medical tourism: clustering...
TRANSCRIPT
Medical Tourism: Clustering Possibilities
Renee-Marie Stephano, JD
President Medical Tourism Association
Editor Medical Tourism Magazine
Editor Health Tourism Magazine
MedicalTourismAssociation.com | MedicalTourismMag.com | HealthTourismMagazine.com
Worldwide Trends ~ Globalization
Affordability, Accessibility, Availability
Quality
Perception of Tourism
Value
Worldwide Trends ~ Regionalization
Affordability, Accessibility, Availability
Quality
Perception of Tourism
Value
Understand Cluster Economy
A business cluster is a geographic or regional
concentration of interconnected business, suppliers, providers and
associated institutions in a particular industry or field.
Clusters are considered to increase the productivity
with which companies can complement, compete or work together nationally
and globally.
Benefits for Cluster Business
• Cluster Business and economies are not only profitable and strategically positioned for the region they are, they do support surrounding and global economies and industries.
Cluster Impact
Benefits of Cluster Businesses
A new way of thinking
Aligned with the nature of competition and sources of competitive advantage
Cohesive linkages between resources, technology, skills, information, knowledge, marketing and industry related activities
The private sector, government, trade associations and educational or research institution gets more productivity by active participation.
Easy creation of common policies, activities, opportunities and resolving common problems.
Cluster Business Setting up Standards
• Developing measurable goals considering local and global economies and impacts
• Focus on increasing productivity & profitability, not increasing size or real-estate value
• Non-Financial growth activities that can contribute towards national growth
• Availability of Data for analysis
Governments Participation in
Cluster Business
• Development of Economic policies to develop cluster business
• Government shall develop a path for industry players by providing sufficient tools, resources and guidance.
• Government shall play active role as a facilitator
Cluster In Medical Tourism
A Medical Tourism Cluster can achieve significantly by:
– Developing Common goals – Developing National & International Structure – Developing Quality Practices – Improving Healthcare infrastructure – Invitation participation of competing,
complimenting and co-operative organization within one field
– Developing a Regional / National Brand – Setting benchmarks for rest of the country
Current Medical Clusters
Country-wide:
– Costa Rica (Pro-Med)
– El Salvador
– Argentina
– Guatemala
– Korea (KHIDI)
– Singapore
– Malaysia
– Jordan
– Turkey
– Serbia
– Philippines
– Thailand
– Lithuania*
– Portugal
• Within a Country:
– Monterrey
– Sonora
– Chihuahua
– México City*
– Guadalajara
– Bagdad
– Dubai*
– Medellin
– Bogota
– Recife
– Porto Alegre
– Sao Paolo
– Madrid
– Barcelona
• In US:
– Miami
– Houston
– Rochester, MN
– Baltimore
– Dallas
– Orlando*
Etc. etc
Dubai Medical City, under construction
* = under development
Medical City Cluster
Medical Facilities
Hospitals
Specialty Clinics
Cosmetic & Dental
Tourism Providers
Hotels & Hotel Assn.
Restaurants
Tour Operators
Travel Providers
Professional Associations
Medical Equipment
Insurance providers
Universities
Department of Health of Area or Ministry of Health
Destination Marketing Org. of Area or Ministry of Tourism
• Educational workshops for providers
• Certification Programs
• Familiarization tours for facilitators
• International conferences for leadership image & buyers
Ref: Dan Cormany
Benefits
• Establish standards & qualifications
• Control over reputation and bad-experience response
• International organization support
• Combined budget for marketing
• Assistance in marketing from governmental funds
• May set price ranges
• Language requirements
• Controls “who is in the game”
Case Study – Singapore Healthcare Hub & Medical Marvels
How it started ~
• Population under 5 million, smallest nation in Southeast Asia, and is ranked as the best place to live amongst expatriates in Asia
Singapore was already known as ~ » A vibrant English speaking environment
» The worlds easiest place to do business
» It is extremely modern and is comparatively the world’s best logistics hub reaching far beyond its ever-efficient transportation facilities
» Asia’s 2nd most technologically ready nation
• Resulting in: Healing environment coupling high tech capabilities with high touch service quality results in some of the highest levels of patient-focused healthcare services available in the world.
Singapore Health System
Accredited – The city-state’s public health system is comprised of two clusters;
the National Healthcare Group and Singapore Health Services are housed under MOH Holdings which is the holding company of Singapore's public healthcare establishments.
– The two clusters provide 80% of Singapore’s tertiary care services:
» 8,338 beds
» Over 100 clinical specialties and sub specialties
» 7 hospitals and 6 specialty centers
» Over 3,505 internationally qualified doctors
» Singapore’s public healthcare system receives approximately 4.6 million patient visits per year, and treats more than 160,000 international patients annually.
» All 7 hospitals and 2 of these specialty centers are accredited by the Joint Commission International
Singapore Tactics
Tactics- • The Ministry of Health maintains strict quality of care
standards in their effort to keep patient-centered medical standards high and to uphold Singapore’s standing as a world class healthcare center.
• Clinical outcomes are tracked and Singapore consistently benchmarks
themselves against other world-class Centers of Excellence. • The healthcare industry’s emphasis on clinical outcomes and quality is
also central to their measurement and evaluation systems. Given the importance of these metrics to U.S. based payers and insurers in evaluating treatment efficacy, this also serves to reinforce the attractiveness of Singapore as a medical tourism destination.
• Singapore’s public healthcare institutions are regional training, research and referral centers. Specialists and healthcare professionals within these institutions work across functional expertise in managing clinical caseloads, and a collegial environment is fostered such that patients, local and international benefit from this cross-collaboration.
Jordan ~ Rising Hub of the Middle East
How it started- The Medical Tourism Association hosted a Familiarization
“FAM” Tour of Jordan. Ten delegates, including medical tourism facilitators and insurance company agents from Canada, the UK, India and the United States were in attendance.
