Turkish Airlines is offering special package rates to support those traveling to Turkey for medical treatment. They give a 20% discount to those on first and business class, 15% discount on comfort class, and 10% discount on economy class. As an added bonus, those discounts can be applied to companions (maximum 2) that are traveling with the patient .

For years, Turkey has been a hot spot for medical travel, especially for those living in the neighboring countries. Last year, it is estimated that approximately 200,000 foreigners traveled to Turkey for medical treatment. The most popular reasons for treatment are dental, laser eye surgery, in vitro fertilization and various plastic surgery procedures.

A prodominately Muslim country, many middle-eastern patients chose Turkey for it’s modern facilities and developed technology comparable to that of European countries. Turkey also has the highest number of JCI accredited health care institutions in the world.

For more information about the requirements for this offer, visit Turkish Airline’s website at http://www.turkishairlines.com/en-us/

Jim Yong Kim, a public health expert and president of Dartmouth College, will now serve as president of the World Bank.

The debate with having a doctor as president of the World Bank is that the majority of past presidents have been from the market and economics industry.

Since the new president is highly involved with public health, experts are concerned that he may be interested in dedicating more funds to causes such as HIV/AIDS, which was a huge part of development in the past, but the World Bank is trying to move away from that now. Public health is just not their strength.

“The United States loves to invest in public health,” says Todd Moss, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. “But we already have PEPFAR [the government’s AIDS relief program], and the U.S. Agency for International Development is already health-dominated.

Experts say that Kim may not be able to bring them back to health since the World Bank’s agenda is set by 187 shareholder countries and the Treasury Department might have no interest in that.

Another concern with having a president from the public health industry is that all decisions must be guided by economics and you have to realize that there is not an unlimited amount of resources for suffering people.

“I worry that too many doctors and public health experts, are resistant to this approach,” said William Easterly, a former World Bank economist.

Trying to pull Kim from the mind set of wanting to help everyone and not being as concerned with the cost could be a challenge since helping others is what he has been trained to do. On the other hand he could have a great strength in deciding where to allocate these limited funds for health care since he is familiar with the industry, probably more so than the economists that have held this position.

Read full article here. 

On April 25th and 26th, 2012. The organizer, Ghorfa Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Public Health expect more than 300 high-ranking Arab and German participants from business and politics.

The Health sector in the Arab World is changing by high population growth, increasing life expectancy and therefore a massive investment. Not least the strong presence at Arab Health 2012 in Dubai shows the interest of the German Healthcare system in the Arab World.

Special emphasis on the upcoming Forum will be on hospital planning, construction and operation, medical technology, rehabilitation and staff training and education, health tourism and pharmaceuticals as well as exploration of upcoming business opportunities in numerous Arab countries and Germany. Region-specific sessions concerning the GCC States on the one hand and the North African region on the other hand will also be discussed.

Guest of Honor and keynote speaker of the Forum is Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Al-Hussein, Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority. A keynote speech will be also held by the Federal Minister of Health Daniel Bahr as well as by the Bavarian State Minister of the Environment and Public Health Dr. Marcel Huber.

For more information about the forum, flight- and hotel booking please visit their homepage www.health.ghorfa.de

Contact:

Ghorfa Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Garnisonkirchplatz 1
10178 Berlin
Germany
Phone: +49-30-27 89 07 13/14
Fax: +49-30-27 89 07 49
E-Mail: events@ghorfa.de

In his book, Health Tourism: Social Welfare Through International Trade, David Reisman examines health/medical travel from a very interesting perspective.  He uses his background as an academic to present a multidisciplinary account of the medical tourism industry and how it has the potential to create jobs and wealth, while at the same time giving sick people high-quality care at an affordable price.  It is great to hear about how medical tourism is not just making a small number of people rich, but that it is in fact helping the local population and sick people in need of affordable healthcare.

Prof. Reisman will go more into depth about his findings during his presentation at the 5^th World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress.  It will be a unique opportunity to learn more and ask him questions about his suggestions on how the industry should be regulated in order to maximize the benefits for all parties involved.

Professor David Reisman is a (full) Professor of Economics at the Nanyang Tecvhnological University. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and holds the degree of D.Sc.(Econ.) from the University of London. He has held the Hallsworth, Humboldt and DAAD Fellowships and received several prizes. He has written extensively in the fields of economic thought, political economy and health economics.

PS – Today is my birthday

What is medical tourism? Is it the same as health tourism? According to the last report of OECD Medical Tourism: treatments, Markets and Health System Implications: A scoping review,  medical tourism means consumers traveling across international borders with the intention of receiving some form of medical treatment. Cosmetic surgery for aesthetic reasons would not be considered health tourism.

Under the big umbrella of patient mobility we found different  terms: temporary visitors aborad who are the people who spend holidays overseas and need to use health services because of an unexpected accident or sickness while they are travelling, long term residents are the individuals who retire in countries different than their country of origin and receive health covergare founded by either their country of origin or the country of residence.

In addition, there are outsourced patients who are people who decide to go abroad (usually travel short distances) using cross national purchasing agreements. Lastly, medical tourists are patients who choose to travel overseas to receive medical care.

