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Press Releases
Feb 4, 2010
The 3rd Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress has released a Call for Papers. You are invited to participate in the 2010 World Medical Tourism and Global Health Congress. The Conference will be held from September 22-24th 2009 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.
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 at www.MedicalTourismMag.com.
The deadline to submit your paper is February 15, 2009. To read the submission guidelines and download an application to submit, please go to: http://medicaltourismcongress.com/content.php?id=18&lang=en
We look forward to your submissions!
Warm Regards,
Melissa Skelton & Stephanie Falcone
The World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress™ Announces its 2009 Speakers! – May 2009
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, CEO 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 World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress™ announces its 2009
Pre Conference Workshops and Agenda! – May 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
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!
Medical Tourism Association Releases Last Twenty Educational Interview Videos on Magazine Website
window.google_render_ad(); West Palm Beach, FL, February 27, 2009 --(PR.com)-- 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
Dato Dr. Jacob Thomas – President of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia
Jorge Cortés Rodríguez,M.D. – Hospital Clinica Biblica:
James Bae – Korea Health Industry:
Jason Tomlinson – The Crowne Group:
Jerry D. Turney – U.S. Now:
Jim Follett – InterContinental Hotel Group:
John Lowdermilk – Lowdermilk & Associates, Inc.:
Joseph M. Heyman, MD – American Medical Association
Judy Lim – MOH Holdings Pte Ltd
Margaret Ball – Health Links International
Marsha Proctor Killen, J.D. – Blue Cross Blue Shield
Mauro Batesteza – Barcelona Medical Centre
Mtro. Luis F. Gutierrez Munoz – Medica Sur
Philip Hassen – ISQUA
Richard Mathews – DMCO
Sebastian Viramontes – Hospital San Jose Tec de Monterrey
Stephen M. Weiner – Mintz Levin.
Trevor Gunn, Ph.D – Medtronic, Inc.
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.
Medical Tourism Association's World Medical Tourism Congress Announces ReachMD as New Media & Bronze Sponsor
window.google_render_ad(); Los Angeles, CA, February 09, 2009 --(PR.com)-- 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.
The World Medical Tourism and Global Health Congress will be held in Los Angeles California on October 26-28, 2009.
The Medical Tourism Association Announces the Release of Videos Interviews from the Medical Tourism Association’s Annual Conference
window.google_render_ad(); Los Angeles, CA, January 19, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The Medical Tourism Association announces another release of interview videos with new topics from the interviews at the Medical Tourism Association’s annual conference World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress.
Five new video interviews launched this week on the Medical Tourism Magazine website including:
Chad Holloway – Global Health Solutions, LLC
David M. Prebble, DDS – American Dental Association (ADA)
Devendra Dabak – Asian Heart Institute
Leonore Boscher – University Medical Center
Dr. Abdallah Bashir – Jordan Hospital
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 Announces it's First Release of Educational Videos which consist of Interviews from the World Medical Tourism and Global Health Congress- December 23, 2008
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 5th 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 1st 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.
Medical Tourism Association's Medical Tourism Magazine Announces Issue 7 the Conference Issue San Francisco 2008- December 12, 2008
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.
C-SPAN to Feature World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress Employer Panel Session- December 5, 2008
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 Association's 2nd Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress Announces Call for Papers- November 26, 2008
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.
Medical Tourism Congress Announces New Medical Sponsor- November 20, 2008
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.
World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress Announces 3 New Sponsors for 2009- November 15, 2008
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.
Medical Tourism Conference Features Largest Exhibit Hall- October 31, 2008
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.
Medical Tourism Association's 1st Annual Congress Was a Huge Success with Over 850 Attendees- 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
Human Resource Executive – “Transformation Vacation”
With healthcare costs soaring, some people have chosen to get expensive procedures performed outside the United States, but are employers really following?
By Jared Shelly
While laying down for a relaxing nap on a Sunday afternoon last summer, David Jones never suspected that his life was about to change. In his sleep, Jones, a self-employed housing contractor and independent insurance adjuster, had a heart attack. In an instant, he went from healthy to ailing.
At the hospital, the 46-year-old Katy, Texas, resident found out he needed a triple bypass, but without medical insurance, Jones' greatest challenge would be paying for the procedure, not surviving it.
Because he was uninsured, the doctors could only stabilize him.
"They put me in the ICU for four days, medicated me and sent me home," says Jones.
A week later, his heart gave out again. This time, thankfully, it was just a mild attack. He soon found out that he had three arteries that were fully or mostly blocked and a triple bypass was now imperative.
The clock was ticking. He needed surgery immediately.
"The bottom half of my heart wasn't even working anymore," he says. "It wasn't functioning."
