Health Check Costa Rica on the Promed Medical Tourism Congress.

The Medical Travel summit hosted by the Promed Council of Costa Rica was an exceptional event that highlighted the direction of this essential industry in Costa Rica. Attendance was robust with many of the key players in Medical Tourism there in addition to numerous large Real Estate development firms with a vested interest in Medical Tourism projects in Costa Rica, also included were countries like Panama and Colombia seeking to get their nascent Medical Tourism <http://healthcheckcostarica.com/> attempts before a larger audience. The presenters ranged on many crucial topics and several truly stood out. The thrust of this conference and its speakers was and is attention to high quality requirements in all facets of the Medical Tourism industry. From medical travel facilitators to institutional care providers the message was clear. Great quality of care, attention to quality and transparency of service are the watchwords that will carry this sector forward in big leaps of growth that many seasoned forecasters are predicting. Earning the confidence of the prospective patients can only be done with consistent high quality medical care, transparency of service and the excellence of the hospitality industry which sustains it.
Many highlights of the conference included Mr. Robert Repke of Global Medical Conexions. Mr. Repkes’ dialogue was of special appeal as his corporation offers consulting services to many big companies who have turned to the Self Insurance model as a matter of necessity and we consider experience. These kind of corporations like many individuals have discovered that the regular insurance carriers are merely too expensive and basically not nimble enough to appeal to their demographic specific demands. Don’t assume all companies are created equal either in demographics or their insurance needs. Tailoring a self insurance program to match has the potential to save North American companies billions of dollars as time passes and the Medical Travel design stands to be a big beneficiary of such forward pondering approaches. Incentivizing employees for medical travel is certain to come to be a hot topic for discussion in the near future. One we will track closely. The fact that was striking to us and must be encouraging to participants in this industry was just how new this notion is and how few corporations are truly embracing this model. With numerous great carriers such as Lloyd’s of London mitigating liability pretty affordably for corporations offering Medical Travel as an selection, the risk infrastructure appears to be growing fast around Medical Travel and the expansion potential in this area given these trends is simply unbelievable.
Yet another vital and informative presenter at the forum was Attorney Stephen M. Weiner fellow member and Chair of the Health Law Practice. Mr. Weiner touched on quite a few very vital liability and risk issues especially for Medical Travel facilitators. The lengthy arm of United States Litigators is in existence and well here in Costa Rica and the fine line between being a facilitator and a care provider is one we facilitators need to tread carefully. Intense care must be studied by facilitators to be transparent in their documentation and the scope of their solutions. A facilitator should go above and beyond in developing the lines of communication with likely buyers and delineating where facilitation stops and care giving gets started. Facilitators offer a valuable service helping patients negotiate the often complicated and scary labyrinth of international travel add this to the anxiety of Medical Care in a foreign country and the rising significance of the facilitators role and therefore liability becomes clear.
The Medical travel Summit and Promed have shared a very important role in Costa Ricas medical tourism potential and the significance of building trust, endorsing accreditation, bringing management frontrunners together and most significantly promoting standards of excellence within all facets of this sector in Costa Rica. In part two of this series we will examine other crucial themes from the summit including the Costa Rica Governments required function in transparency, and setting criteria and practices for Medical Travel Facilitators.