NEWS
NEWS ARTICLES Enticed by cut-price plastic surgery, Australian women are flying to Thailand for “mummy makeovers”.
But are these sun-and-surgery holidays really a passport to bodily perfection? By Meredith Nash Read Story Aussies lured by cut-price procedures read Story Phuket International Hospital is about to enter its second phase of a more aggressive marketing campaign to attract Australians to the island for cosmetic surgery..read story The Phuket International Hospital offers affordable plastic surgery without the long wait. Woman dies after surgery in Malaysia October 28th 2007 Malaysia Surgery Warning, The Border Watch, February 13th 2007 Recently on A Current Affair a program was broadcast about surgery in Malaysia.. (See the above article) We at Destiny Medi- Travel wish to acknowledge that we are in no way connected to any person or persons mentioned in the program. We primarily send patients to Thailand, and will not recommend Malaysia as a destination for our Clients. We use only International accredited Hospitals and surgeons in Thailand and the quality of care and Patient Safety will always be our main priority |
Singapore, 12 December 2006 – Singapore will host the first International Medical Travel Conference from 12 to 15 December 2006. Organized by Avail Corporation and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, the four-day event will bring together key players in the worldwide medical travel industry to discuss trends and developments, as well as to share insights on the issues and challenges faced in this booming industry through a combination of site visits, pre-conference workshops, plenary sessions, presentations, case studies and one-on-one meetings. Medical travel-related companies can also take this opportunity to sign up as members of the International Medical Travel Association. Speakers from Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Australian and the United States will discuss topics covering the entire value chain of medical travel, giving delegates a better understanding of what it takes to internationalize medical services, the national and international issues involved, the roles of medical travel agents, the care of the medical traveler, and the requirements of healthcare services in a globalize world. Delegates will also be visiting hospitals to gain first-hand insights on how International Patient Liaison Centre meet the medical traveler’s needs, and the international clinical services available at Singapore’s hospitals. In addition, two pre-conference workshops will bring participants through topics like “Seeking Healthcare Abroad – Safety and Care Considerations in Medical Travel” and “Packaging Medical Travel & Marketing Medical Packages”. “In many ways, medical travel is the extending of current medical-care sharing processes across international borders and the expansion of choices for patients on where they can get their healthcare from. We must not forget that these are patients whom we are looking after, not just the hale and hearty traveler,” said Dr Jason Yap, Director of Healthcare Services, Singapore Tourism Board. “The event will provide a conducive platform for the meeting of thought leaders in international medical travel. As the industry is still young, it will be good for us to examine some of the fundamentals and issues involved.” To help grow and develop this new industry, the conference will also witness the soft launch of the International Medical Travel Association. The association aims to bring together the international community of medical travel organizations, creating opportunities for networking, business development and knowledge sharing on best practices among members, and ultimately to protect and promote the rights of international medical travelers. The association, the idea of which has received widespread interest, will take the occasion of the conference with its many participants to hold its first general elections and discuss its role and contribution to the Medical Travel industry. ResponseDestiny Medi-Travel were fortunate enough to be invited to speak at this conference, being one of the only referral companies that has its director as a Trained Travel Agent who also works for a Licence Travel Agency. The presentation focused on the intricate details that need to be taken care of when a Travel agent sends a patient to an overseas location for Medical Care. The soft launch of the "International Medical travel Association" occurred in Singapore and Destiny Med-Travel being one of the first few Referral and First Travel Agent to become a member, also now are considered Founders of the Association. The International Medical Travel Association is the only Medical Travel Trade Association that represents leading Medical travel- related organizations, including hospitals, medical travel agents, insurance companies and national tourism offices. The association aims to bring together the international community of organizations involved in Medical travel, creating opportunities for networking, business development and knowledge sharing between members and ultimately for the protection and promotion of Medical travelers. "The Medical Tourist is not like the Leisure or Business tourist that Travel agencies deal with on a daily basis. They can not be treated the same as a Leisure Traveler, as there are a number of additional pieces of information that need to be given to airline and Accommodation venues to alert them that they have a client who has undergone Medical treatment. Many referral companies like ourselves just deal with the medical Coordination for clients with the Hospitals and Clinics and out source or partner their Travel to other companies or allow their clients to book their own travel arrangements. As a travel agent we have the ability to alert airline of a number of factors about our clients to assist them in the event of an emergency or comfort issue for a client. Many of our clients are first time International travelers and we make sure that the airline are aware of this and that they are available to assist our clients through immigration or Transit points. The last thing a first time traveler needs is to get confused in an airport and miss a flight. The Accommodations venues and resorts that we book our clients into are aware that our client is a Medical Client and should they need immediate assistance then the Hotels and resorts will react immediately knowing that they are a Medical Client and not a leisure client. Clients who book their own travel often do not divulge the information to the Travel agent that they are traveling for medical and this information can then not be passed onto the appropriate people. Our company aims to simplify the whole experience for our clients by taking care of their complete package in house and not outsourcing. This also allows us to adjust travel arrangement should a client need to stay longer or adjust their travel in anyway. We know where our clients are at all time and this is important in the interest of Patient Care." said Melanie Bawden, Director Destiny Medi-Travel |