medical tourism company business plan

Medical Tourism Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry, with an estimated 10-15 million people travelling across international borders to seek medical treatment each year. As the sector continues to grow, many entrepreneurs are looking to capitalize on this trend by starting a medical tourism business. With the right planning and preparation, such businesses can be incredibly lucrative. For those looking to start their own medical tourism venture, the #1 Medical Tourism Business Plan Template & Guidebook provides invaluable advice and guidance. This article examines how this resource can be used to plan a successful business.

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How to Write a Medical Tourism Business Plan in 7 Steps:

1. describe the purpose of your medical tourism business..

The first step to writing your business plan is to describe the purpose of your medical tourism business. This includes describing why you are starting this type of business, and what problems it will solve for customers. This is a quick way to get your mind thinking about the customers’ problems. It also helps you identify what makes your business different from others in its industry.

It also helps to include a vision statement so that readers can understand what type of company you want to build.

Here is an example of a purpose mission statement for a medical tourism business:

Our mission at ABC Medical Tourism is to provide high-quality, affordable, and reliable medical services for people around the world. We strive to create an excellent experience for our patients and their families by offering a safe and comfortable environment, quality care from experienced professionals, and compassionate service. Our goal is to make medical care accessible, convenient, and enjoyable for all.

2. Products & Services Offered by Your Medical Tourism Business.

The next step is to outline your products and services for your medical tourism business. 

When you think about the products and services that you offer, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my business?
• What are the products and/or services that I offer?
• Why am I offering these particular products and/or services?
• How do I differentiate myself from competitors with similar offerings?
• How will I market my products and services?

You may want to do a comparison of your business plan against those of other competitors in the area, or even with online reviews. This way, you can find out what people like about them and what they don’t like, so that you can either improve upon their offerings or avoid doing so altogether.

3. Build a Creative Marketing Stratgey.

If you don't have a marketing plan for your medical tourism business, it's time to write one. Your marketing plan should be part of your business plan and be a roadmap to your goals. 

A good marketing plan for your medical tourism business includes the following elements:

Target market

• Who is your target market?
• What do these customers have in common?
• How many of them are there?
• How can you best reach them with your message or product?

Customer base 

• Who are your current customers? 
• Where did they come from (i.e., referrals)?
• How can their experience with your medical tourism business help make them repeat customers, consumers, visitors, subscribers, or advocates for other people in their network or industry who might also benefit from using this service, product, or brand?

Product or service description

• How does it work, what features does it have, and what are its benefits?
• Can anyone use this product or service regardless of age or gender?
• Can anyone visually see themselves using this product or service?
• How will they feel when they do so? If so, how long will the feeling last after purchasing (or trying) the product/service for the first time?

Competitive analysis

• Which companies are competing with yours today (and why)? 
• Which ones may enter into competition with yours tomorrow if they find out about it now through word-of-mouth advertising; social media networks; friends' recommendations; etc.)
• What specific advantages does each competitor offer over yours currently?

Marketing channels

• Which marketing channel do you intend to leverage to attract new customers?
• What is your estimated marketing budget needed?
• What is the projected cost to acquire a new customer?
• How many of your customers do you instead will return?

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4. Write Your Operational Plan.

Next, you'll need to build your operational plan. This section describes the type of business you'll be running, and includes the steps involved in your operations. 

In it, you should list:

• The equipment and facilities needed
• Who will be involved in the business (employees, contractors)
• Financial requirements for each step
• Milestones & KPIs
• Location of your business
• Zoning & permits required for the business

What equipment, supplies, or permits are needed to run a medical tourism business?

• Equipment: Computers, office furniture and equipment, printer, phone system, communication software
• Supplies: Business cards, marketing materials such as brochures and flyers, promotional items, stationery
• Permits: Relevant business licenses and legal permits to operate a medical tourism business in the chosen country/countries

5. Management & Organization of Your Medical Tourism Business.

The second part of your medical tourism business plan is to develop a management and organization section.

This section will cover all of the following:

• How many employees you need in order to run your medical tourism business. This should include the roles they will play (for example, one person may be responsible for managing administrative duties while another might be in charge of customer service).
• The structure of your management team. The higher-ups like yourself should be able to delegate tasks through lower-level managers who are directly responsible for their given department (inventory and sales, etc.).
• How you’re going to make sure that everyone on board is doing their job well. You’ll want check-ins with employees regularly so they have time to ask questions or voice concerns if needed; this also gives you time to offer support where necessary while staying informed on how things are going within individual departments too!

6. Medical Tourism Business Startup Expenses & Captial Needed.

This section should be broken down by month and year. If you are still in the planning stage of your business, it may be helpful to estimate how much money will be needed each month until you reach profitability.

Typically, expenses for your business can be broken into a few basic categories:

Startup Costs

Startup costs are typically the first expenses you will incur when beginning an enterprise. These include legal fees, accounting expenses, and other costs associated with getting your business off the ground. The amount of money needed to start a medical tourism business varies based on many different variables, but below are a few different types of startup costs for a medical tourism business.

Running & Operating Costs

Running costs refer to ongoing expenses related directly with operating your business over time like electricity bills or salaries paid out each month. These types of expenses will vary greatly depending on multiple variables such as location, team size, utility costs, etc.

Marketing & Sales Expenses

You should include any costs associated with marketing and sales, such as advertising and promotions, website design or maintenance. Also, consider any additional expenses that may be incurred if you decide to launch a new product or service line. For example, if your medical tourism business has an existing website that needs an upgrade in order to sell more products or services, then this should be listed here.

7. Financial Plan & Projections

A financial plan is an important part of any business plan, as it outlines how the business will generate revenue and profit, and how it will use that profit to grow and sustain itself. To devise a financial plan for your medical tourism business, you will need to consider a number of factors, including your start-up costs, operating costs, projected revenue, and expenses. 

Here are some steps you can follow to devise a financial plan for your medical tourism business plan:

• Determine your start-up costs: This will include the cost of purchasing or leasing the space where you will operate your business, as well as the cost of buying or leasing any equipment or supplies that you need to start the business.
• Estimate your operating costs: Operating costs will include utilities, such as electricity, gas, and water, as well as labor costs for employees, if any, and the cost of purchasing any materials or supplies that you will need to run your business.
• Project your revenue: To project your revenue, you will need to consider the number of customers you expect to have and the average amount they will spend on each visit. You can use this information to estimate how much money you will make from selling your products or services.
• Estimate your expenses: In addition to your operating costs, you will need to consider other expenses, such as insurance, marketing, and maintenance. You will also need to set aside money for taxes and other fees.
• Create a budget: Once you have estimated your start-up costs, operating costs, revenue, and expenses, you can use this information to create a budget for your business. This will help you to see how much money you will need to start the business, and how much profit you can expect to make.
• Develop a plan for using your profit: Finally, you will need to decide how you will use your profit to grow and sustain your business. This might include investing in new equipment, expanding the business, or saving for a rainy day.

Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Tourism Business Plans:

Why do you need a business plan for a medical tourism business.

A business plan for a medical tourism business is essential for helping to define the company's objectives and goals, as well as creating a roadmap for operational success. It also serves as a tool for potential investors to evaluate the viability of the business, and provides key metrics for measuring progress against over time. Additionally, it can be used for projecting costs and creating a budget, gaining feedback from stakeholders, and providing an outline for marketing strategies.

Who should you ask for help with your medical tourism business plan?

You should ask a business or healthcare professional for help with your medical tourism business plan. They can provide valuable advice and guidance on the legal, financial, and operational aspects of setting up the business. Additionally, they can offer advice on the types of services you should offer and how to market them.

Can you write a medical tourism business plan yourself?

Writing a medical tourism business plan is a complicated and detailed process. It would likely be best to hire a professional to write a plan for your medical tourism business. A professional can help you to create an effective plan that outlines your goals, strategies, and estimated costs. Additionally, they can provide insight and advice as you work to create a successful business.

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Medical Tourism Agency Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business Plans » Medical and Healthcare

Are you about starting a medical tourism agency? If YES, here is a complete sample medical tourism agency business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE .

Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a medical tourism agency. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample medical tourism agency marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for medical tourism agencies. So let’s proceed to the business planning section .

A medical tourism agency is a good business to start in the united states. This is so because the United States can boast of some of the best healthcare facilities and medical practitioners. As a matter of fact, the United States is the number one destination for foreigners looking for countries to birth their children.

The medical tourism agency business is not all about hospitals and health facilities looking for patients from all around the world, but also for foreigners looking for good healthcare facilities anywhere outside their country, or healthcare workers looking for standard hospitals abroad to understudy. The medical tourism agency business is indeed a far-reaching business.

If you really want to start this business, then the next step to follow would be to write a good business plan that would serve as a detailed blueprint of how you intend raising capital, setting up the business, managing the flow of the business, sorting out tax, marketing your services amongst others.

The truth is that it is one thing to have a fantastic idea, and another thing for the business plan to translate to profits, which is why it is important to assemble a team of dedicated workers to work with if you want to be successful with your medical tourism agency business. Below is a sample medical tourism agency business plan template that will help you successfully write yours.

A Sample Medical Tourism Agency Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The travel and tourism industry of which medical tourism agencies belong to is a big and profitable industry in the United States of America and in most developed countries with standard healthcare facilities and medical professionals.

The norm in this industry is that medical tourism agencies just like the average tourism agencies make their money via commission they get by offering medical traveling related services such as securing appointed from a doctor/hospital, booking of flight tickets, securing transit visas, booking for shuttle buses/taxi cabs, car rentals, hotel bookings amongst many other services.

Travel agencies also generate income from selling of medical traveling related insurance policy cover, sale of travel guide books and sale of foreign currencies. Statistics has it that as far back as 2009, the total market size for travel agencies in the United States experienced a sharp decline, dropping from an estimated $17 billion in 2008 to $14.5 billion.

Cruise line booking remains one of the most profitable aspects of travel agencies, as a matter of fact, they handle an estimate of about 77% of bookings in that line of business and also an estimate of about 73% of packaged travel tours as it relate to cruise line services.

It is on record that Brownell Travel which was founded on July 4, 1887 by Walter T. Brownell is the oldest travel agency in the United States of America and it took several years for travel agencies to become a popular business that looks promising and profitable.

Available data shows that employment of travel agents is projected to decline by 12 percent from 2014 to 2024. This is because the ability of travelers to use the internet to research vacations and book their own trips is expected to continue to subdue demand for travel agents.

The medical tourism agency line of business cannot be said to be oversaturated despite the challenges most medical tourism agencies are facing.

The source of the challenges is far-fetched with many people swapping to self – service internet websites; the number of available services and even jobs as travel agents is decreasing despite the fact that there are more travelers than ever before.

Some of the factors that encourage entrepreneurs to start their own medical tourism agencies could be that the business is easy to set up and the startup capital is indeed affordable; you can actually start your own medical tourism agency business from the comfort of your home.

All you need to do is to create an office somewhere in your house and then get contacts of air ambulance operators, standard hospitals and healthcare facilities that has what it takes to treat international patients and also welcome healthcare professionals for tours

2. Executive Summary

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC is a registered travel and tour agency with a bias in medical tourism that will be based in Houston – Texas.

The company will handle all aspects of medical travel and tour related businesses such as booking of flight tickets or hiring air ambulance, securing transit visas, booking for shuttle buses/taxi cabs, car rentals, hotel bookings and cruise line bookings amongst other related services such as selling of medical traveling related insurance policy cover, sale of travel guide books and sale of foreign currencies.

We are aware that to run an all – round medical tour agency can be demanding which is why we are well trained and equipped to perform excellently well.

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC is a client-focused and result driven medical tour agency that provides excellent treatments and broad-based experience at an affordable fee. We will offer standard and professional medical related travel services to all to our clients. We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass our clients’ expectations whenever they hire our services.

At Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC, our client’s best interest would always come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professionals who are well experienced in the travels and tours industry.

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible. We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs completely.

Our plan is to position the business to become the leading brand in the medical tours line of business in the whole of Texas, and also to be amongst the top 20 medical tour agencies in the United States of America within the first 10 years of operation.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Houston is the right place to launch our medical tours agency before spreading to other parts of The United States.

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC is founded by Bannon Jason and his immediate family members. He has over 15 years of experience working at various capacities within the travel and tours industry in the United States of America.

Mr. Bannon Jason graduated from A & M University Texas (First Degree) and he is a Certified Travel Agent (CTA), a Travel and Tourism Professional (TTP) and he has a Total Travel Certification (TTC).

3. Our Products and Services

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC is going to offer varieties of services within the scope of the medical tourism line of business in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our medical tours agency is to make profits from the industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the United States to achieve our business goals, aim and ambition.

Our business offerings are listed below;

• Helping international patients secure doctor’s appointment in the United States
• Medical related travels and tours consulting and advisory services for individuals and corporate clients
• Selling of medical traveling related insurance, sale of travel guide books and sale of foreign currencies
• Booking air ambulance
• Booking for flight tickets
• Securing transit visas
• Booking for shuttle buses/taxi cabs
• Car rental services
• Hotel bookings

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to build a medical travel and tour agency that will become the number one choice for both individual and corporate clients in the whole of Houston – Texas. Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
• Our mission is to provide professional and trusted medical travel and tour services that will assist individuals and corporate organizations in organizing all of their medical related travels. We are to position the business to become the leading brand in the medical travels and tours line of business in the whole of Houston – Texas, and also to be amongst the top 20 medical travel agencies in the United States of America within the first 10 years of operation.

Our Business Structure

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC will build a solid business structure that can support the growth of our business.

We will ensure that we hire competent hands to help us build the business of our dream. The fact that we want to become one of the leading medical travel agencies in the United States makes it necessary to build a well-structured business from the onset.

