SmartCare Worldwide Launches Medical Travel Benefit Program for Employers

Posted on March 7, 2013 | Comments Off on SmartCare Worldwide Launches Medical Travel Benefit Program for Employers

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Smart Care  Worldwide, a Houston-based medical travel facilitator, has launched a comprehensive medical travel benefits program that is available to all U.S. employers. The new medical travel program will cut overall healthcare costs and provide employers a meaningful give-back benefit for their employees.

Houston, TX (PRWEB)

The first to implement SmartCare’s new medical travel benefit program , offering its employees medical travel benefits through their underlying group medical plans, is a U.S. subsidiary of a South African global employer with diversified energy and chemical operations in 38 countries. The plan is administered by SmartCare Worldwide (http://www.SmartCareWorldwide.com).

SmartCare’s medical travel benefit offers employees access to a comprehensive network of medical services , dental services, hospitals and top medical professionals in Costa Rica–a country recognized for its affordable, high-quality medical and dental healthcare as well as its geographic beauty.

According to Rick Huntington , a principal with SmartCare Worldwide, “medical tourists having procedures in Costa Rica enjoy significant cost savings as great as 70 percent less than U.S. costs. These substantial savings are of central importance to employers who are under increasing pressure to contain medical insurance costs while providing health benefit options to their employees.”

For participating employers and their employees, SmartCare’s medical travel plan  provides access to high quality, affordable dental, medical and surgical services, ranging from routine to major procedures both elective and non-elective. All physicians, specialists, surgeons, dentists and related medical providers in SmartCare’s system are carefully vetted, accredited by specialty, and affiliated with Costa Rica’s leading Joint Commission International  -accredited hospitals. SmartCare Worldwide has developed a structured program to simplify the medical travel  experience that ensures individuals utilizing their medical travel benefit in Costa Rica receive attentive, full-time medical, dental and travel assistance. The program is fully administered by SmartCare staff.

SmartCare Worldwide worked closely with the Costa Rican government, medical community and the  Council for the International Promotion of Costa Rica Medicine  (PROMED) to develop the infrastructure and relationships core to SmartCare’s medical tourism program. SmartCare chose  Costa Rica  because of the country’s commitment to excellence in medical tourism , now Costa Rica’s third largest industry.

During a recent interview, Huntington said, “We have built a new and extraordinary benefit program that brings something meaningful to the insurance and benefits market. Our new medical travel benefit program will provide employers of all sizes an opportunity to give back to their employees by providing a wide range of medical services that may not have been available to them previously. Perhaps this can serve as an answer to the rising costs of healthcare in the U.S.”

“We saw a tremendous opportunity for our clients—global businesses, employers and large associations,” says Principal Shelly Coonrod , “to have the unique capability of providing their employees, retirees and members a new health benefit of exciting and real value, giving them access to world-class dental and medical treatment at great savings.”

“We worked hard while building this program to develop high-functioning relationships with Costa Rica’s finest hospitals, physicians, dentists, surgeons and specialists,” Coonrod states. “We’ve solidified those relationships and structured a total, scalable system for medical travel and medical tourists. SmartCare can deliver this system turnkey to an employer and will administer the program in its entirety with minimum impact on the employer’s HR department. I feel we’ve succeeded in bringing a complete medical tourism option to the market.”

“The icing, of course, is that Costa Rica is a beautiful destination to visit. It is ecologically one of the most refreshing places on the planet–a peaceful country with solid ties to the U.S. and only a three hour flight from Houston Intercontinental Airport .”

source: http://www.chron.com / Home> Business> Press Release / by PRWeb.com / February 26th, 2013

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Posted in Health /Medical Treatment For Overseas Treatment, Healthcare Service Providers, Others, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

UK’s NHS may adopt ID cards in struggle to curb health tourism

Posted on March 6, 2013 | Comments Off on UK’s NHS may adopt ID cards in struggle to curb health tourism

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An ambulance drives past Basildon hospital in Essex, east of London (Reuters/Andrew Winning)

The UK may introduce an ‘entitlement card’ as a requirement for those seeking medical treatment in the country. The measure is widely seen as a part of a crackdown on health tourism – when non-nationals come to the country for free treatment.

