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