Below is the business structure that we will build Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC on;

• Chief Executive Officer

Medical Travel Consultant

Admin and HR Manager

Marketing and Sales Executive

• Customer Care Executive/Front Desk Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Office:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Responsible for securing doctor’s appointments, booking for flight tickets, securing transit visas, booking for shuttle buses/taxi cabs, car rentals, hotel bookings and cruise line bookings amongst many other travel and tour related services for clients
• Liaises with clients (patients and doctors/hospitals) to identify their needs and to ensure customer satisfaction
• Conducts market research, gather information and negotiate contracts prior to closing any deals
• Provides feedback and periodic reports to stakeholders
• Proposes ideas to improve provided services and tourism quality
• Ensures compliance with insurance, legal, health and safety obligations
• Cooperates with marketing and PR to promote and publicize medical related travels and tours events
• Conducts pre and post – medical travel events evaluation and report on outcomes
• Researches the market, identify medical travels and tours opportunities and generate interest
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Designs job descriptions to drive performance management for clients
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of HR Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities
• Responsible for selling of medical traveling related insurance policy cover, sale of travel guide books and through the sale of foreign currencies
• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with company policy
• Responsible for handling business research, marker surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the company
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the company
• Serves as internal auditor for the company

Client Service Executive/Front Desk Officer

• Welcomes guests and clients by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the company’s products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients
• Receives parcels/documents for the company
• Distribute mails in the organization
• Handles any other duties as assigned by the line manager

6. SWOT Analysis

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist the firm in building a well – structured medical tours agency that can favorably compete in the highly competitive travels and tours industry.

Part of what the business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for the company. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC.

The fact that we have robust relationship with standard hospitals and doctors all across the United States and a also good working relationship with air ambulance companies gives us an edge over our competitors.

We have a team that can go all the way to give our clients value for their money; a team that are trained and equipped to pay attention to details when executing their jobs. We are well positioned and we know we will attract loads of clients from the first day we open our doors for business.

As a new medical tours agency, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance especially from corporate clients in the already saturated travel and tour industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities in the medical tourism industry are massive considering the number of individuals, families and corporate organizations who source for treatment in the United States. As an all – round medical tours agency, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a medical tours agency operating in the United States are unfavorable government policies , the arrival of a competitor within our location of operation and global economic downturn.

There is hardly anything we can do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The travel and tour industry that medical tourism agency line of business is a part of is in a continuous state of evolution and as such, ground breaking strategies and ideas that are once highly successful are no longer as productive as they were in time past.

Close observation of the trend in the industry reveals that the past few years have seen a rise and proliferation of social media and new tech tools.

As a matter of fact, social media has now become one of the most important tools travel and tour agencies leverage on to disseminate information about their business, interact with clients, solicit feedback, and create year-round engagement with their target audience.

Furthermore, new software apps and emerging technology have made it easier for travel and tours agencies to gather all the needed data and information that will help them plan and project for the future.

People that start a medical tourism agency can as a matter of fact start the business from a small office space/shared office space and still make headway in the business.

One thing is certain when it comes to a travel agency related business, you are sure of making profits from commissions when you are able to successfully secure doctor’s appointments, book flight tickets, hotel reservation, taxi cab reservation and any other travel related services for a client. You are going to get your cut as soon as they make payment.

The truth is that the cost of running a medical tour agency can be kept to the barest minimum because there are always ways you can cut operational and overhead cost. As a matter of fact, most people that run medical tourism agencies have abandoned the “brick and mortar” agency for a home-based business just for the sole aim of reducing overhead, and maximizing profits.

8. Our Target Market

The composition of medical tourism agencies cuts across people from all walks of life; there is no clear distinction on those that would naturally need the services of medical tourism agencies. Although a medical tourism agency might decide to concentrate on high – income earning clients, and another medical tourism agency might only concentrate on corporate clients.

The bottom line is that anyone that can afford to travel from one country to another and can afford medical treatment is a potential client for medical tourism agencies.

Although Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC will initially serve small to medium sized hospitals, but that does not in any way stop us from growing to be able to compete with the leading travel and tour agencies in the United States.

Our competitive advantage

The level of competition in the medical tourism agency line of business depends largely on the location of the business and of course your business network. If you can successfully create a unique brand identity for your medical tourism agency or carve out a unique market, you are likely going to experience less competition.

The competition in the medical tourism agency line of business is not just within travel agencies but also other travel related service providers.

For example, it is now easier for a traveler to secure doctor’s appointment, book his or her hotel accommodation, book flight ticket, reserve taxi cab or rent car ahead of his journey from the comfort of his or her home with the aid of the internet simply because most of the service providers are bypassing travel agencies and taking their services directly to their target market.

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC might be a new entrant into the travel and tour industry in the United States of America, but the management staff and owners of the business are considered gurus. They are core professionals who are licensed and highly qualified medical travel experts in the United States. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the travel industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract clients on a regular basis and sign retainer-ship with most of our clients.

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC will generate income by offering the following medical related travel and tour services.

• Helping international patients secure doctor’s appointments in the United States
• Medical related travel and consulting and advisory services for individuals and corporate clients
• Selling of medical traveling related insurance policy cover, sale of travel guide books and sale of foreign currencies

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain, there would always be individuals, families and corporate organizations that would travel on a daily basis within the United States and to other parts of the world basically for medical tourism.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in the U.S. and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income/profits from the first six month of operation and grow the business and our clientele base.

We have been able to critically examine the medical travel and tour market and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projections are based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to startups in Houston – Texas.

Below are the sales projection for Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC, it is based on the location of our business and the wide range of medical related travel services that we will be offering;

• First Year: $150,000
• Second Year-: $350,000
• Third Year-: $750,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there are stiff competitions amongst medical travel agencies and other related service providers in the United States of America; hence we have been able to hire some of the best business developers to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the organization.

We will also ensure that our excellent job deliveries speak for us in the market place; we want to build a standard medical travel agency that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied clients. Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to corporate organizations, hospitals, households and key stakeholders in all around the globe
• Promptness in bidding for medical travel and tour contracts from the government, hospitals and other cooperate organizations
• Advertise our business in relevant health and travel magazines, newspapers, TV and radio station.
• List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Attend relevant international and local medical travel and tours expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still deliver quality services to them
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to take the travel industry by storm which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our medical tourism agencies. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC;

• Place adverts on both print (international health and travels based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand

12. Our Pricing Strategy

The norm in this industry is that medical travel agencies make their money via commission they get by offering medical tours related services such as securing doctor’s appointments, booking for flight tickets, securing transit visas, booking for shuttle buses/taxi cabs, car rentals, hotel bookings and booking air ambulance services amongst many other services.

Medical travel agencies also generate income from selling of medical traveling related insurance policy cover, sale of travel guide books and sale of foreign currencies.

At Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC we will keep our fees below the average market by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to some clients, nonprofits, cooperatives, and small social enterprises seeking to sponsor the treatment of people in the United States.