» Jordan is a modern Arab nation with a population of 6,342,948 people. The Jordanian society is urbanized and very ethnically diverse. The official language spoken is Arabic, but English is widely spoken and understood throughout the country
» All of the hospitals on the tour were internationally accredited though the Joint Commission International as well as through the Health Care Accreditation Council, a national accreditation system.
Jordan Assets
Quick Facts
» There are 7 Internationally Accredited Hospitals.
» Literacy rate of 91% is among the highest in the Middle East.
» The ratio of healthcare providers in Jordan is over 80 per 10,000 persons.
» Jordanian doctors are an exportable labor segment given regional demands for doctors due to a lower doctor-population ratio.
» Over 42,000 people are employed in the Medical Sector.
» More than 90% of the physicians are educated internationally.
» High physicians to population ratio (26 per 10,000) compared to 15.2 for global average and 23 for UK, 21 for Japan, 15 for Singapore and 4 for Thailand.
Jordan Tactics
Tactics » Dedication from the Minister of Health to position Jordan as
Medical Hub of the Middle East
» The country’s competitive pricing and high quality health services have been attracting regional patients from other Middle Eastern and North African countries including Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, Palestine and Sudan for quite some time now.
» Jordan’s current medical tourism sector revenues are estimated to have reached $650,000,000 (USD) in 2009 and the country is keen to reach its ambitious target of $1,000,000,000 (USD) by 2012. More than 250,000 patients from 84 countries were treated there last year, according to a recent Private Hospitals Association study
» Jordan’s physicians and surgeons are all proficient in the English language as medical school is taught solely in English throughout the country. These surgeons set themselves apart and excel through training, practicing or affiliations with top institutions in the United States such as Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic, and Cleveland Clinic.
South Korea ~ Rising dragon
How it started- • The South Korean Government and about 30 private
hospitals collaborated to create the Council for Korea Medicine Overseas Promotion, also known by its members as the Korean International Medical Service Association. The goal will be towards at first promoting its hospitals to patients with less serious illnesses in the US, China and Japan.
» The US target would be the approximately 440,000 uninsured Korean-Americans, high salaried Chinese patients primarily seeking cosmetic surgery and the Japanese patients seeking alternative medicine and cosmetic surgery.
» The government’s efforts to promote medical travel through marketing and the easing of visa regulations will allow medical tourism numbers to increase
South Korea Tactics
Tactics » The Medical Tourism Association conducted a “Fam Tour”,
visiting several of South Korea’s hospitals and to learn about what South Korea has to offer for international patients .
» Hosting a Medical Tourism Conference in 2009 and 2010 » Modern facilities and cutting edge technology » Medical staff has their medical degree and also a PhD in
related areas- this influences research initiatives which impacts the type of care available
» Korean traditional medicine has built its reputation throughout Korean history on the uniqueness of its holistic approach. Both the modern and traditional approaches are available to the international health traveler.
» Organ transplants are a world acclaimed specialty of Korea. They are internationally known for liver, kidney, lung, and kidney-pancreas transplants. They report an unprecedented record for liver transplantation that has a 95% success rate that is higher by 10-15 % over other parts of the world.
Medical Tourism Impact
Benefits for Global
Healthcare
Benefits for Governments
Benefits for Country
Benefits for Support Industry
Benefits for Global Healthcare
Innovation in Healthcare Solutions
International Standards
implication
Improved Knowledge
Healthcare Infrastructure Development
Benefits for Government
Increased Public Private Participation
Recognition toward the growth of country
Recognition towards establishing international
standards for country
Enhancement of Healthcare Delivery for
population increases governments recognition
Benefits for Government
Benefits for Support Industry
Travel, Tourism & Concierge
Pharmaceutical
Health Insurance
Global Benefits
Corporate Buyers
Healthcare Quality Accreditation Groups
Benefits for Country
• Improved healthcare for all
• Enhanced, speedier or affordable healthcare
Social Impact
• Medical tourism as a key money grosser pitching in significant contribution in GDP
Financial Impact
• Reverse of Brain Drain
• Retainership of country’s talent
Intellectual Impact
• Constant exchange of treatment and revenue between countries improves political links between those nations in a positive manner.
Political Impact
Benefits for Physicians
• New Patient Flow with Higher Profitability
• Physician Partnerships – Clinics being built by foreign investors and using local physicians
• Continuum of Care
New Revenue
• More Expertise Because doing more procedures in free time
• Exposure to Patients looking for cutting edge procedures
Expertise
• Cross Training Opportunities
• Training physicians in other countries who will refer patients
• Teaching/training in other countries for referrals
Referral Opportunities
• Global Insurance Policies- Insurers want physicians with international patient experience
• Reputation – if you receive foreign patients…
Global Insurance Opportunities
Role of MTA in the Industry
• The Medical Tourism Association advocates creating a transparency in the medical tourism industry in quality of care and pricing so patients know exactly what quality of care they are receiving and what they are paying for such care.
Transparency in Quality & Pricing
• The MTA creates a forum for communication amongst all of the players in the medical tourism industry, allowing competitors to work together for the first time to promote their country or region first as a medical tourism destination.
Communication
• The MTA provides education to patients, insurance companies, employers and new players in the medical tourism industry about all of the issues involved in medical tourism ~ legal, economic, accreditation, best practices, strategic marketing
Education
Sustainable Medical Tourism - The delivery of high quality healthcare services to local, regional and international patients through an organized, long term strategic approach, which relies on service development, niche marketing, and continuous message delivery to achieve steady growth, endure market fluctuation and exhibit endurance in the face of increased competition in targeted markets.
Medical Tourism Product
Thank You Ačiū
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