In the new era of medical tourism, the role of the medical tourism facilitator is now more important than ever. As more patients seek medical treatments abroad, the medical tourism facilitator is well positioned to support patients find quality options and get them from point A to point B safely and seamlessly. Therefore, understanding best practices in medical travel facilitation is essential to winning more health payers into a market.

With a target to add 5 million new medical tourists to the industry in 2028, the Medical Tourism Moonshot is integrating data-driven solutions with the best of resources and expertise in the medical tourism industry to facilitate a seamless network between patients, health payers (referral organizations) and high-quality treatments around the world.

In a recent webinar coordinated by Jonathan Edelheit, Chairman and co-Founder of Medical Tourism Association and Global Healthcare Resources, Tim Isenhower, Director of Benefits at HSM Solutions to talk about HSM’s medical tourism program and how it has thrived for the last decade, and how other self-funded employers can make the most of medical travel to reduce cost and improve employee healthcare outcomes.

The Medical Tourism Index is used by industry stakeholders, business leaders, employers, insurers, and healthcare organizations to assess a country’s medical travel capacity and, and also by health consumers and payers to make medical travel decisions.

In this post-pandemic era of medical travel, patient expectations have evolved and are driving the change. Gaps in medical travel are now more glaring, therefore, health consumers, plan sponsors, and health payers have stopped relying on anecdotes and Google reviews and are now looking for medical travel providers with the requisite skills and knowledge of the industry. This is where GHA’s medical tourism training, medical tourism certifications, and accreditations are integral in helping organizations achieve their true potential in medical travel.

The medical travel journey is complex and could be overwhelming for a medical tourist visiting a country for the first time. Patient advocates play an integral role in ensuring a seamless medical travel continuum by guiding medical tourists through the care journey and ensuring the receive the best care they can get. As patients become more intentional about their medical travel choices, patient advocacy is becoming a crucial point in medical travel, and one that has become a key differentiator in a highly competitive industry.

The medical tourism market is rapidly expanding, many regions across the world are boosting their healthcare systems to meet a wider range of healthcare needs and also provide first-rate care for medical tourists. Following the massive development of free trade zones and healthcare systems across the Middle East, Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries, and North Africa, the medical tourism market in these regions have been expanding rapidly.

The Certified Medical Travel Professional (CMTP) is your key to leaping forward and gaining new heights in the medical tourism industry. Developed by the Global Healthcare Accreditation, this medical tourism training helps medical providers and other medical tourism stakeholders to focus on the core levers of medical travel, including patient experience, effective marketing, and building the right business models.

With the Certified Medical Travel Professional program, become a highly valuable and recognized expert in the industry, providing relevant and exceptional solutions for medical tourists at each touchpoint of the medical travel patient care journey. To register for the CMTP certification, click here.

Over the last few decades, the need for affordable and top-line healthcare continues to drive medical travel as more health buyers look beyond borders to find solutions for their healthcare needs. While medical travel offers a unique opportunity for health payers to access high-quality healthcare with enormous cost savings, it also comes with some risks – both to the patient and the healthcare provider.

Patient experience is essential for every point of the care continuum, from departure to discharge; patients want a seamless medical journey as well as quality medical treatment and a relaxing post-treatment recovery period. Meeting patients at these touch points is a key to unlocking success in the medical tourism industry. GHA has a team of global experts and healthcare leaders to redirect organizations and businesses to meet patients’ needs effectively.

Patient care outcomes are heavily dependent on clear communication between health providers and patients. Accurate disease diagnosis depends on a clear and precise history taking, and treatment compliance is also strongly hinged on clear treatment instructions and follow-up details. Essentially, it is crucial to have a clear flow of information between health providers and clients; however, this may fall short of what’s expected and health providers may make certain mistakes in communication that could potentially affect healthcare outcomes.

Marketing is a crucial component of business growth, and if not implemented correctly, could mar organizational success. Medical tourism programs need to pay attention to the nuances of the medical travel market, and implement strategies to attract their target populations and drive more buy-ins.