We are aware that there are some clients that would need regular access to medical travels and tours consultancy and advisory services and assistance, we will offer flat rate for such services that will be tailored to take care of such clients’ needs.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC is all inclusive as we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America. Here are the payment options that Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via credit cards/Point of Sale Machines (POS Machines)
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via mobile money transfer
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for all our services without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

Starting a medical tour agency can be cost effective because on the average, you are not expected to acquire expensive machines and equipment.

Basically, what you should be concerned about is the amount needed to secure a standard office facility in a good and busy business district, the amount needed to equip the office, purchase the required software applications, pay bills, promote the business and obtain the appropriate business license and certifications.

This is the financial projection and costing for starting Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC;

• The total fee for incorporating the business in the United States of America – $750
• The budget for basic insurance policy covers, permits and business license – $2,500
• The Amount needed to acquire a suitable Office facility in a business district for 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) – $40,000
• The cost for equipping the office (computers, software applications, printers, fax machines, furniture, telephones, filing cabins, safety gadgets and electronics et al) – $5,000
• The cost for purchase of the required software applications – $2,500
• The cost of launching our official Website – $600
• Budget for paying at least one employee for 3 months plus utility bills – $10,000
• Additional Expenditure (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al) – $2,500
• Miscellaneous: $1,000

Going by the report from the market research and feasibility studies conducted, we will need over one hundred and fifty thousand ( 150,000 ) U.S. dollars to successfully set up a medium scale but standard medical tours agency in the United States of America.

Generating Startup Capital for Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC is a registered business that is solely owned and financed by Bannon Jason and his immediate family members. They do not intend to welcome any external business partner which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital to 3 major sources.

• Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $50,000 ( Personal savings $35,000 and soft loan from family members $15,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $100,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the said amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.

One of our major goals of starting Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer our services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

Bannon Jason® Medical Tourism Agency, LLC will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re-training of our workforce is at the top burner.

We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of all forms of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating part of the startup capital from the founder: Completed
• Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed software applications, furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with hospitals, doctors, vendors and key players in the industry: In Progress

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Category: Travel

Date: August 22, 2023

Medical Tourism Business – A Complete Guide

Across the world, there is an emerging class of voyagers who are crossing international borders to obtain a range of medical services from dental care to liposuction. This type of travel is known as medical or healthcare tourism.

Business in this sector is booming. On a global scale, healthcare tourism is higher than oil and gold industry.

If you have plans to enter the medical tourism industry, this blog is for you. We hope that this blog will guide and help you make an informed decision.

What Is Medical Tourism?

Medical tourism involves traveling to another country for the purpose of getting care.

Originally, patients from less-developed countries traveled to developed countries to get treatments that were not available in their homeland.

Today, people from developed countries travel to developing countries to get health care services. This shift is driven by low-cost treatments offered by developing countries, inexpensive flights and the easy availability of online information about medical services.

The word ‘tourism’ is included in this because in most cases people stay in a foreign country to get medical assistance. So, travelers can take advantage of this situation to get to know the country in that short time.

According to the WHO , here are the main drivers of medical tourism.

Here is a graphical representation of a consumer’s path to medical tourism by Deloitte

Types of Medical Tourism

Medical tourism is one of the highly emerging concepts in the tourism industry. There are three main categories in medical tourism.

• Outbound medical tourism – In this type of tourism, a person leaves the country of their origin to another country to get medical help. For example, leaving Denver to get medical care in India
• Inbound medical tourism – In this type of tourism, a person from another country travels to a host country to get medical help. For example, leaving Canada to get medical treatment in the US
• Domestic medical tourism – In this type of tourism, a person travels to another city in the same country to get medical help. For example, leaving Texas to get medical treatment in New York

Top Medical Tourism Destinations in The World

According to Bookimed and Medical Tourism Magazine, here is a list of the top medical tourism destinations in the world.

What Are The Business Models for Medical Tourism?

Here are the different types of business models in medical tourism.

1. Business to Customer

This model involves targeting patients through online marketing and connecting them to the provider. It is also known as direct to patient model

2. Business to Business

This model involves doctors directly referring to other doctors or hospitals. It is also known as provider to provider model

3. Exporting Brand Presence

Exporting brand presence means bringing your brand to the patients directly. For example, many US hospitals want to mark their presence in China

4. Payer Driven

In this model, a payer or employer who is looking to reduce the cost for their insureds will ask them to get medical care away from their homes. The payer or employer may also give incentives for doing it

5. Additional Information

These are some other ways medical tourism businesses earn money.

• Commission – The hospital will pay a fee to the facilitator for sending patients to them
• Revenue – The tourism company will decide the treatment cost of the patient. After the patient makes the payment to the company, it will settle the bill with the hospital. The difference is the actual revenue earned by the company
• Other information – After surgery, people may want to go shopping in the city or even take a vacation. The medical tourism company can also charge a commission for these activities

How to Start a Medical Tourism Service Agency?

If you are planning to start a medical tourism business, here are some points you must consider.

Analyze The Industry and Understand Your Clientele

Analyzing the medical sector of a particular destination will help you to easily determine where you want to target your business. For example, India is famous for heart surgery while Thailand is famous for HIV/AIDS treatment and Spain for neurosurgery.

Understand why certain people prefer to travel for treatment and what type of help you can provide to satisfy their needs.

Additionally, analyze the strong points of the locations you want to choose from. For instance, Germany is known for using cutting-edge equipment and Costa Rica is well known for its world-class plastic surgeons.

Next, you must get a market needs assessment and financial feasibility study from service providers such as The Fox Group . You must also figure out the financial plan. and talk with industry experts to figure out how much to charge for the services you offer.

Certifications, Permits and License

You may be required to undergo training and licensing before opening up the business. Displaying badges from recognized accreditation bodies on your website and other materials will give a message to tourists that your business is properly managed and has undergone rigorous evaluations.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is a prominent healthcare accreditation organization in the US. They formed the Joint Commission International (JCI) to help medical tourism businesses find good healthcare providers around the globe. For example, The Apollo Hospitals was the 1st one in India to get this certification. Click here to view the full list of the medical tourism industry certifications.

Other Points To Keep In Mind

• Insurance is one of the most important elements in the medical tourism business. Make sure that the policy your clients have will cover most of the sections of your business
• To make your client’s medical trip smooth, you have to coordinate and collaborate with the whole medical tourism network. They include travel agencies, hotels, airlines, insurance providers, translators and dealing with the embassy
• Most people find medical tourism-based services online. So, creating a website is important when you are planning to start a medical tourism business A professional website design and development company will have the core expertise to create a customized solution according to your requirements. So, it is highly recommended that you get help from such professionals
• Have a good online marketing plan to spread the word of your business. You can also get help from digital marketing experts to get high-quality results

Medical Tourism Statistics And Facts

Here are some interesting statistics and facts you need to know about the medical tourism industry.

