Beacon Dermatology is the latest clinic in Ireland to get JCI accreditation.
Michael Cullen, chief executive of Beacon Medical Group, explained why a group, that has treated a few medical tourists to date, bothered with the expense of obtaining a JCI Accreditation: Beacon seeks to achieve JCI Accreditation to show the clinic’s commitment to providing excellence in safety standards and quality care.
He added: We feel this accreditation is testament to Beacon Dermatology’s commitment to safety and hygiene standards. We are the first private dermatology clinic in Ireland to achieve this award. Since obtaining JCI, we have become more aware of patient safety and aim to improve the quality of care at all times.
Beacon Dermatology is a dermatology clinic offering an extensive range of medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatological treatments as part of the Beacon Hospital health system in Sandyford, Dublin.  The system is managed through a partnership with University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC).
The other recent subsidiary with JCI status is Beacon Renal, a state-of-the-art therapy centre offering haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis for the treatment of patients with chronic renal failure.  It currently treats over 100 patients thrice weekly and has capacity to treat over 200.
Professor J Mark Redmond, Michael Cullen and Paddy Shovlin founded Beacon Medical Group in 2002 to advance Professor Redmond’s philosophy and vision of healthcare excellence in Ireland. Its first major initiative was the Beacon Medical Campus. This encompasses Beacon Hospital, Beacon Renal, Beacon Dermatology, Beacon Consultants Clinic and Beacon Consultants Concourse.
Meanwhile, the Beacon Medical Mall houses specialist centres in eye laser treatment, dentistry and weight-loss as well as The Irish Maternal Foetal Foundation and a pharmacy. A Women’s and Children’s Hospital is planned for development adjacent to the Hospital.

As more patients are looking to Israel as a destination for quality, cost-effective care, International Medical Services (IMS) is expanding its operations to 12 offices worldwide, with new offices in Mongolia and Nigeria. IMS Israel is the leading medical tourism agency in Israel.
IMS offers patients the chance to have a procedure done in one of 18 medical centres in Israel. Doctors and specialists offer a range of services including cosmetic surgery, oncology, urology, orthopaedics, in-vitro fertilisation and neurosurgery.
Austine Agbaje of IMS Nigeria, pointed out: It is not easy for patients in Nigeria to obtain the medical care they need. This partnership with IMS Israel makes first-rate care more accessible to patients, and at a lower cost.
Urjgee Duuya of IMS Mongolia concurred: Israel represents a highly attractive destination for residents of Mongolia to access exceptional medical care that is simply not available here.
Meanwhile, the company has also forged partnerships in Moscow to add to its offices in the Ukraine and Kazakhstan, where there is little medical infrastructure for better healthcare.
Ira Nissel, founder of IMS, said: Russia and Israel have abolished the need for visas, making it very appealing for IMS to establish a new office and partnership in Moscow. Our offices are now focused in regions where patients can afford to access top quality medical care but find that it is not available in their home countries. By establishing a local entity in each of these countries, IMS increases its market reach and expands its capabilities to channel many more patients to Israel. Most local citizens in these countries are more comfortable and confident with medical travel when their medical travel coordinator has roots within the community.

India-based hospital chain Narayana Hrudayalaya plans to set up a health city in Mexico that will also cater to patients from the United States.
Devi Shetty, chairman of the Narayana Hrudayalaya group of hospitals, said: Our next project will be a health city in Mexico. We may tie up with some American hospitals for this project. The health city in Mexico will be a 3,000- to 5,000-bed facility and we are looking for joint ventures. We foresee healthcare delivery problems in the US. They also have problems in undertaking a 20-hour journey to India for heart and other surgeries. As Mexico is closer to America, they will find it easy to undergo treatment there."
The government of Mexico has asked the group to set up a large health facility. The health city will be built either in the capital Mexico City or in Guadalajara, the country’s second largest city. The proposed health city will cater to the requirements of patients from the US. The group is reportedly in talks with the US-based Sutter Health for the project.
The chain of hospitals has already built one of the world’s biggest cardiac hospitals in Bangalore. It currently has the Asia Heart Foundation in Kolkata, R C Agarwal Memorial Hospital in Tinsukia, and the Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore. Over the next five years, it is expanding its operations to six other Indian cities, including a multispecialty hospital with research facilities in Hyderabad.