The medical tourism industry is beginning to set a new path of recovery since the pandemic ceased. The major players are re-strategizing and previously small players are emerging as key stakeholders in the industry. In this webinar, Bill Cook and Jonathan Edelheit discuss the principles of success in the industry and strategies that are pivotal to long-term success.

Korea is reshaping the dynamics of the industry as advances in the country's healthcare system are attracting millions of medical tourists from around the world. With strategic partnerships and business models, these hospitals are redefining care standards and the patient experience.

Korean Tourism Organization and the Medical Tourism Association had a recent roundtable led by Jonathan Edelheit, Chairman and Co-founder of Global Healthcare Resources and President of Medical Tourism Association, in which more than 25 US medical travel stakeholders, insurance companies, employers, and insurance agents along with some leading Korean hospitals discuss the paradigm shifts in healthcare in the U.S. and the drive for medical travel toward outstanding medical travel destinations, particularly Korea

Medical travel facilitator companies play a critical role in ensuring a safe and successful medical travel patient experience. There are many great facilitator companies out there; however, unfortunately, patients have very few signposts to help them distinguish between a good facilitator and the not so good.

With more destinations competing for international patients around the world, Singapore is taking a unique position that focuses on driving quality healthcare through international best practices at reasonable costs to payers.

VitalLife, a subsidiary of Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand, offers an array of treatments that cut across pharmacologic treatments and wellness strategies to prevent and reverse chronic diseases. VitalLife offers a range of treatments that cut across personalized medicine and individualized lifestyle and behavioral changes.

As the world becomes smaller and people from different cultural backgrounds connect and transact, there Is a need for medical providers and medical travel businesses to recognize the cultural lines that distinguish people and ensure they remodel their operations to accommodate these differences and boost their patient experience, thereby.

The Future of Medical Tourism, arguably the most successful and well-attended webinar organized by the Medical Tourism Association, with over 600 registered industry stakeholders from across the globe, featured insightful takes and discussions about the future of medical travel, the paradigm shifts disrupting the industry, and the challenges that lie ahead.

South Korea is in the spotlight, as many American health payers are paying attention to Korea’s advances in medicine and robust medical travel opportunities. South Korea has been a leading player in the medical tourism industry over the last decade, with more than 400,000 foreign patients yearly visiting the country for medical treatment. As health payers seeking alternatives to expensive U.S. healthcare began to think outside the box for opportunities beyond the border, they began to uncover the goldmine that is Korea’s medical system.

The dynamics of medical travel have changed since the pandemic eased. With evolving patient demands, medical travel businesses and programs are transforming their models to adapt to the changing business climate and meet these new demands. One important area that is often overlooked is staff training.

Marketing is a critical component of most businesses; whether or not your organization offers high-quality products or services, your client volume and overall success depend, in a large measure, on the quality and effectiveness of your marketing strategies. The pattern is similar in medical travel. With shifting paradigms in patient expectations and choices for medical travel destinations, medical tourism and health tourism organizations need to rethink strategies to enhance their brands and visibility and improve how they communicate their offerings

Telemedicine no doubt has become a catalyst for improved patient outcomes and healthcare cost savings, but there are still factors that preclude its optimal use by patients. Healthcare providers and tech vendors need to understand how medical travel patients want digitalized patient care delivered to create models they can easily engage with. With these barriers addressed, telemedicine can reach its potential as a lever for achieving equitable distribution of healthcare resources and, in turn, a better healthcare experience.

On October 5, 2022, the World Health Organization issued a global alert on four contaminated medicines after they were linked to the deaths of nearly 70 children in The Gambia. The cough syrups, which had been imported from India, caused fatal acute kidney failure in the affected children in what seems to be one of the biggest death crises due to cough syrups imported from India.

Since medical travel resumed after flights were grounded and hospitals were shuttered for nearly two years due to the pandemic, the industry has not remained the same. Many innovative changes are shifting the paradigm in medical tourism as countries begin to expand their markets to meet global pent-up healthcare demands. 