• According to a CII-Grant Thornton study, the Indian medical tourism market is expected to grow from the current $3 billion to around $8 billion by 2020.
• According to MarketWatch, Global Medical Tourism Market will grow at a CAGR of 16.1% during the forecast period 2019-2025
• According to BD Health & Fitness, Medical tourism is one of Turkey’s fastest-growing industries and is estimated to contribute $4 Billion to the country’s economy annually
• According to Statistica, 53% of EU citizens are willing to travel to another country for better quality treatment
• According to CNN, India’s medical tourism industry could grow by 200% by 2020, hitting $9 billion
• According to Statistics, here is the percentage of adults in the U.S. who had traveled abroad specifically to receive medical treatment

• According to Statistica, as of 2019, here is the percentage of adults in the U.S. who had traveled abroad specifically to receive medical treatment and were satisfied with their treatment

• This graph explains the growth of the medical tourism market

Top Medical Tourism Service Providers in The World

Here are some of the top medical tourism companies in the world.

• Bumrungrad International Hospital
• Costa Rica Medical Travel
• Medical Tourism Malaysia
• Seoul Guide Medical
• Ventures Healthcare
• Istanbul Safe Medical

Useful Guides About Medical Tourism

Here are some guides which will help you to get more information about the medical tourism industry.

• Treatment Abroad
• International Medical Travel Journal
• Patients Beyond Borders
• The Medical Tourism Directory For Costa Rica
• Medical Tourism Magazine
• Dr. Prem Medical Tourism Guide

Mobile Apps

Mobile apps are revolutionizing medical tourism and it’s going to be the next big thing in the industry. Here are some of the medical tourism companies that have already created mobile apps and attracting the attention of medical travelers. If you need any help to create a mobile app , you can contact our ColorWhistle team anytime.

• HealthTraveler™
• TaiwanTrade
• HealthTraveler
• PlacidMobile

Drive Conversions and Boost your Business with Expert Travel Website Development.

Medical tourism service providers play a crucial role in making the travel experience easy and comfortable.

Here are some of the basic facilities that a good medical tourism facilitator must provide.

• Custom treatment packages
• Round the clock support and guidance
• Assistance for procuring a medical visa letter
• Timely doctor appointments
• Quick in-patient admissions
• Money exchange
• Safe accommodation
• Provide local sim cards
• Proper end-to-end transportation guidance
• Post-treatment follow-ups

International healthcare services are booming because of the globalization of capital funding and advancement in medical technology. The changing technologies and economic conditions have created many opportunities for patients and businesses in world-wide medical tourism.

The future of medical tourism will be profitable as experts predict the revenue growth to be in billions of dollars in the coming years.

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About the Author - Anjana

Anjana is a full-time Copywriter at ColorWhistle managing content-related projects. She writes about website technologies, digital marketing, and industries such as travel. Plus, she has an unhealthy addiction towards online marketing, watching crime shows, and chocolates.

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How To Write a Business Plan for Medical Tourism Business in 9 Steps: Checklist

By henry sheykin, resources on medical tourism.

• Financial Model
• Business Plan
• Value Proposition
• One-Page Business Plan
• SWOT Analysis
• Business Model
• Marketing Plan

If you're thinking about starting a medical tourism business, you're in luck. The industry is booming, with increasing demand for cost-effective, quality medical care abroad. In fact, according to Grand View Research , the global medical tourism market size was valued at 44.8 billion USD in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 21.1% from 2021 to 2028.

But before you dive in, it's important to have a solid business plan in place. Here are nine steps you should follow to create a successful medical tourism business:

• Research the medical tourism industry
• Identify potential target markets
• Analyze competition
• Conduct a feasibility study
• Determine legal requirements and regulations
• Secure financing
• Determine pricing strategy
• Develop a marketing plan
• Define the business structure and management team

By following these steps, you'll be able to create a solid foundation for your medical tourism business, and increase your chances of success in this growing industry.

Research The Medical Tourism Industry

Understanding the medical tourism industry is critical to planning a successful medical tourism business. Although it is a growing industry, with more and more people seeking medical treatments abroad, it is important to conduct research to remain current with the latest industry trends.

When researching the medical tourism industry , it is important to consider factors such as the global and regional demand for medical services abroad, popular medical procedures, medical tourism destinations, and the demographics of medical travelers. The research should provide insights into the trends and challenges of medical tourism and assist in identifying opportunities in the market.

Tips for researching the medical tourism industry:

• Review reputable industry reports and journals related to medical tourism
• Attend medical tourism seminars and conferences
• Engage with other medical tourism professionals on social media platforms and professional networking sites
• Explore online forums where medical travelers share their experiences and preferences

By analyzing research findings, it will be possible to identify the potential target markets for your medical tourism business and further understand their needs. Based on these insights, you can tailor your services and marketing strategies to attract your target customers. Moreover, through thorough research, you will be aware of the various government regulations in different countries and develop strategies to navigate them.

Overall, researching the medical tourism industry provides invaluable insights into the industry landscape and market trends. These insights will help you identify opportunities, devise strategies, and optimize your business model for success in this competitive market.

Identify Potential Target Markets

To create a successful medical tourism business, it is important to identify potential target markets. This will help to determine the specific medical services to offer, the most appropriate destinations, and the marketing strategy to use.

Tip 1: Start by identifying the countries with the best medical facilities. Research the reputation of these countries and check if there are any specific medical treatments or procedures that are highly sought after in these nations. This information will help you determine the countries where you can provide the most value to your clients.

Tip 2: Consider the demographic of your potential clients. Are they predominantly male, female, young, old, or from a specific ethnic group? Knowing your client demographic will help you make informed decisions about creating healthcare packages that meet their needs.

Tip 3: Analyze the travel patterns of your potential clients. Are they frequent travelers, or occasional ones? Do they typically travel alone or in groups? Knowing their travel patterns will help you create customized healthcare packages that cater to their needs, and offer them an affordable and safe journey.

Tip 4: The most common target markets for medical tourism include individuals who require elective surgeries or cosmetic procedures at a reduced cost, clients seeking new treatment options, and families or groups traveling for medical treatments. Focusing on these target markets can help you create tailored healthcare and tourism packages that offer value to your clients.

Overall, identifying potential target markets is an essential step in creating a successful medical tourism business. By doing thorough research, you can create customized healthcare packages that cater to the needs of your clients and offer them an affordable and safe journey.

Analyze Competition

Any successful business must conduct competitive analysis to get a better understanding of what others in the industry are doing. Analyzing the competition will provide you with insights that will help you differentiate your medical tourism business from others in the market. The following are some points to consider when analyzing your competition:

• Competitor’s services: Identify what services your competitors are offering. Analyze the prices of their services, quality of accommodation, and medical care services.
• Competitor’s target market: Determine the target market of your competitors. Analyze the markets they are targeting and their marketing strategies.
• Competitor’s strengths and weaknesses: Analyze your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. This analysis helps you identify areas where your business can outdo its competitors.
• Competitor’s marketing strategy: Analyze your competitors’ marketing strategies to understand how they attract clients.
• Competitor’s online presence: Analyze competitors' websites, social media channels, search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, and online ads.

