sellers of healthcare (hospitals and clinics) can actually meet with the “buyers’ of healthcare (insurance companies, providers and facilitators.

The 2nd World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress which takes place October 26th – 28th in Los Angeles California is the official Congress of the Medical Tourism Association. The Medical Tourism Association is the first and only non-profit association in the world for the medical tourism industry. The Medical Tourism Association is headquartered in the United States with branch offices in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Click Here to view: USP Hospitales Press Release

The 2nd World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress which takes place October 26th – 28th, 2009 in Los Angeles California will feature the largest medical tourism and health tourism exhibition hall in the industry.

Top International Hospitals, Clinics, Medical Tourism Facilitators, Insurance Companies and Insurance Providers will be exhibiting and showcasing their services and quality to up to 2,000 attendees. At the last year's annual Congress almost 50% of the attendees were buyers of healthcare, including insurance companies, employers, insurance providers and medical tourism facilitators.

“Los Angeles was chosen as the destination for the Congress because it is the second largest city in the United States, where over 224 languages are spoken, and because Los Angeles has one of the largest amounts of health insurance agents/providers and employers. This 2nd Annual Congress should see a significant increase in the number of employers and insurance companies who attend because of it’s strategic location which should be very exciting”, said Jonathan Edelheit, President of the Medical Tourism Association.

The exhibition hall will have room for approximately 140 exhibitors from over 50 countries. This is the only medical tourism and health tourism conference in the world where the sellers of healthcare (hospitals and clinics) can actually meet with the “buyers’ of healthcare (insurance companies, providers and facilitators.

The 2nd World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress which takes place October 26th – 28th, 2009 in Los Angeles California is the official Congress of the Medical Tourism Association. The Medical Tourism Association is the first and only non-profit association in the world for the medical tourism industry. The Medical Tourism Association is headquartered in the United States with branch offices in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

October 26, 2008

Medical Tourism Association's 1st Annual Congress was a huge success with over 850 attendees. Attendees from over 45 countries came to the world's largest medical tourism conference in San Francisco, California, September 9-12th, 2008. Over 53 exhibitors showcased their high quality of healthcare and services.

The Medical Tourism Association's 1st annual conference, the World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress was a tremendous success with over 850 attendees from over 45 countries and more than 53 exhibitors and sponsors.

The conference featured advanced workshops in the areas of marketing, Building International patient departments, legal issues, quality of care, medical tourism facilitator hot topics, and more.

Some of the panel session highlights were the Employer panel session where participants from Black & Decker, Procter & Gamble and Hannaford Brothers discussed their feelings on medical tourism. Another exciting panel session was the Insurance company panel session consisting of participants from Swiss Re, United Healthcare, CIGNA, and Assurant Health discussing both the negatives and positives of medical tourism and the insurance company view of medical tourism.

A significant number of media and press came to the event with outlets such as MSNBC, Human Resources Executive Magazine, Business Insurance, and San Francisco Chronicle just to name a few.

The Highlights of the event included over 3,000 one-on-one Networking meetings with unlimited networking opportunities throughout the event, leading to many contracts signed between insurance companies, hospitals, and facilitators. New contracts were also signed between facilitators and hospitals or clinics. The conference featured many advanced educational sessions, including for the first time ever the ADA, AMA and ASPS who spoke about medical tourism. The exhibit hall came alive with all of the many countries that were represented through tourism boards, hospitals, facilitators, and many more who exhibited their quality of care and healthcare available to medical tourists and their world class services.

Read what the 2008 Conference Delegates Are Saying:

"In my opinion, the 2008 World Medical Tourism and Global Health Congress was a great success. The Medical Tourism Association united healthcare providers, medical tourism facilitators, academics, governments, and stakeholders from around the world in discussions about the problems of, and, most importantly, solutions to the healthcare crisis in the United States. After participating in the conference, I am confident that the medical tourism industry is emerging as a low-cost, high-quality solution for healthcare consumers who are faced with increasing and unmanageable healthcare costs."

- Chad Halloway, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri

"The medical tourism industry seems poised to grow in volume and significance within the next few years. Participation in the MTA Congress provided an excellent opportunity for Singapore's public healthcare group to network and showcase our JCI accredited facilities, good clinical outcomes and top class medical excellence. We believe Singapore's healthcare system, ranked as sixth best in the world and the best in Asia by the World Health Organization in 2000 is well-placed to offer US medical travelers a viable alternative."