Key into the Medical Travel Facilitator Certification to restructure your program and offer quality service to clients along the continuum of care

Dr. Najmabadi leads a team of highly trained specialists and medical staff in a renowned fertility center located on the luxurious Punta Mita peninsula on the north end of the Banderas bay in the Mexican state of Nayarit

Dr. José Luis Rivas Aguilar is changing the game in assisted reproduction and fertility science with his expertise and robust research in the field. Currently, the General Director of the renowned Punta Mita Fertility Center, Dr. Rivas is leaving no stone unturned in delivering top-notch fertility and reproductive treatments for patients with the most up-to-date knowledge and technologies.

Healthcare costs are raging in America, and the average household can not keep up any longer. Currently, healthcare cost in the U.S. is growing 1.1% faster than the GDP, it's only a matter of time before this crisis begins to efface people’s access to healthcare.

This exclusive and private B2B event organized by the Korean Tourism Association and the Medical Tourism Association will bring together American insurance companies, employers, insurance agents and consultants, travel agents, and others already actively engaged in medical tourism or looking to do so

The medical travel patient experience starts with you. With the Certified Medical Travel Professional program, become a highly valuable and recognized expert in the industry, providing relevant and exceptional solutions for medical tourists at each touchpoint of the medical travel patient care journey.

Healthcare providers might have the best intentions but may not understand the dynamics of the medical travel space and the market reshaping and remodeling they may require to be a top-choice destination for traveling patients and other international payers. To bridge this gap, Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) has launched HealthStars EXCELerator, a solution designed to accelerate innovation and maximize a business’s opportunity for success in the global healthcare space.

Punta Mita Hospital has positioned itself as a center of excellence for quality and affordable diagnostic and therapeutic fertility services. Fortified with a superb medical tourism package, the Punta Mita Hospital is always at the service of international clients from anywhere in the world, ready to create a wholesome medical travel experience for health seekers from departure to discharge.

Technology is advancing swiftly and revolutionizing human interactions. Since the Facebook transformation to incorporate advanced VR technologies, known as the metaverse, into the social media platform, healthcare stakeholders are also considering infusing VR into patient care, effectively combining virtual care into medical care. No doubt, this represents a new frontier in patient care, and one that could see potentially eliminate barriers to access to care, thereby, improving outcomes for patients and their providers. 

Expect in the future an increasing number of patients to look for accreditation or certification as the determinant in selecting a medical travel agent. Certification assures patients that a facilitator has been vetted by a globally recognized third-party accreditor, affirming that the facilitator has the required protocols, processes, and staff training to deliver a safe and high-quality treatment journey and experience.

Since May 2022, cases of monkeypox have been reported in countries where the infection is not endemic, including parts of Europe and the United States. Although cases of the infection are shown to be dropping, it is still very much around. In this webinar, Heather Saunders, a registered nurse and infectious disease expert and researcher at Johns Hopkins University, and Claudia Jorgenson, Director of Clinical Operations at the Global Healthcare Accreditation, shares important information about monkeypox and the current outbreak.

ARSA is an alliance of likeminded practitioners with the highest clinical standards and shared resources that offer economies of scale. Our reconstructive and cosmetic surgeons benefit from an adaptive business environment with infrastructure, marketing, and the level of excellence which enables them to concentrate on the business of providing extraordinary clinical services. They are empowered to focus unencumbered – on doing their best work for what matters most...the patient.

In this interview, Dr. Ariel Ortiz, Medical Director of the Center, discusses his contributions to the field of bariatric surgery, the rise of bariatric surgery services for international patients, and how accreditation has set the center’s medical tourism program apart and built trust with local patients and medical tourists from around the world.

The world’s first metaverse hospital is set to be launched by the Thumbay Group in UAE this October to further blur the boundaries of access to healthcare around the world. 

In this interview with the Medical Tourism Magazine recently, Juan Luis Giraldo, MD, Medical Director of Inser Group, one of the leading fertility treatment providers in Latin America, speaks about how the company is expanding its frontiers and driving growth in fertility travel. 

Trust is the new metric for the new normal of medical travel. If a health buyer or payer does not entrust their overall health - mental, physical, and emotional - to your hands during the entire care continuum, they will not be scheduling that flight to your destination

For many cancer survivors, the hurdle does not stop at the last course of cancer treatment; hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt will leave survivors and even those receiving ongoing treatment living on the edge when all is said and done.