Tips for Analyzing Your Competition

• Visit your competitors' websites to get information on their services, pricing, and other relevant details.
• Use social media listening tools to monitor what your competitors' customers are saying about their services and identify areas in which they excel or need improvement.
• Visit the physical locations of your competitors to see how they provide their medical care services, analyze their operations and their customer service teams.

After conducting competitive analysis, you may identify areas of improvement, or that a market needs additional medical tourism providers. A competitive analysis can provide your medical tourism business with valuable insights and strategies, allowing you to enter the market and have a competitive edge.

Conduct A Feasibility Study

Before investing time, energy and money into a business venture, it is essential to conduct a thorough feasibility study to determine if the Medical Tourism Business is viable, profitable and sustainable. A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality and potential success of a business idea and involves analyzing various factors that can impact the business's success.

One of the first steps in conducting a feasibility study is to define the business concept and objectives clearly. This includes researching the Medical Tourism Industry, identifying potential target markets, analyzing competition and determining the unique selling proposition of the business.

The feasibility study should also examine the financial aspects of the business such as start-up costs, funding requirements, revenue projections, operating expenses, and break-even analysis. This will help to determine the financial feasibility of the business and identify any potential risk factors that could impact its success.

• Consider conducting a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis to identify the potential risks and opportunities that could impact the success of the business.
• Consult with industry experts, medical professionals, and potential customers to gain insights into the demand for medical tourism services and identify potential barriers to entry.
• Assess the availability and quality of medical facilities and services in the chosen destination to ensure that they meet the quality standards required by the business.

Another critical aspect of the feasibility study is to analyze the legal requirements and regulations that apply to the Medical Tourism Business. This includes examining the licensing, insurance and liability requirements, and any international laws that may affect the operations of the business.

Additionally, the feasibility study should examine the staffing requirements, including the number of employees needed, their qualifications and skills, and the training required to operate the business. The study should also identify potential suppliers and partners that the business may need to work with to provide medical services, transportation, accommodation, and other related services.

Finally, the feasibility study should take into account the marketing strategies that the business will employ to promote its services and attract customers. This includes defining the target audience, identifying the appropriate communication channels, and developing a sales and marketing plan.

By conducting a comprehensive feasibility study, the business owner can assess the viability and profitability of the Medical Tourism Business and identify potential obstacles and opportunities. This will help to develop a comprehensive business plan that can guide the establishment and growth of the business successfully.

Determine Legal Requirements and Regulations

One of the most important aspects of starting and running a successful medical tourism business is ensuring that you comply with all the legal requirements and regulations in the countries you operate in.

Here are some of the key legal considerations for a medical tourism business:

• Licensing and permits: Depending on the country and the type of medical services you plan to offer, you may need to obtain various licenses and permits. Make sure to research the requirements for each location in which you plan to operate and obtain the necessary approvals before commencing operations.
• Legal contracts: You will need to establish robust contracts with the healthcare providers, transportation providers, and accommodation providers with whom you work. In addition, it's essential to implement contracts with clients that outline the terms and conditions of the services you provide.
• Insurance: As a medical tourism business, it's crucial to provide adequate insurance coverage for clients in the event of complications or medical emergencies. Make sure to research the requirements and regulations around insurance in each location you operate in.
• Privacy and confidentiality: When dealing with client health information, it's essential to comply with privacy and confidentiality laws and regulations. Make sure to have robust policies and procedures in place around client data, and ensure that all staff and partner providers are aware of the importance of confidentiality.
• Quality standards: Ensuring that the healthcare providers you work with meet or exceed quality standards is essential. Make sure to research the accreditation and quality requirements for each location in which you operate and establish strict vetting procedures for your partner providers.

Tips for Ensuring Legal Compliance

• Work with a legal professional who has experience in the medical tourism industry to ensure that you have all the necessary legal requirements in place.
• Stay up to date with changes in regulations and laws in the locations where you operate.
• Establish robust policies and procedures around quality standards, privacy and confidentiality, and insurance coverage.
• Regularly review and update contracts with clients and partner providers to ensure that they remain in compliance with the current laws and regulations.

Secure Financing

Once you have conducted a thorough feasibility study and evaluated the market potential, it's time to secure financing for your medical tourism business. Without sufficient capital, it's challenging to get your business off the ground and achieve success. Here are some essential tips to help you secure financing for your medical tourism business:

• Determine the startup costs: Before approaching any financial institution, you need to determine the total startup costs of your medical tourism business, taking into account all expenses from office rent, medical equipment to personnel costs.
• Explore different financing options: It's essential to explore various financing options that are available to you, including bank loans, venture capital, angel investors, and government grants.
• Prepare a comprehensive business plan: Creating a comprehensive business plan that outlines your medical tourism business's vision, mission, goals, target market, marketing, and financial strategy is critical. It should convince your investors that your business is worth investing in.
• Have collateral: Financial institutions will want to see that you have collateral that they can use to secure the loan or investment they give you.
• Have a good credit record: If you have a good credit record and can show evidence of paying back previous loans on time, you are likely to get a loan from a financial institution.

Once you have a clear understanding of the financing required and the potential options, it's time to make a plan on how you will pitch your business to potential investors. Be prepared to show them your business plan, financial projections, and provide answers to any questions they may have.

Before you approach investors, it's essential to have a good understanding of your business's valuation. You should research similar companies and analyze their valuations to get an idea of what your business is worth. It's essential to understand the potential investors' expectations and offer them a fair deal.

In conclusion, the medical tourism business is a lucrative opportunity, but securing financing for your business can be challenging. However, by following the tips outlined above and having a well-crafted business plan, you stand a better chance of securing financing for your medical tourism business.

Determine Pricing Strategy

Setting a pricing strategy is critical in determining the success of your medical tourism business. It involves analyzing your costs and determining the optimal price point for your services. Here are some important factors to consider when determining your pricing strategy:

• Costs: Before setting your prices, it's important to analyze your costs thoroughly. Consider every expense associated with providing your services, including travel costs, accommodation, medical procedures, staff salaries, and insurance. This will help you determine your break-even point and set prices that allow you to make a profit.
• Value proposition: Your pricing strategy should align with your value proposition. If you offer high-quality, specialized care or unique services, you can charge a premium price. On the other hand, if you focus on providing cost-effective care, your prices should be lower.
• Market demand: You should also consider the demand for your services in your target market. Research what your competitors are charging and set your prices in line with the industry standards, or adjust them based on factors such as location, level of service, and reputation.
• Seasonality: If your business is affected by seasonal fluctuations in demand, you may consider adjusting your prices accordingly. For instance, you could offer discounts during the low season and increase prices during the high season.
• Consider offering bundled packages that combine medical services, transportation, and accommodation, as this can provide customers with added value and simplify pricing for you.
• Make sure to set your prices high enough to ensure profitability, but not so high that you price yourself out of the market.
• Regularly review your pricing strategy and adjust it as needed to reflect changes in costs, market demand, or other factors that may impact your business.