Whenever the medical tourism industry begins to appear professional, a scandal comes along that gives more ammunition to people who are against local patients going overseas for treatment medical tourists coming to their country.
Patients from Gulf states, forced to travel abroad because of a lack of available organs, are having documents falsified by Egyptian hospitals in a bid to cover up illegal kidney transplants.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health and a number of leading nephrologists have confirmed that transplant patients from the region are returning home with false documents showing information including fake hospitals and surgeons.
Dr Abdel-Rahman Shahin of the Egyptian Ministry of Health said: They play with the papers. We have detected several cases of violations."
Dr Sadiq Abdulla, a consultant vascular and renal transplant surgeon at Salmaniya Medical Complex in Bahrain added: Reports are ’templated’. There is no name of the hospital, doctor or the institute. It does not even mention the name of the patient, just that he or she had a kidney transplant. Even the date has been changed.
Egypt has become a hot spot for wealthy citizens from the Gulf seeking to buy kidneys and undergo transplant surgery as diabetes rates in the region have soared.
The Unite Arab Emirates has the highest percentage of adult diabetes sufferers in the region. In Bahrain, it is estimated that a quarter of the country suffer from type 2 or adult onset diabetes while 11,000 people in Saudi are on dialysis, almost a quarter of them have diabetes-related illnesses.
Regional specialists estimate as many as 150 patients from the Gulf states travel to Egypt to undergo illegal transplant surgery every year. This number has increased since Pakistan, Taiwan and the Philippines stopped the treatment of foreign patients seeking transplant surgery in early 2008 in response to international pressure.
The Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation reported that 13 patients from Kuwait had travelled to Egypt for illegal kidney transplants since the beginning of the year. One died following complications after surgery. In Bahrain, at least eight patients have returned from Egypt following surgery since May, and three of these had to be hospitalised in Bahrain following complications after operations in Egypt.
It is illegal in Egypt to operate on foreign transplant patients and for patients to receive organs from unrelated donors, but loose regulation and poor enforcement have allowed the country to become a popular place for illegal transplant surgery.
However, the illegal transplants are also causing deaths and medical complications.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health is currently investigating six cases of malpractice following a series of illegal transplant operations that included five patients from Saudi Arabia and one from Palestine. Four doctors have so far lost jobs. In June, a private hospital in the Giza region was shut down after authorities discovered a 26-year old Egyptian man trying to sell his kidney to a 75-year old Saudi man for US$2,000. The government has the right intention, but lack of resources means it is only able to pursue a few cases and it seems powerless to stop the trade.
Unless the illegal trade of human organs is stopped, Egypt’s hopes of becoming a medical tourism destination will lie in pieces.

According to the European Spas Association (ESPA) in Brussels, wellness travel accounts for 60 percent of all trips taken primarily for health reasons. Trips to spas and rehabilitation centres comprise the remainder.
More than any other age group, 35- to 50-year-olds, are part of the boom in wellness travel, which is both healthy and fashionable. The healthy properties of water is ancient knowledge that goes back at least to the Romans. Vestiges of their thermal baths can be found all over Europe, and people today are rediscovering the meaning health through water.
Basic wellness travel is for those with a good salary and little free time. They go to a hotel with a large selection of wellness services, sleep late, eat substantial meals and go to the sauna a lot. The health conscious, on the other hand, have a more structured concept of how the time should be spent. They want to rectify specific feelings of malaise, are interested in regeneration and desire good advice and medical care. This category of wellness travel is on the rise. Spa visits, health tourism, wellness, beauty and fitness programmes, regenerative, reconditioning and relaxation stays, are all dynamically growing products that are offered within tourist packages.
Besides classical and traditional European therapeutic procedures, these key European centres continue to welcome new, alternative and modern trends, including Indian, Chinese and oriental treatment methods, while natural cures are enjoying a revival. Spa centres also now often include modern aqua parks, cosmetic centres and similar services.
The type of client at spas ranges from guests in search of a rest to the truly ill, including all forms of prevention (primary, secondary and tertiary) up to rehabilitation and the treatment of chronic diseases. As far as medical treatment facilities, guests can choose outpatient centres located within and outside the centre of town, in-patient treatment performed totally or partially in a health centre, or in the case of acute illness, in a fully equipped clinic.
The European Spas Association (ESPA) represents 25 member federations from 22 European nations, together representing over 1,200 of the estimated 1,500 spas and health resorts in Europe.
Similar terms are used to describe spas and medical wellness throughout the international health tourism sector. The regulations and standards in force regarding aspects such as infrastructure, hygiene, safety and comfort vary considerably from one country to the next. And this makes competition unfair: with different quality standards reflected in prices, it’s hard for top-quality resorts to distinguish themselves from their cheaper competitors.
ESPA has developed the EUROPESPA Seal of approval that means the holder meets the exacting standards of ESPA in terms of general therapy infrastructure, hygiene and safety. The EUROPESPA seal of approval is designed for spas and health resorts in the classical healthcare segment as well as centres specialising in medical wellness whose services include treatment and cures. Only 27 spa centres hold this quality standard.

