This is not a topic discussed as often as it should be. What can people in the medical tourism industry do to solve this crisis? What are people already doing?
Sure, the news sometimes features stories about medical tourism and yes many people have at least heard of it. But in almost every case where I have personally talked to someone I know about this industry they have never heard of it, aside from some of the horror stories blasted in the news. They do not know the legitimacy of this industry and all the things it has to offer.
What is the MTA doing?
Www.MedicalTourism.com is the MTA's consumer based website, it is designed to assist a potential medical tourist in the research process of planning a trip. The site features:
- Details about certain destinations such as, hotels, airlines, currency, entrance requirements and more
- Price chart comparisons per procedure
- The latest news stories in the industry
- The MTAs membership directory, so patients can see who we work with and possibly contact them directly
- Full versions of the Health & Wellness Destination Guides
The Destination Guides are designed with the consumer in mind, it features, clinical listings, tourism activities and even gives a guide to how much a patient should budget for a medical trip to that destination. CVB's are highly involved in the production of this guide, as they have direct access to the consumers.
There are many more initiatives the MTA is involved in, but there needs to something more!
For the next issue the Medical Tourism Magazine, I am planning to write an article on this topic. I would like to speak with several different people in the industry and find out what they are doing, why they are not doing anything and what do they think would have the greatest impact on increasing consumer awareness and how can it be achieved?
If anyone is interested in contributing some thoughts on this topic, please let me know! Olivia@MedicalTourismAssociation.com