By taking the time to determine a solid pricing strategy, you can ensure that your medical tourism business is positioned for long-term success.

Develop A Marketing Plan

Developing a marketing plan for your medical tourism business is crucial for attracting clients and increasing your revenue. Effective marketing strategies will help you to stand out in the competitive market and create a strong brand identity. Here are the key steps to developing a marketing plan:

• Identify your target audience: Your marketing plan should begin with identifying your potential clients. These could be individuals seeking affordable medical services or companies looking for cost-effective medical packages for their employees. Understanding your target market will help you tailor your marketing efforts to their needs.
• Define your brand: Your brand is what sets you apart from your competitors. Create a unique brand identity by defining your mission, values, and the benefits of your services. This will help you to create a strong emotional connection with your potential clients.
• Choose the right marketing channels: To reach your target audience, you need to choose the right marketing channels. Consider marketing channels such as social media, search engine optimization, email marketing, and print advertising. You could also partner with medical agencies, hospitals, and travel agencies to expand your reach.
• Create compelling content: Engage your audience with compelling content that explains the benefits of your services. Use storytelling techniques to create an emotional connection with your audience and to build trust. You could also create informative blog posts, videos, and newsletters to keep your audience informed and engaged.
• Provide excellent customer service: Excellent customer service is essential for retaining clients and gaining referrals. Respond promptly to inquiries, provide accurate information, and follow-up with clients to ensure their satisfaction. Happy clients will become your brand ambassadors.

Tips for effective medical tourism marketing in a digital age:

• Create a mobile-friendly website and use search engine optimization to improve your search engine ranking.
• Invest in social media advertising to reach a wider audience.
• Offer online booking and payment options to increase convenience for your clients.
• Collect and analyze data to measure the success of your marketing efforts and make informed decisions.

In conclusion, developing a marketing plan for your medical tourism business is essential for attracting and retaining clients. Define your target audience, create a strong brand identity, choose the right marketing channels, create compelling content, and provide excellent customer service. By implementing these strategies, you can increase your revenue and establish a strong presence in the medical tourism industry.

Define The Business Structure And Management Team

Choosing the right business structure for your medical tourism business is a crucial step towards defining your business. It determines how you will be taxed, the legal requirements and regulatory compliance, and the level of liability protection. You can register your business as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), or a corporation.

• If you are the only owner of the business, a sole proprietorship or an LLC could work for you.
• If you need to raise capital and limit your personal liability, a corporation would be ideal.
• Consult with your lawyer or accountant to determine which business structure works best for your medical tourism business.

Next, you need to define the management team responsible for the daily operation of your medical tourism business. Identify key personnel including the chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief marketing officer (CMO), and operations manager.

• Choose individuals who possess the necessary skills, experience, and expertise to run your medical tourism business successfully.
• Develop a management team that complements each other in abilities and functions to foster a smoothly running team.
• Ensure that everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities and how these functions impact the success of the business.

Establish a chain of command for decision making and operational processes. Define communication protocols for the management team and ensure that everyone has access to the necessary resources and tools to carry out their tasks effectively.

• Regular meetings should be held to promote communication and transparency;
• Ensure that employees feel comfortable approaching their supervisors for clarification, feedback, or solutions to challenges they may face;
• Establish an open-door policy to encourage feedback, questions, and suggestions from team members.

Finally, develop a plan for succession, outlining the process for replacing key personnel when the need arises. Define an appropriate exit strategy in case of retirement, unexpected departure, or death of any member of the management team.

• Put in place a succession plan to ensure a smooth transition of leadership at any given point;
• Establish a board of advisors or directors to provide support and guidance regarding the strategic direction of the medical tourism business critically.

Defining the business structure and management team is a fundamental step towards launching a successful medical tourism business. Ensure that you choose the right business structure, define key personnel, establish a chain of command, and develop a succession plan to guarantee continuity.

Starting a medical tourism business can be a lucrative venture if planned and executed properly. By following the nine steps provided in this checklist, you can create a solid business plan and increase your chances of success. Researching the medical tourism industry, identifying potential target markets, and analyzing competition are all essential in determining the feasibility of your business idea.

Additionally, understanding legal requirements and regulations, securing financing, and developing a pricing strategy is crucial in establishing a sustainable business. Creating a comprehensive marketing plan and defining your business structure and management team will ensure efficient operations.

With careful planning, a medical tourism business can provide travelers with quality medical care, packaged holidays, and peace of mind.

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Authoritative guidance, training and insights on the business of health tourism

How to startup a medical and wellness tourism facilitator business, maria todd writes this candid, “from the trenches” response to the daily stream of daily emails she receives from new medical tourism facilitators.

Starting a medical tourism facilitator business requires capital, know how, and consummate documentation for operating quality and safety standards, practices, policies, and protocols. Only then can a marketing and business plan and branding strategy be drafted to explain the business rationale, model and value of its existence and revenue potential.  Most don’t realize how much of each is required to succeed, but I can tell you from experience that it is far more than I (and others) ever anticipated.

Almost daily, I receive emails from people located around the world who are convinced that there’s big money to be made in medical tourism. After all, Dr Paul Keckely of Deloitte published some really “aggressive” projections in 2008 and 2009 upon which the media, thousands bloggers and business plan authors have used for syndicated references  and projections of their own with the Deloitte report dutifully cited as a footnote. Every time I see them, I laugh out of pity…and seethe, because I too believed in them once upon a time – just like I once believed in Santa and the Easter Bunny and the reliances I made on what he wrote cost me a fortune for which there is no recourse or accountability.

Dreamers dream

These hopefuls believe the Field of Dreams slogan: “Build it and they will come”. Some of these new medical tourism startups write to me with the hopes that I will take time from getting paid as a consultant to spend a few hours with them on the phone consulting and giving advice and feedback as a courtesy to them. (Since this is what I do for a living, rendering advice, recommendations, and transferring knowledge – I am mystified why they believe I will do it for them and every other startup without compensation.) Others offer me a barter stake in their future business. They want me to provide advice for equity in a company that has no existing business, experience, track record, or product to sell. They would take advice from someone daft enough to agree to this? And then, from what revenues would I eventually be compensated as a shareholder?

I often wonder if the latter group realizes that if they get sued for failure to comply with regulations or patient endangerment or some other reason that businesses get sued (like stealing copyrighted photos and content from other websites, for example) that I will get sued with them as a deep pockets shareholder/partner of the business. For anyone to agrees to this arrangement makes me wonder how experienced they are in that which they are being asked to give advice! Most of these startups have no existing shareholder agreement that states that the corporation will indemnify me for legal expenses and damages awards in the event the corporation or its shareholders are sued. Even if they did, without an in-force insurance policy that covers a shareholder, such a provision in the written Agreement is worthless and is an unreliable provision.

Stock photos and stock documents? Not hardly!