International Medical Insurance Group, a new US based insurance intermediary specialising in medical tourism, has launched MedTour,  a package that combines medical complications insurance and medical travel insurance, on the www.medicaltripinsurance.com website.
It is a combined package not available separately. It is arranged via Dallas insurance broker US Risk, and underwritten in the US by international insurance group AIG. Each policy is individually underwritten, there is no set price.
Managing director of International Medical Insurance Group, Doctor Samir Kulkarni, a practising anaesthesiologist in Miami, explained: The product is a combination of Travel Medical Insurance and Medical Complications Insurance. The complications coverage is for post-surgical issues that may arise such as infections, heart problems, pulmonary embolisation that may result in hospitalization or surgery. There is a limit of up to $150,000 total coverage. The patient after returning to the US, can go to any doctor or hospital they choose and do not have to go to a network doctor. The product is only for Americans travelling abroad. Our goal is to be able to sell to agencies, individuals, employers, and insurers in the US. We would also like to have the providers offer this to the patients as well. All hospitals, clinics, and surgeries need to be accredited by a well-respected accreditation agency.
Medical Complications Insurance:
Cover up to $150,000 after surgery
Benefit period up to six months from the date of the initial treatment
Travel Insurance:
Accidental death and dismemberment
Baggage delay
Collision damage
Credit card loss
Emergency evacuation and repatriation of remains
Emergency medical expenses
Trip cancellation
Trip interruption
Trip delay
It is currently only available for sale in following US states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee and Wyoming.

The increase in international recognition of Korea’s medical skills is essential to the attraction of more medical tourists, according to a survey published by Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) on medical travel in Asia.
The research was conducted on overseas visitors who had visited or planned to visit Korea or other Asian nations as medical tourists. The survey shows visitors put more weight on the quality of hospital staff, reliability of institutions and cost savings than the condition of facilities and equipment.
The surveyed show 75.8 percent of medical tourists in Asia mainly came for cosmetic surgery, followed by Oriental medicine and health checkups. Among visitors to Korea, 80.3 percent were satisfied with the healthcare, with cosmetic surgery showing the highest satisfaction level of 87 percent, while Oriental medicine showed a relatively low level at 72.2 percent.
Ohm Kyong-sop of KTO, comments: Besides Japan, no country in Asia showed dominance in terms of recognition level of medical tourism, indicating that Korea can become a major player in healthcare tourism if it becomes competitive on service, but it is also possible for the country to fall behind if it fails to do so. Satisfaction levels were higher than expectation levels, meaning people visit Korea without high expectations but are satisfied after receiving treatment. Personal recommendation from visitors will be essential to promotion. Despite its high quality, Korea’s medical tourism has low recognition. We will improve service.
Lee Shin-ho of KHIDI said the number of foreign patients has increased to 40,000 as of this November from 16,000 last year,
The government seeks to revise the Medical Law to facilitate medical tours, such as allowing hospitals to promote themselves. Korea’s medical tourism will be competitive when such systems are prepared, Lee said.

Tourism officials in Turkey want to expand the offering to focus more on the health and wellness offerings. Turkish health tourism offerings include laser-eye surgery, dentistry, cosmetic surgery and fertility treatment.
Twenty three institutions will jointly hold Turkey’s first health tourism fair in Antalya from February 26 to March 1, 2009. The Hetex Health Tourism Fair is being arranged at the Antalya Expo Center by Anfas Antalya Fair and Exhibition. The target market is agencies and others from 105 countries.
Numbers of health tourists are estimates rather than hard figures. Although 200,000 a year is a regularly used figure this includes large numbers coming to spas and wellness centres in hotels, so the true medical tourist figure is probably nearer 20,000.
What further complicates the figures is that they include elderly people from nursing homes sent by Scandinavian governments in groups for long-stay holidays. For example, Aspendos Hospital will get 200 elderly people paid for by the Norwegian state, from January to May 2009.
The health tourism fair may become more targeted, but at present organisers and advisors have been quoted as primarily seeking the somewhat mythical vague target of 46 million uninsured Americans. Recession, terror attacks in India, political problems in Thailand and Turkey, and a new US President promising affordable health insurance for all, will make it increasingly difficult for countries to persuade more than small numbers of Americans to go overseas for treatment.
Turkey is also targeting Europe. Organisers quote a normal EU price of 3,000 to 5,000 euros for laser eye surgery; compared to 1,500 euros in Turkey inclusive of hotels for three nights and airfares. What Turkey has to do is to convince potential EU customers that the cheap prices do not mean poor quality.
For a country such as Turkey to have 23 JCI accredited hospitals and clinics is quite incredible, Convincing agencies and customers that those regulated by the Ministry of Health which regulates the clinics and hospitals in Turkey, offer acceptable standards is not so simple as there is no international standard to measure them against. This is why so many places seeking overseas business have or are seeking JCI status.

