Romanians spend an average amount of EUR 5,000 on medical services outside the country, whereas the foreign tourists that come to Romania for medical services spend between EUR 3,000 and EUR 5,000.

The number of medical tourists on both sides grew last year by 15% compared to 2013, according to the Romanian medical tourism company Seytour, cited by local Wall-street.ro.

Most of the foreign medical tourists that come to Romania are from Germany, Great Britain, Italy, France and Israel.

They come for dental treatments, ophthalmology, plastic and cosmetic surgery. They choose Romania, either due to a recommendation or due to some connection with the country.

Romanians go for medical treatments to Hungary, Turkey, Austria, Germany and Israel, to treat birth defects, traumas after accidents, cataracts, or various types of tumors and cancer.

editor@romania-insider.com

source: http://www.romania-insider.com / Romania-Insider.com / Home> Daily News> Business / by Romania Insider / February 27th, 2015

People already come to Pensacola for our sugar-white beaches and our rich cultural history.

Might we also be able to lure them here with our health care?

Proposed legislation that would earmark millions of dollars to market Florida as a “medical tourism” destination is getting strong support from local health care providers.

Earlier this week, companion bills were filed in both the House and Senate that would set aside $3.5 million a year to promote the Sunshine State’s hospitals as a “destination for quality health care services.”

The legislation would expand an existing grants program set up in 2014 by the Legislature under Visit Florida — the state’s lead tourism agency — to promote medical tourism.

If signed into law, the legislation would allocate funds annually to Enterprise Florida, the state’s lead economic development agency, which would decide how and where to spend the marketing dollars.

The Florida Legislature’s 60-day regular 2015 session begins March 3.

Under both bills the marketing effort would focus on highlighting nationally, and perhaps internationally, the expertise of Florida health-care providers, while promoting medical-related conferences or business opportunities in Florida.

“We do support these bills and are thankful that state leaders are proposing legislation… that would provide greater access for patients from outside our community,” said Baptist spokesman Brett Aldridge.

The Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sport Medicine in Gulf Breeze is but one high-profile medical facility in the Pensacola area that could benefit from such a campaign. It draws athletes and others based on the reputation of Dr. James Andrews, its founder.

Sacred Heart CEO Susan Davis said Pensacola area health care providers already are a destination for people from across Northwest Florida and South Alabama.

But a broader marketing campaign promoting the Pensacola area would be welcomed, she said.

“This community is fortunate to have excellent hospitals and physicians, many of whom offer specialized medical expertise and surgical skills that rival anything in the country,” Davis said.

“The hospitals in the State of Florida provide exceptional care. In addition, they are major employers that tend to be economic engines in their communities,” she said. “That certainly is true in Pensacola.”

Aldridge said he believes local lawmakers — including Sens. Don Gaetz and Greg Evers, and State Reps. Doug Broxson, Clay Ingram, Mike Hill and Matt Gaetz — will support the proposed legislation.

“We are confident our local delegation will see the mutual benefit to our community and their constituents with this proposal,” he said. “Our local delegation previously illustrated their confidence in these types of programs through their support of the Eagle Fund. ”

The Eagle Fund is a state grants program for health care providers that is designed to help wounded veterans.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

source: http://www.pensacolatoday.com / Pensacola Today / Home> News> Medical Tourism / by Carlton Proctor / February 26th, 2015

The Zambia-Saudi Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) will commence its forthcoming talks with a five-day meeting beginning on Sunday to explore ways and means to increase collaboration in various fields between the two countries.
“The meeting is very important. Both the Zambian and Saudi delegates want a win-win situation in the wake of the JPC meeting,” Zambian Ambassador Ibrahim Mumba said in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

Zambia stands to benefit from Saudi assistance and the Kingdom could potentially benefit from Zambia’s 14.5 million people as a new market for its products, such as petrochemicals and other investments.

Mumba said, “We drew up a Zambian plan to be presented during the meeting. It covers cooperation on health, tourism, investment, science and technology and tourism, among other aspects.”

As far as energy is concerned, Zambia benefits from the low prices in the world market, he said. “This is very important for development. It has a chain effect. With the low cost of energy comes cheaper investment prices for us, as well as cheaper labor costs.” On health, Mumba said Zambia wanted to establish more medical facilities and clinics throughout the country.

“The government wants to reach out to the furthest areas and deliver health care to our people. In this regard, we need assistance from the Kingdom and this could be made possible through the JPC,” he said.

Regarding youth development, he said Zambia has a development program but this “need(s) assistance, especially in terms of assisting your people to begin business ventures that could propel them and their communities economically. We have a ministry that takes care of youth development but we need further financial assistance for them in order to harness their full potential.”

On the tourism front, Zambia needs help to properly market its wide and varied tourism resources to attract both local and foreign visitors.

“What we need is a mechanism to promote tourism both ways in both countries, and in this way we’re looking forward to the positive outcome that could come from theJPC meeting,” Mumba said.

He suggested that one way to do this would be for Saudi Airlines to have a stopover in Lusaka on its way to South Africa from Jeddah, and vice versa.
“In this case, it would be easier for Zambians to visit Saudi Arabia for its tourist attractions as well as for those coming both for Haj and umrah and Haj,” he said. He noted that at present, visitors from the Kingdom go first to Dubai or Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, before taking their flight to Lusaka.

“The JPC committee is very important indeed. There’s much at stake and we’re looking forward to a favorable outcome,” Mumba concluded. The 24-member Zambian delegation to the JPC inaugural session will be headed by George K. Zulu, Foreign Affairs permanent secretary. Other members include members of the trade, energy, and economics departments.

source: http://www.arabnews.com / Arab News / Home / by Rodolfo C. Estimo Jr. , Riyadh / Sunday – March 01st, 2015

The Future of Thailand’s Healthcare Industry in Tier two Cities

As these cities have been urbanized, their population has grown more affluent and accustomed to better living standards.

Healthcare services are among the many services that those in these cities with better income and education are now willing to pay for.

Given the rapid change of this market, it is crucial for healthcare companies to better understand healthcare business opportunities in the tier two Thailand cities.

Thailand healthcare overview

Healthcare expenditure in Thailand is still very low in comparison to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and China; but slightly higher than its peers in AEC.

The government has been increasing their healthcare spending to strengthen the universal coverage scheme for the past 10 years.

Total government budget for the scheme increased from THB 51 billion in 2002 (USD 1.6 bn), THB 91 billion in 2007 (USD 2.9 bn) and up to THB 106 billion in 2009 (USD 3.4 bn).

While Thailand is among other AEC nations whose numbers of hospital beds stand is lower than global median, the country’s number of hospital beds is significantly higher than AEC median.

Despite having relatively advanced economies in comparison to other AEC nations, Thailand’s number of doctors per 10,000 population is below average, hampering the growth of its healthcare industry.

The complete version of this white paper further outlines the drivers and challenges in the healthcare sector in Thailand’s Tier 2 Cities along with the future opportunities within the industry.

download the full version

About Solidiance
We are a leading Asia-centric B2B growth strategy advisory firm with full fledged presence in China – India – Indonesia – Malaysia – Myanmar – Philippines – Singapore – Thailand – UAE – Vietnam. Our core forte is to help multinational corporations to accelerate their growth in the healthcare sector in Asia.

www.solidiance.com

source: http://www.thailand-businessnews.com / Thailand Business News / Home> Health> Business, Money & Finance / Monday – February 16th, 2015