The report goes into detail explaining the differences with regards to the terminology used in the industry and analyzes the global growth in the flow of patients and health professionals.  Read the entire report at: http://www.oecd.org/document/48/0,3746,en_2649_33929_48724272_1_1_1_1,00.html

The Medical Tourism Association is reporting back from the International Medical Tourism Wellness & Spa Congress in Jordan. The organizer of the congress was the Private Hospitals Association – PHA in collaboration with the Medical Tourism Association.  The congress was a great success, some of the noted highlights were Renee-Marie Stephano MTA Presidents opening remarks on transparency, communication and education in the medical tourism marketplace and Bill Cook  from Hospital Clinica Biblica in Costa Rica.  Bills presentation on the patient experience and seeing the international patient services center through the eyes of the international patient was well received by the congress participants.  The MTA is currently working with PHA Hospitals on IPSC certification and related projects concerning the increased flow of international patients along with Hospital branding  in attracting international patients.

The MTA will be holding their international medical tourism congress this year October 24th-26th 2012 in Ft. Lauderdale Florida and is expecting to surpass last years participants numbers as the medical tourism industry grows and healthcare providers look to the MTA as the best in class provider in medical tourism information and resources.

Many people are interested in minimal scar procedures from tummy tucks to breast augmentation.  But how about hair restoration? A doctor from Budapest, Hungary is intriguing those suffering from hair loss to consider just that.

Dr. Vincze Peter created the ProFUE method, a quick and minimally invasive hair implantation system where a thicker needle extracts the hair so the donor and the person receiving the extraction are left virtually scar less. FUE stands for “Follicular Unit Extraction”.

Hair transplantation could be a great option as a medical tourism procedure because the recovery time is very minimal. Within a couple of days, most patients can resume regular activities. That could mean plenty of time to explore the city and enjoy being abroad.

The price for a procedure like this could be a little steep. It can run from $2300-$11,000 depending on the size of the graphing area.

More information on the minimally invasive procedure can be found by visiting Pro Hair Clinic’s website http://www.prohairclinic.com/en

One day after a 14-year-old girl drank two 24-ounce energy drinks she went into cardiac arrest and died six days later.

She did have a common heart condition called mitral valve prolapsed, which typically doesn’t cause any problems.  Even with this condition the official cause of death documented was cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity.

Perhaps if she did not have a heart condition, this wouldn’t have affected her.  This story serves as a good reminder about how much caffeine you, your children, friends, patients and clients are drinking every day.

Two 24-ounce cans of the Monster energy drink (the brand she drank) is 480 milligrams of caffeine, this was compared to drinking about 14 cans of coke.  That is nearly five times the limit recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

One argument to this story was that, maybe kids/teens shouldn’t be drinking energy drinks at all, yet the design and name of the drinks is made to be appealing to teens.

It is difficult to determine how much caffeine is actually in the drink, since the label does not require disclosure of the amount of caffeine.  The FDA regulates the amount in soda, but energy drinks are considered a dietary supplement and have no regulation. Even if it was on the label, chances are it wouldn’t get read.  Enforcing an age limit to buy these drinks could be something to consider, or at least make the design less flashy and appealing.

The fact that was really shocking was the increase in caffeine overdoses that emergency rooms across the country have been seeing. Numbers are up from 1,128 in 2005 to 16,055 in 2008 and 13,114 in 2009.

This is an issue in the U.S.; I would like to hear if any other countries around the world are experiencing this problem?

Read the full story here.

Dr. Marc Fetscherin, an Associate Professor of International Business and Marketing and a Cornell Distinguished Faculty at Rollins College, will be speaking at the 5th World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress about place branding.  His expertise is in International Marketing with a focus on branding. Specifically he focuses on topics such as global brand management, corporate branding, human brands, brand equity, brand image, brand personality, consumer brand relationships, and destination branding such as city and nation branding.  During his presentation he will share the findings of his recently finished research about Place Brand Personality and how this affects tourism, migration and investment towards cities (e.g., Orlando) or states (e.g., Florida).

He has published 3 books, multiple book chapters and journal articles. His articles have appeared in peer reviewed journals such International Business Review, Thunderbird International Business Review, European Journal of International Management, Journal of Global Marketing, International Marketing Review, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Brand Management, or Journal of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. He is in the editorial board of the Journal of Brand Management and the Journal of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. He is also an Expert for the Association of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy.  Most recently, he was the editor of the book “Consumer Brand Relationships: Theory and Practice”.   If you get a chance to speak with him at the conference, there is a good chance that he speaks your native language!  He speaks 5 languages: German, English, French, Spanish and Russian.

Branding is essential for anyone looking to succeed in medical tourism, so you don’t want to miss this session!

Medical Directors from top hospitals and insurance companies around the world will have the opportunity to discuss their programs and initiatives and collaborate with other peers at the first  Global Medical Director Summit that will take place during the 5th World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress in Ft. Lauderdale/Miami on October 24-26th 2012.

The topics of discussion during the Summit will address the challenges that Medical Directors are facing now. From international insurance issues to consumer engagement, including quality of healthcare and accreditation, these are some of the areas that will be disussed. The complete agenda and instructions about how to attend the Global Medical Director Summit, please visit: http://www.medicaltourismcongress.com/en/medical-director-s-summit.html