Collaboration and cooperation between health care industry stakeholders is a necessary strategic step on the road towards the advancement of global health care. Medical tourism provides creative and effective opportunities in times of healthcare reform for interconnected industries such as voluntary benefits, self-funding, global benefits, and corporate wellness and this is one of the reasons why our 5th World Medical Tourism Congress will be fully integrated with the 3rd Global Benefits Conference and the 4th Employer Healthcare & Benefits Congress, one of the largest insurance conferences in the United States.  

 In the case of self-funding – where the employer of an organization assumes the financial risk for providing health care benefits to its employees – medical tourism helps reduce overall costs to be incurred by an employer.

 Similarly, voluntary employee benefits – insurance products that an employee may purchase through their employer at reduced rates – could also provide cost savings through adopting medical tourism, reducing costs to employers and providing value-added opportunity to employees.

 The goal of corporate wellness programs is to create healthier and more productive employees, which results in a mutual benefit for the individual and the company. Allowing employees to travel for preventative care and wellness is shown to result in employee retention, reduced absenteeism, as well as an overall reduction in healthcare costs for preventative conditions.

 Global Benefits, offered by multinational employers and insurers, plays a very large role and future in the medical tourism industry as they will be the first to implement medical tourism plans in their global networks.

 Medical Tourism represents not only an alternative way to satisfy patients domestically and internationally, but it also offers significant cost savings to employers, benefit plans and insurers.

Our annual congress, which will take place on the Beach in Hollywood, Florida (Ocotber 24-26th) provides an international educational and networking platform to bring the players together to learn, share and build business opportunities. Our integrated networking platform will allow all participants to connect prior to the event and pre-schedule one-on-one networking meeting at the congress.

 The Medical Tourism Association™  (MTA) has also launched two certifications and professional designations for both insurance/HR professionals and travel agents. The certification workshops, being held at the congress, will allow insurance and HR professionals and travel agents to take away from their courses the tools necessary to develop strong health and wellness travel programs, and further their understanding of the requisites for implementation and sustainable growth of this niche market opportunity. 

Explore new opportunities and expand your focus thinking strategically about the future of your business so that you can be among the first ones to capitalize on the global trends of the healthcare industry!

Come, Connect, Collaborate at the 5th World Medical Tourism Congress!

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to a couple of conferences that were not directly related to medical tourism. Upon introducing myself and the Medical Tourism Association™ (MTA), the listeners interest was immediately sparked.  Most of these were either in the hospitality industry, a tourism board or even a translation service…I did not put a limit on the companies I was trying to attract. Some had never heard of it, others kind of knew what it was and some had even thought about implementing this as a new target market. The overall response I received was “how so I get involved in this industry on a smaller scale, in order to find out if it would work for my company?” Companies new to the industry are just looking to get more information and do some networking. At the office we receive several calls a month from people wanting to work in medical tourism but have no idea where to start. I’m sure that most people in this industry get similar inquiries…the MTA is the perfect platform for people to discover the ins and outs of this niche market.  Here are some things the MTA can offer for all the newcomers wanting to tap into this versatile and limitless industry.

Step 1 – Research

The MTA has books and magazines dedicated to educating readers with the most up to date information in the industry. Reading through some of this information could give you some insight on how you could become involved. I’ve given a few examples below.

This article provides a quick overview of the terms and markets for medical tourism.

This article gives an example how a company involved in the travel industry could implement this concept.

Many hospitals and clinics have or should have international patient departments in order to cater to the needs of a foreign patient, this article gives an example of why this is so vital to the success of the industry…it also serves as an example of another important market in this industry…language translation.

For more detailed information on these topics you can purchase the books written by the president of the MTA…an expert in medical tourism. 

Step 2 – Start networking and asking questions

The MTA has its own social network, Medical Tourism City…you can join this network and become connected to other experts and members of our association, find out what is going on and how others are actively participating.

Step 3 – Keep learning and networking!

The World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress is the best way to maximize on knowledge and networking. It will also give you a chance to see just how huge this industry is. The Congress brings in around 2000 people from 87 different countries, including Ministers of Health, hospitals, doctors, buyers of healthcare, tourism boards, insurance companies and others. We invite experts to share best practices and case studies for the medical tourism industry.  The Congress also features advanced networking software which allows you to schedule one on one networking meetings, this is your opportunity to see who is coming and meet with them face to face to get all the information you need or a new possible business opportunity.  Take a look at our agenda to see the sessions and speakers for the 2012 Congress in South Florida.  Also, if you register before July 1^st you save $500 on the registration fee.

There are so many ways the MTA could assist you in becoming part of the medical tourism industry…please contact us if you or someone you know needs help in getting started!

Olivia@MedicalTourismAssociation.com