- Judy Lim, MOH Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore

"I was impressed with the number of attendee's, and even more so with their positions. I met physicians, Hospital Administrators, and a host of people vitally interested in putting together the mechanics of site selection; provider selection and care; travel and logistics; and, follow up care. I met some very interesting and knowledgeable people from the Philippines, Costa Rica, Jordan, India, and Croatia, to name a few of the locations I learned about who are offering first class medical facilities and practitioners. Thank you so much for putting this conference together. I was fascinated by the scope and growth of this medical care industry."

- Robert Frary, Symetra Life Insurance Company

"We were very impressed with the conference: The number of attendees was unparalleled. Equally important, those people represented organizations of key interest to us: insurance companies, insurance consultants/brokers, TPAs, etc. Finally, because this conference was dedicated to the industry: the energy level was incredible and everybody reached out to each other to network and learn more of the latest developments."

- Wouter Hoeberechts, World Med Assist

The 2nd Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress will take place October 26-28th, 2009 in Los Angeles, California at the Hyatt Century Plaza.

Up to 2,000 attendees from over 50 countries
Up to 100 exhibitors and sponsors
Over 100 expert speakers
Over 10 workshops on pre-congress workshop day
Up to 5,000 one-on-one networking meetings
Networking lunches
Networking cocktail receptions
And so much more

The Medical Tourism Association has launched “accreditation” to ensure the safety and overall positive results for patients traveling from one country to another. “Having the right processes and procedures in place to assist international patients has a direct correlation to better surgical outcomes for those patients.

Medical Tourism Accreditation.

The Medical Tourism Association announces “Medical Tourism Accreditation Program.” Information on accreditation is available at the new Medical Tourism Association website at www.MedicalTourismAssociation.com.

The Medical Tourism Association has launched “accreditation” to ensure the safety and overall positive results for patients traveling from one country to another. “Having the right processes and procedures in place to assist international patients has a direct correlation to better surgical outcomes for those patients,” stated Renée-Marie Stephano, Chief Operating Officer of the Medical Tourism Association. The accreditation for Medical Tourism Programs is critical to help patients, employers and insurance companies identify which hospitals have the highest quality of care and the right processes and procedures in place to ensure patient safety during their entire patient experience. As the industry grows, there is a greater need to assure that hospitals, clinics, recovery centers and facilitators entering the Medical Tourism industry have the proper patient management procedures to manage the patient experience before they begin their journey until well after they return home. These procedures should include proper communication, transparency in quality and pricing, informed consent, appropriate aftercare and continuity of care once the patient returns home. The Medical Tourism Association Accreditation is not an identification of the quality of the surgeons or the facility outcomes, rather it focuses on the international patients’ services and protocols currently being utilized and marketed to foreign patients, allowing patients, employers and insurance companies the ability to identify those organizations that are qualified to receive patients that are looking for specific medical tourism services.

The accreditation system will focus on the “Medical Tourism” aspect and is not intended to accredit quality or to replace any accreditation system. This new MTA Accreditation system “complements” existing accreditation systems currently in place.

Foreign patients may have special needs and requirements different than domestic patients. Hospitals, clinics, and facilitators need to be able to accommodate different cultures, religions, language barriers and other requirements. It is reasonable for patients to request and be provided with this information easily.

An accreditation panel made up of an international committee of healthcare experts will review each application and perform due diligence, investigation and research to determine if the organization meets the standards and criteria of accreditation. Organizations that qualify will be given the “Medical Tourism Accreditation Logo” so that patients, employers and insurance companies can be aware of the availability of certain services.

 The Medical Tourism Association will announce who is the new owner of MedicalTourism.com, at it's annual convention in San Francisco, September 9-12th, 2008. The Medical Tourism Association is excited to present the new owner one of the most in demand websites for the Medical Tourism, Health Tourism, and Medical Travel industries.

The domain name will be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the Medical Tourism Association's annual convention. "This is an exciting opportunity for participants in the industry", said Jonathan Edelheit, the President of the Medical Tourism Association. We feel the new owner who purchases the website on September 10th, will obtain something priceless, and we are happy to be involved in the process." said Jonathan Edelheit.

The Medical Tourism Association is the international non-profit trade group for the Medical Tourism Industry, made up of the leading international hospitals, facilitators, insurance companies and healthcare organizations. With over 100 members and offices in the United States, Latin America, Middle East, Europe and Asia, the Medical Tourism Association leads the way for the growth of the Medical Tourism Industry.

Medical Tourism Association Launches a Preview of the Medical Tourism Association Documentary

"Angels Overseas" - January 17, 2008

Medical Tourism Association to Launch TV News Feeds - January 12, 2008

Medical Tourism Association to Launch Patient Financing in Spring 2008 - January 11, 2008