The rules are gradually changing for medical travel, and as the industry stages a comeback after the dark years of the pandemic, medical programs that have a third-party validation of their policies, procedures, and processes will see a greater long-term sustainable growth in medical travel, as medical travelers have now experienced a paradigm shift in what they consider to be “health.” Stakeholders must keep adapting to these changes and position themselves to be key players in the industry or lose out to those who do.

The Medical Tourism Magazine sat down recently with Dr. Andrea Maggioni, a Pediatrician and Director of Global Health at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital (formerly Miami Children's Hospital) to discuss his experience building the global medical travel program for Nicklaus Children's Hospital and how the program has become a major player in the industry. Dr. Maggioni also shares insights into the value of the Global Healthcare Accreditation for the global healthcare program and how it has fostered trust and credibility.

The Medical Tourism Magazine (MTM) had the privilege to sit down to get some insights from Heitham Hassoun MD, Cedars-Sinai Vice President and Medical Director of International Health, and Shoma Desai, MD, International Patient Services Director. They shared their thoughts and insights into what a post-pandemic world holds for medical tourism, what makes Cedars-Sinai unique, and how the Global Healthcare Accreditation for Medical Travel Services has assisted the organization in building patient trust.

IFAR’s team of specialists are leaders in their field and each doctor has a unique area of focus and expertise within reconstructive surgery. Dr. Matthew Kaufman has a rare distinction of being board certified in both Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology (head and neck surgery). This gives him the additional expertise necessary to deal with complex cosmetic and reconstructive problems of the head, face, and neck, and has enabled him to succeed in two of his surgical specialty programs: Phrenic Nerve Surgery and Occipital Neuralgia Surgery.

Experts have predicted significant volatility in healthcare costs in 2022 and beyond as a result of the impact of the pandemic not only on the economy but also on overall health. Therefore, organizations and individuals need to be prepared for the sticker shock and implement cost-saving strategies

Safety is the new watchword for any business looking to operate successfully in the new normal. Given its crucial position in the global scene, medical travel programs must remodel their operations to prioritize safety.

Although the coronavirus pandemic is almost over and international borders are nearly fully open, there’s still work to be done. Medical travel programs need to develop and upscale surge capacities, strategies, and resources to prepare for future pandemics.

The coronavirus pandemic has induced a shift in healthcare needs that wlll disrupt the medical tourism ecosystem. New strategies are therefore needed to meet the new metrics of success in medical tourism

While vaccine passes may spur medical travel recovery, without addressing the myriad of problems associated with them, the move may prove to be counterintuitive, disrupting the medical tourism ecosystem

A West Lothian dad, who is raising thousands of pounds to take his daughter abroad for specialist treatment after she was told she would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life, has been offered a discount by a top doctor.

Cleveland Clinic has been awarded “Accreditation with Excellence” for its medical travel services by Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) for a second consecutive term.‍

Vaccine supply mismatch has created a huge demand for COVID-19 vaccines in many low and middle-income countries. Consequently, this has spurred tourism stakeholders to launch “vaccine packages” not only to provide swift vaccinations but also to revive inbound tourism. 

Contracting healthcare to Centers of Excellence is not a new model, employers have been leveraging these programs to provide quality healthcare at lower costs to their employees. However, with the economic downturn and pent-up demand for healthcare triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the paradigm of health will shift toward this model - more self-funded employers will adopt this healthcare plan to minimize healthcare spendings while optimizing clinical outcomes for their employees

As lockdown restrictions are being lifted across the globe, travel is gradually recovering, but with lessons learned that may stay that way for years to come. The pandemic will usher in a new normal for the travel industry, one that will prioritize health, safety, and sustainability. 

Telemedicine has proven to be an effective and safe platform for doctors to reach patients during this global crisis, with the potential to ramp up diagnostic and treatment services as the world battles with the pandemic

Even though the pandemic remains under control in most parts of Southeast Asia, the erratic nature of the infection has discouraged authorities from opening up their borders and also dissuaded patients from visiting medical travel destinations still battling with the pandemic

These new travel restrictions may linger until scientists better understand how these variants behave and find effective therapeutic and preventive interventions against them

N95 masks offer the highest level of respiratory protection by face coverings - filtering out up to 95% of the tiniest infectious particles. Global Healthcare Resources has found a way for everyone to access N95’s in small quantities and at affordable costs

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, has been awarded Accreditation for a three-year term by the Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) Program for its Medical Travel Services Program.