The reform is currently under discussion, but if enacted it would only allow access to the National Health Service (NHS) for those who have regular residency; to obtain this status would take between six months and a year.

Upon applying for healthcare, patients would then be required to present a special ID card. Emergency and antenatal care would still be available free to the public.

The proposal was put forward by Frank Field, Labour MP for Birkenhead, and Nicholas Soames, Tory MP for Mid Sussex, who co-chair a cross-party parliamentary group on balanced immigration.

The news sparked worries among activists, but was welcomed by doctors, many of whom say they find it difficult to ask patients if they are entitled to NHS care over fears of appearing racist.

“The important thing is to make sure that people are not drawn to the UK artificially,” Foreign Secretary William Hague told BBC on Sunday, adding that benefit tourism “has to be tackled.”

Hague was largely referring to visitors from the EU, specifically Romania and Bulgaria, who now are allowed free movement within the union. He declined to give approximate figures of those coming to the UK, however, saying that such an estimate would be a “guesswork.”

This is the latest development in British attempts to deal with the large influx of immigrants into the country.

In January, the UK announced a new citizenship test .  According to reports, the new exam would include questions about Monty Python and details of the Queen’s life, and other culturally specific trivia.

source: http://www.rt.com / Home> News / March 04th, 2013

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Posted in Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Reports,Features, Statistics, Uncategorized

Expert committee soon for medical tourism

Posted on March 5, 2013 | Comments Off on Expert committee soon for medical tourism

Steps will be taken to enhance infrastructure and facilities in medical college hospitals

MedtourCT05mar2013

 (Left to Right) Director of JIPMER T.S. Ravikumar, past president of AAEMI Anita Bhavnani, the current President, Pankaj Arora, and Puducherry Tourism Minister P. Rajavelu address the media at the Minister’s office in Puducherry on Monday —Photo: G. Krishnaswamy / The Hindu

Puducherry Tourism Minister P. Rajavelu said the government would form an expert committee to explore the possibilities of promoting medical tourism.

The Minister, who held an important meeting with Dr. Pankaj Arora, President of the American Academy for Emergency Medicine in India (AAEMI), and Dr. T.S. Ravikumar, Director, JIPMER, told The-Hindu on Monday that Puducherry had excellent potential to promote medical tourism, which was gaining momentum in some cities in South India.

There were nine medical colleges in Puducherry, which included the renowned JIPMER, the first medical educational institute in Puducherry. No other town in South India has such a large a number of medical colleges and other allied institutes. It was a blessing not only to students but also patients, including from foreign countries. Hence, it has been decided to set up a committee with line departments so as to transform Puducherry as a destination for medical tourism , he said Mr. Rajavelu said a conference would be convened soon under the chairmanship of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy to carry forward the agenda for medical tourism. With the available infrastructure and treatment facilities, Puducherry could garner global attention and become the foremost choice for patients from abroad.

Infrastructure development necessary

Since treatment was expensive in countries such as England, USA and others, there was a possibility to attract patients from European countries also. Fine tuning the infrastructure was the need of the hour. Steps would be taken to enhance infrastructure and facilities in medical college hospitals so as to fulfil the expectation of patients from abroad also.

Hospitals such as JIPMER and PIMS have been developed to the level of attracting patients from abroad. This was an indication that Puducherry could be developed as a hub of medical tourism.

However, it was important for the hospitals to get international accreditation to attract patients not only from western countries but also from neighbouring ones.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Puducherry, March 05th, 2013

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Posted in Associations/Organisations/Government/NonGovernment, Health /Medical Treatment For Overseas Treatment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Reports,Features, Statistics, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

Coimbatore’s medical expertise elusive to foreign patients due to poor air connectivity

Posted on March 5, 2013 | Comments Off on Coimbatore’s medical expertise elusive to foreign patients due to poor air connectivity

Coimbatore :

City hospitals, that have been striving to make Coimbatore a popular medical tourism destination, are a helpless lot, since there is nothing they can do to improve air connectivity, a major criteria in promoting such tourism. Coimbatore has carved a niche for itself in providing speciality medical care and expertise. However, unless the government works towards improving the city’s air connectivity, marketing such services would prove futile.