Recognising that professional liability is one of biggest concern of the medical travel industry, US-based Clements International has developed a new insurance product that is geared for medical travel agencies.
Working closely with medical tourism operators in Asia and India, the company has designed liability, accident and trip cancellation insurance products to meet the needs of the industry. These insurance products are for the protection of medical travel agents against potential liabilities.
As new partnerships are created, it is important for participants to understand the risks involved with the medical tourism industry. If a medical travel agency were sued for unintentional misrepresentation of information or a negligent act, the new insurance product would cover the amount to be paid by the facilitator and the defence costs. Policies can include claims arising from the acts of consultants, sub-contractors and agents; libel and slander; loss of documents; intellectual property; joint venture liability and breach of confidential information.
The personal accident cover pays a pre-agreed upon amount if the medical tourist is permanently disabled or dies during the trip. This immediate compensation may also dissuade the beneficiaries from engaging in a tedious and costly litigation process. Policies can include accidental death, permanent disablement or dismemberment as a result of a medical procedure. Meanwhile, the trip cancellation insurance reimburses a medical tourist for prepaid non-refundable expenses such as airline tickets and accommodation if a trip is cancelled due to an unforeseen emergency.
Dan Tuman of Clements International explained: Our target market includes Asian agencies, but we have the capabilities and markets to underwrite (insurance coverage) almost anywhere in the world. If outside the US, the choice of law may not be the US as we do use Asian and European insurers.
He added: Agencies should insure their operations to protect their balance sheet and increasingly hospitals, self-funded plans, travel agents, and insurance companies, will want partners to have insurance. This new industry is fighting for credibility and insurance protection is an important component. There is no guarantee the underwriters will offer a policy to every proposer. A proper and complete application with a well-defined business plan is essential.

Companion Global Healthcare has selected Global Protective Solutions, administered by Custom Assurance Placements, and underwritten by underwriters at Lloyd’s of London, to provide affordable specialty travel insurance with defined benefits for medical travellers.
The policy also includes liability options for employers. Companion Global is the first deal for the new insurance range. Policies are only available via specific wholesale deals and are not sold direct to consumers from the insurance intermediary.
Companion Global offers healthcare choices to US patients only in a network of JCI-accredited international medical facilities.
We selected GPS based on the company’s experience in handling international travel insurance and its reputation for service excellence, says David Boucher of Companion Global Healthcare.
Tracy Simons of Custom Assurance adds: These insurance plans address the unintended consequences of medical travel, with benefits that can be tailored to each individual or group-specific need. They include accidental death and dismemberment, medical expenses, disability, emergency evacuation, repatriation of mortal remains, additional travel expenses, meals and accommodations, family coordination, residence modification, loss of reproductive function, and more.
Benefits tailored to each individual or group specific needs and can include the following options:
Accidental death and dismemberment
Medical expenses
Disability
Emergency evacuation
Repatriation of mortal remains
Additional medical or surgical treatment benefit
Additional expenses for travel, meals and accommodations
Family coordination
Residence modification
Loss of reproductive function
Custom Assurance Placements is a wholesale broker that chooses specific agencies as partners and develop custom programmes needed for a selected risk or exposure group. Coverage can be on an individual trip basis or included in an employer group benefit for a nominal per member per month charge.

The recent terror attacks in India and political unrest in Thailand has affected medical tourism agencies and international patient centres,
Healthyworld Travel went so far as to warn people that for the foreseeable future healthcare consumers should consider going to another Asian location besides Thailand for health care.
Thailand is now at a very volatile point in its capital Bangkok due to anti-government demonstrations. Violence is being constantly threatened and acted upon between opposing sides of politics.
Violence could break out anywhere at anytime between different political elements thus endangering tourists. Unless travel to Thailand is absolutely necessary then holidaying in Thailand should be suspended until further notice. Asia has very many choices for obtaining affordable health care, the company stated.
For travellers from the UK, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office stopped short of advising against holiday travel to Thailand, but advised those planning trips to consider the present situation when making your decision.
It also advised against all but essential travel to Mumbai until further notice. Sir Richard Stagg, British High Commissioner to India, counseled caution in all areas. India is a very big country, and it would wrong to draw the conclusion that those travelling to other parts of the country should not go ahead with their plans. But everyone coming to India needs to be aware that it has a history of terrorism.
The real message is not on temporary problems for travellers or temporary setbacks to either country’s medical tourism ambitions, it is that all agencies and patient centres should have contingency plans
The international trade bodies and organisations promoting travel and medical tourism in their own countries should have policies for these and other contingencies. On India and Thailand, with the exception of a belated response from a Thailand travel body, everyone has been struck dumb. It has been left to foreign governments to issue warnings and advice.
If medical travel wants more people to take it seriously and not  be seen as just a passing fad, then international and national organisations, national bodies and individual agencies/ hospitals need to take their responsibilities more seriously. We looked at 20 sites promoting medical tourism to India and Thailand- and at the time of writing, not a single one mentioned current problems. Travellers are not stupid, keeping your head down and staying silent is not an option.