With the pandemic restrictions creating pent-up demand for elective procedures, more employees are willing to explore medical travel in countries like Korea to access safe and affordable healthcare.

While scientists continue to investigate and seek a better understanding of ivermectin and its use in COVID-19, emerging results have been promising.

In one of the swiftest vaccine developments in history, global teams of drugmakers, researchers, and scientists laid the groundwork that spurred the production of vaccines to end the coronavirus pandemic.

Stem cell therapy offers a promising treatment approach to COVID-19 due to their immunomodulatory and regenerative properties.

The challenges posed by the pandemic accelerated the paradigm shift in healthcare, speeding up the integration of digital healthcare solutions to bridge the gaps in patient care and those induced by the health crisis.

The UAE government swiftly pivoted strategies to curb the further spread of the virus and promote an early recovery of the industry.

As travel is slowly returning to normal, medical travelers have new expectations from a medical tourist destination - these patients now not only seek quality and affordability of medical care but also a medical travel destination that has put in place adequate measures to safeguard their health, given the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millions of Americans keep traveling every year to access quality and timely healthcare at a fraction of a cost in the US. But as the pandemic dealt a blow to the travel industry, the number dwindled substantially, raising a lot of uncertainty about the future of health travel in the country.

Destinations such as Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic became the major players in the region’s medical travel business, attracting hundreds of thousands of medical tourists to the continent every year. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, it dealt a strong blow to the burgeoning industry that might take years to recover from.

The coronavirus has upended every aspect of life and heightened mental health concerns for most people. Given this, many people now desire to take wellness trips to renew their mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing when the crisis is over.

Tech companies have developed a wide range of applications and use cases of the technology in combating the numerous challenges caused by the pandemic.

As the coronavirus pandemic led to widespread economic closures, movement restrictions, travel bans, and changing consumer behaviors, the travel vaccine industry has also had its share of the global downturn.

The medical tourism industry has been the hardest-hit by the global economic slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Stakeholders are now uncertain of what lies ahead.

At the start of 2020, Medical Data Forecast released a report that predicted massive growth of medical tourism in Europe, however, the coronavirus pandemic has upended this trajectory this trajectory

Although the COVID-19 pandemic stretched healthcare beyond its limits and has significantly shrunken revenue for healthcare institutions, it has stirred new patient care models and approaches that improve healthcare delivery while keeping providers and patients safe

An updated Medical Tourism Index lays out the international terrain for health travel, but the impact of COVID-19 on such a global industry remains to be seen.

Medical Tourism Association (MTA) partners with Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) as South Korea extends high complexity medical services to international patients at a pivotal COVID-19 transition point.

To accelerate the digital transformation of healthcare in the UAE, key players have built a blockchain-powered portal that concentrates all health data in one secure system accessible by authorized members of the chain

The Trump administration is imposing a new visa policy restricting foreign nationals from giving birth in the US so their children can become American citizens, a practice that has been termed “birth tourism”. This new rule, which takes effect on Friday January 24, is one of President Donald Trump’s prime political concerns.

Vincenzo, 22, an Italian man who was born with an extremely rare condition called arthrogryposis shares his experience with the disease and his treatment journey at the Paley Institute.

Malaysia is building many centers of excellence like these and harnessing advanced technologies that will see the country be a game-changer in the medical tourism market

The pain from arthritis could be extremely unbearable, with most days seeing patients finding it increasingly difficult to carry out everyday tasks.

A few years ago, Chinese tourists traveled in their thousands to Japan for what was described as explosive shopping sprees. Fast forward several years later, Chinese tourists are still flying to Japan but this time largely for a different reason - medical care.

A few years after the Zika epidemic was stopped in its tracks, the ghost of it still lingers, influencing where we travel to for holidays or health tourism, especially for people who bore the brunt of its effects when it broke out - Women.