Category Archives: Medical Tourism/Health Tourism

Capture of a medical operation (Foto: Guillermo Mendo)

Medical tourism is becoming fashionable and Spanish clinics are willing to take advantage of the opportunity. The Federación Nacional de Clínicas Privadas (FNCP), private clincs federation, has set a clear goal for the next years: to promote Spanish private healthcare among foreign visitors. ‘The project is aiming at promoting private healthcare in Spain and our country as a destination linked to medical tourism’, says Juan Bosco, who chairs the project.

They understand that there is a wealth of opportunities on the field in Spain, as they consider that the country has a good reputation among the most demanded operations by tourists: plastic surgery, eye surgery, organ transplantation or treatments related to infertility and conception.

Model in tourism

‘The FNCP is mindful of the quality showed by Spanish private clincs and that our country is a worlwide model of tourism, owing to which we decided to set up a project that combines both aspects’.

In his mind, ‘Spain has a lot to offer’. ‘It is a country known all over the world due to its tourist industry, due to its geographical possibilities and remarkable offer on leisure, and on the other hand the country possesses top-of-the-range healthcare facilities at competitive prices; we are talking about ideal surroundings for medical tourism’, adds.

50 million tourists

Spain’s main competitors are Eastern European like Bulgaria and Romania, ‘where rates may be lower but services are delivered at half of the quality’. Besides, this topic has been treated on the latest OECD research, mentioning Asian, African and Arabic emerging markets.

This research contains approximative data, showing that American tourists make up up to 10 percent of the total medical visitors, and suggesting that 30 to 50 million people may annually travel abroad to receive medical treatment. Thus medical tourism is read as an industry experiencing a sharp growth, and in 2009 its turnover was to the tune of 75,000 million euros all over the globe.

source: http://www.O2b.com / Home> Market / January 02nd, 2013

New Delhi :

India has tightened visas for Maldives in what is being seen as retaliation for the GMR  fiasco in that country. New Delhi has stopped Maldivians from using their visa-free travel facilities to India for other activities like medical treatment, restricting it only to tourism.

India revised its earlier “liberal” interpretation of the 1979 bilateral visa agreement with Maldives this month which allowed thousands of Maldivians to use a 90-day visa-on-arrival facility — meant only for tourism — to travel for treatment in Indian hospitals. The Indian government  indulged in Maldivians’ liberal use of the facility. But that will no longer be allowed, said sources. Now, Maldivians will need valid medical visas for treatment in Indian hospitals or face deportation, New Delhi has warned.

Foreign minister Salman Khurshid  suggested that a lack of reciprocity by Male had forced India to cut down on its largesse in doling out visas. “We know that people from the Maldives  come here for treatment but as far as visas are concerned, we will go strictly by the rules,” said Khurshid. While India allowed Maldivians to seek treatment on tourist visas — as it never questioned the purpose of their visit —authorities in Male have admitted that there always was a “mutual understanding” that such travelers required medical visa.

Indications are that Maldives is already facing the heat. Calling for its nationals not to depend on any one country for treatment, Male has now approached Sri Lanka  saying it wants to extend its healthcare scheme to some of the hospitals in Colombo. Now, Maldivians are queuing up outside the Indian High Commission to seek medical visas which are limited in number. The Maldivian home minister said they would approach Thailand for help in medical treatment for its citizens.

According to the Indian government, Maldives’ interpretation of the visa agreement was always different and that until now it was more difficult for Indians to get into Maldives than the other way round. The fact that India workers’ passports are confiscated by their employers is something India has repeatedly taken up with authorities in Male but to no avail.

According to India, Maldives detains and deports about 50 Indian nationals every year. Maldivian home minister Mohammed Jameel Ahmed denied the charge, saying that only four have been deported this year. But the Indian High Commission contradicted him on Saturday. “Regarding the deportation of Indian travelers from Male International Airport, the High Commission of India stands by its figures,” said the High Commission in a statement. Unlike Maldives, India has also been giving tourist visas free of cost. After tightening visa regulations, India has put forward a list of demands to Maldives in which it has also sought quick release of 14 Indians detained in the  Indian Ocean  nation.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> India / by Sachin Parashar, TNN / December 31st, 2012

Medical tourism could give the Bahamian economy an annual “$100 million-plus” boost, a prominent physician said yesterday, adding that stem cell therapy could be a key part of the nation’s thrust into this  industry.

Dr Arthur Porter, chairman of a task force established to review the controversial stem cell treatment, and offer recommendations on its use in the Bahamas, told Tribune Business yesterday that its was the future of medicine in the Bahamas and wider world.

“We had  a specific discussion about stem cells, but medical tourism is far bigger than that; it’s about a whole range of therapies etc,” Dr Porter said yesterday.

#“What we felt was that if we we’re going to embark on something like stem cell therapy, that it should be part of a broader picture where we have the right sort of framework for medical tourism.

“That means we have to have the right legislation, we have to be nimble on an international scale, we have to be able to compete with the other countries who are doing it from a business standpoint. It doesn’t just mean stem cells; it could be a  whole range of other therapies.”

#Dr Porter added: “When  you look at many reports, people are talking about medical tourism bringing in several billion dollars a year worldwide.

“A lot of that is going to pre-established places in south-east Asia, India and in Singapore, but certainly our market here could be $100 million plus per year.

“That’s looking at medical tourism in a broad way. Once you start getting something like that it fosters other sciences, it fosters the physicians, the research labs, the hotels, the economy generally.

“When you look at the industries where the Bahamas has been successful , say the hotel industry we have a whole range of regulations to make that sector move, and maybe we need the same sort of thing if we are embarking on medical tourism in a big way. Perhaps stem cell will be the sharp end of the wedge in terms of getting it done.”

Dr Porter, who presented a report on the task force’s recommendation on stem cell therapy to Minister of Health, Dr Perry Gomez, yesterday, revealed that the committee agreed that neither embryonic stem cell therapy, nor reproductive human cloning, should be done in the Bahamas, but that the use of stem cells from a person’s body should be permitted in this jurisdiction.

“We believe that with the profound implications of stem cell therapy, there should be widespread consultation with the various stakeholder groups that will be involved in making the ultimate decision, so that people are aware of the importance of stem cells, some of the ethical issues and be able to opine in this regard,” Dr Porter said.

#“We felt that stem cells will be an important part of the medical tourism thrust, but we also felt the Government needed to review – and broadly review – what is necessary for a successful medical tourism industry. We do have the appropriate legislation, but the legislation has to be state of the art for us to compete with the world.”

source: http://www.tribune242.com / Home> Editorial / by  Natario McKenzie / Tribune Business Reporter / nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net / Friday, December 28th, 2012