Jones, once again in the ICU, found himself faced with some tough choices: Pay $80,000 up front, then finance another $170,000 to pay for the surgery, or risk death or serious complications.
"The surgeon came in and said, 'David, I can keep you alive on pills for one to five years, so see what you can do,' " he says.
Although his Southern Baptist church group helped him raise money, there was no way he could get close to the amount he needed. He couldn't even qualify for any financial-aid services from the government because his wife still held her part-time job working for the church for modest pay.
With his back against the wall, Jones found out about a third option from a friend -- having his surgery in India, where procedures are far less expensive.
"It wasn't an option for me when I first heard it. I said, 'There ain't no way.' I mean, that's crazy. [India is] 7,000 miles away," says Jones, who recently spoke about his experience at the World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress, held in mid-September in San Francisco.
But then he started doing the math: The surgery would cost $11,000. Adding in round-trip airfare along with food and accommodations at the hospital for himself and his brother brought the grand total to $16,000 -- easily more manageable than $250,000 in the United States.
Just like Jones, employers facing increasing healthcare costs have been exploring the option of medical tourism -- the act of sending patients abroad for medical procedures. While the option proved a good fit for an uninsured individual such as Jones, could it be a solution for employers faced with ever-increasing healthcare costs?
So far, employers have not made medical tourism a common practice. In a survey of 400 companies of varying sizes and industries by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 11 percent offer a medical tourism benefit. However, while the bulk of large employers are not yet offering the overseas option, 9 percent are either interested or very interested in the practice, according to another survey of 3,000 employers released in April by New York-based Mercer.
Weighing the Option
At the San Francisco conference -- the first of its kind, according to organizers -- Jones discussed working with Healthbase, a Newton, Mass.-based medical tourism facilitator that coordinated his entire trip -- from booking the flight to providing pictures and information about the hospital, to getting him in contact with other patients who had undergone similar procedures in India. They even set up a conference phone call with the Indian surgeon.
On Aug. 11, Jones landed in an airport in New Delhi.
More than a year later, he is healthy and back to his contracting work. Yes, the New Delhi hospital looked a bit older than the American hospitals he's accustomed to, but the constant nursing care, affordable price and -- perhaps most importantly -- qualified surgeon made it all worthwhile, Jones says.
The conference also featured four days of talks by healthcare experts, medical-tourism facilitators and representatives from hospitals in more than 20 countries around the world, most hoping to show that overseas facilities offer the same level of quality at a fraction of the cost.
Alex Piper, keynote speaker at the conference, who formerly served as marketing service manager at DaimlerChrysler and is now president of the Royal Oak, Mich.-based consultancy One World Global Healthcare Solutions, says medical tourism could flourish as a result of industries that are experiencing an economic downturn.
"[For example,] the auto industry is bad," he says, "[and is] a market that is right [for this option]." The oil industry, however, is not a likely market, he adds, because "they are focused on making money, not saving money."
Employers with large populations of foreign-born workers -- such as companies in California with large numbers of Hispanic employees -- have also benefited from medical tourism, says Piper.
"They don't have an aversion to travel. They grew up in another country, so they are open to it," he says, noting that almost every Fortune 500 company has operations in more than one country, and that at least some of those employees would undoubtedly feel comfortable with medical tourism.
But why are surgical costs so low in other countries? Is it a lack of malpractice liability?
Piper says no. "I am not aware of countries where you cannot sue for malpractice," he says. Nor has he ever encountered an employer that would allow an employee or family member to venture into such an unprotected situation. Procedures abroad, he says, generally are accompanied by contracts that specify the legal recourses available to patients in case something goes wrong.
One company that has implemented medical tourism is Hannaford Bros. Co., a Portland, Maine-based supermarket chain with stores across the northeastern United States. Hannaford started with medical tourism after assessing its rising healthcare costs and calculating the potential savings without sacrificing quality, says Peter Hayes, the company's director of associate health and wellness, who also spoke at the conference.
So far, the company only offers a medical tourism option for knee or hip replacements at one specific hospital in Singapore.
A hip replacement, for example, costs $50,000 in the United States, but only $10,000 to $15,000 outside the country, says Hayes. When you take an employee's deductible under a conventional domestic network into account, a hip replacement in the United States would cost about $2,000 to $3,000 out of pocket. If a Hannaford employee or family member elects to have the surgery in Singapore, however, they won't have to pay anything.
"We will pay 100 percent," says Hayes. In fact, the Singapore hospital offers the company such a cost break, he adds, that "we will waive that $3,000 you otherwise would have had to pay in deductibles and out of pocket. We'll pay for travel and we'll pay for travel for a significant other."
Hannaford settled on the