Dr. S Rajasekaran, director, Ganga Hospital, says there is a huge gap between the city’s potential and actual performance. “In 2012, we treated more than 100 international patients, all of them referred to us by surgeons outside India,” he said. Though this is encouraging much has to be done to tap real potential. Pointing out that without direct air connectivity it is difficult to position Coimbatore as the medical tourism destination, he stressed the need for aggressive marketing in the international arena. For now, most international patients fly to Chennai and take a connecting flight to Coimbatore.

In Coimbatore, Ganga Hospital,  Kovai Medical Center adn Hospital  (KMCH), KG Hospital and Gem Hospital are among the top centres to promote medical tourism. Doctors also suggest that apart from accessibility, the city’s visibility as a medical tourism destination needs to be improved. “The presence of specialty hospitals, availability of personalised service and cost effectiveness (about 30 to 40 pc less) are our strengths and inadequate marketing is our minus,” Dr.Rajasekaran added. Few hospitals like Ganga Hospital and KG Hospital have even created a separate page on their websites to promote medical tourism.

Another private hospital that has gone a step further to promote medical tourism and has even created relationship centres abroad to attract international patients, is KMCH. “Most of our international patients are from Middle East and African countries and so we have created such centres in Dubai, Muscat, Oman, Ghana and Guinea,” said Dr. Nalla G Palaniswami, chairman, KMCH.

Despite the glaring disadvantages like lack of direct flight connectivity, hospitals in Coimbatore have managed to attract a flow of foreign patients on a regular basis by banking on its strengths. However, to get to the next level, improved air connectivity is a must.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Coimbatore / by S M Arun, TNN / March 05th, 2013

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Posted in Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Reports,Features, Statistics

Century Properties eyes medical tourism

Posted on March 3, 2013 | Comments Off on Century Properties eyes medical tourism

IN addition to developing premium residences in various market segments, listed real estate firm Century Properties Group announced that it will be an active player in the country’s growing medical tourism industry through its medical arts building project in Makati City.

Centuria Medical Makati, a 28-storey outpatient medical facility now on its seventh floor of construction at Century City in Kalayaan Avenue, will serve as a platform to support the Philippine governments thrust to offer world-class medical services to foreign patients, said Century Properties Chairman Jose E.B. Antonio.

The  P2.1-billion project is positioned to attract local residents and most especially medical travelers, who are looking for quality treatment in a world-class facility that can offer huge cost savings, as compared to costs of medical treatment in their own countries, said Antonio, whose firm has previously developed three medical arts projects in Makati, Ortigas and Alabang.

Tourism is considered one of the pillars of our country’s economic growth. With the added push from the tourism and health departments of our government, Century Properties is very optimistic about the prospects of medical tourism in the Philippines. We know for a fact that similar outpatient medical facilities abroad are extremely doing well and we will bring the best practice to Centuria, Antonio said.

In 2010, the Philippines posted $25.3-million in revenues for the health and wellness industry, 60 percent of which came from foreign visitors. Medical procedures in the Philippines can be 40-80 percent cheaper compared to US hospitals.

Centuria is scheduled for completion in 2014. It will house 553 clinics for doctors specializing in various medical practices, and if there is a need to run tests or conduct minor medical procedures for patients, Centuria will offer the use of its special facilities within the building: the Day Surgery Center, radiology center, diagnostic laboratory, digital imaging, pharmacy, recovery suites, and an ambulance transfer service. To foreign patients who wish to extend their stay in the Philippines, Centuria will have a travel desk and concierge services for flight arrangements and hotel bookings.

source: http://www.ManilaStandardToday.com / Home / March 03rd, 2013

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Posted in Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Uncategorized