Some write to ask if I can supply an off the shelf organization chart or organogram for their new medical tourism facilitator business, but they don’t have an organization. I am told repeatedly that they need this to complete a business plan. But wait…. they want an organogram for an organism that does not exist, and for which they don’t know what should be listed with regard to roles, responsibilities and staffing, but they want to use this for a business plan to approach investors and the bank to loan them money? Really? Do they honestly believe that this graphic depiction of a business infrastructure that does not yet exist, that they cannot even outline, will help them ti get startup capital for a business operation that they can’t even describe? Heck if they could at least outline the roles, responsibilities, and staffing plans and management structure, some graphics person on FIVERR could draw it for them in AI or InDesign or PowerPoint and render it for a cut and paste into a business plan! That’s the surface, not the substance!

Next, the ask me for and off the shelf daily checklist. What is it that the checklist but a list of items required, things to be done, or points to be considered, used as a reminder. A reminder of what? If they don’t know what they will be doing in their business, how will a checklist serve as a reminder or failsafe that when used as intended guides their actions in the event of something going wrong or that is there to prevent such an occurrence?

The org chart and the daily operations checklists are not things that are stock items. They are both is dependent on what the daily operations will be. I believe that determination of the work flow at all stages of selling, marketing, operations and logistics coordination is where the value lies in the consultation; especially if they don’t know how to be a medical tourism facilitator. If the startup owner feels they need some been there; done that experience and guidance, I can provide that. Typically that kind of guidance is ongoing and done through weekly meetings that break their business development project into “chunks” of activities and deliverables. The graphic depiction of the organization is an hour’s worth of work by a graphics person on my team. The words in the checklist can come only after the proprietary policies, standards and procedures are developed and refined. That’s called copy-editing. The development of the proprietary policies, standards and procedures are where the consulting expertise brings value.

What it takes to form and operate a medical tourism facilitator business

In 2003, when we began development of Mercury Healthcare International, I spent nearly 24 months of pre-launch effort and tens of thousands of dollars to formulate our medical tourism facilitator business by myself. This came after having a master’s degree and doctorate in health administration, years in organizational development and process design, strategic planning, and consulting in healthcare operations management. I had education and training and work experience as a surgical scrub nurse. Along with this, I was equipped with decades of healthcare marketing, reimbursement contracting, TPA and insurance network operations, and training and experience working with accreditation programs preparing for Joint Commission surveys and inspections by other accrediting bodies. I also had several years working in travel, tourism, ticketing, and tour design and operations, as well as hotel inspection procedures with huge branded tourism accreditors before reinventing my career to healthcare at the age of 26. Never in the 1970s and 80s did I expect that this eclectic mix of skills, education and experience would lead me to where I am now.  I designed MHI’s operating standards, policies, procedures, and checklists from this body of knowledge, training and experience. Then, I still had to purchase advice (using real cash money, not equity promises and coffee dates)  from other experts (mostly lawyers and physician advisors). Afterward to go from paper to reality, I spent 2 more years of post launch testing and business activity to prove the processes I documented and planned and improve them. Along the way, I had to adapt the strategy and business processes to changing market conditions.

Medical Tourism Facilitator Certification – Schmertification

Did I seek out MTA certification for this? The MTA didn’t come into existence until May of 2007! Did I seek out TEMOS or MTQua for this? They were twinkles in their respective founders’ eyes when I started my business activity for medical tourism (Pre-MHI) in 1983. To be a professional medical tourism facilitator that will work to coordinate patient care on behalf of others, or to decide which brands of healthcare providers are worthy for one to agree to promote, is to commit to the documentation level of an ISO 9001:2008 or equivalent, even if you don’t apply for the ISO certification. However, I would recommend this if you plan to approach investors, you must seriously consider this level of commitment in business startup infrastructure because it will differentiate you from all the other “facilitators with a website and a cell phone”. Having ISO 9001:2008 certification will represent to your hospital partners and insurers and others that you are serious and meticulous about documented policies, procedures and preparedness to enter this market.

Doing so will give you a branded advantage because ISO 9001:2008 is a recognized standard for quality management unlike any of these other certifications, especially for medical tourism facilitators. You can safely assume that with proper marketing, brand messaging and the right medical tourism doctors, hospitals, clinics, spas, and other suppliers (the “product vendors”) as well as a unique branded product that is properly advertised, you should realize higher value-added commission rates and fees for your services that others with the just the website and cell phone and unsubstantiated organograms and checklists cannot justify.

A number of international insurers require their suppliers to hold ISO 9001 certification (not just the healthcare facilities). In addition to several stakeholders’ benefits, a number of studies have identified significant financial benefits for organizations certified to ISO 9001, with a 2011 survey from the British Assessment Bureau showing 44% of their certified clients had won new business 1 . Corbett et al. showed that certified organizations achieved superior return on assets compared to otherwise similar organizations without certification. 2

ISO 9001:2008 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer, professional, industry, and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

All requirements of ISO 9001:2008 are generic and are intended to be applicable to all organizations, regardless of type, size and product provided.

Examples of these standards, policies and procedures include, but are not limited to: credentialing, privileging, site inspections, marketing, new patient intake, disaster recovery, records management, standards of practice, standards of care, facility minimum criteria to perform certain procedures (regardless of what they want to sell) payment transactions, website updates.

Developing checklists for daily operational quality and patient safety

Once the processes are created and tested, then (and only then) can you standardize the process to a daily checklist. For example, you can’t have a checklist that references carrying out a facility inspection without the standards for what to evaluate and check and how to evaluate the findings and categorize them as acceptable or unacceptable or in need of improvement. You can’t have a checklist that says “contract negotiated and executed” if you don’t have a draft contract agreement for hospitals, clinics, drivers, hotels, etc.)

Readiness for network development

Until you have such an inspection protocol, credentialing and privileging standards, and a facilities grading standard, you should not be investing startup capital in fam tours, travel costs to conduct site visits and other network development and provider contracting activities.

The price of admission and basis of consideration for you to be invited as a hosted buyer should be a copy of your inspection and grading standards, documented and protected by a non-disclosure agreement so that hosts that invite you can be sure you are prepared to do business when you arrive and not just take advantage of their goodwill and free trips to cool medical tourism destinations, simply because you have a website and a cell phone.

Certifiers’ Competency to Certify

This begs yet another question: Certifiers’ competency. Where are the certifiers’ competencies and standards documented? Lately, every organization wants to sell their medical tourism facilitator certification for $1000 to $5000 for a one or two-day class. ISO 17024 is the standard for quality documentation of an ac creditor or certifier. This is where I give a limited number of certifying bodies credit. Angela Katsapi  in Greece, is one of these experts. A fellow former nurse, she holds a Master of Science degree in Health Informatics and is an IRCA certified lead auditor and auditors’ trainer for ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System. I know her, I endorse her methods. I don’t endorse TEMOS, MTQua, MTA and most other medical tourism facilitation certifiers though I respect what they say they are trying to do. This is for one reason: the value proposition of their certification brands to the consumer market is not proven to me. On the other hand, the value of the knowledge transfer in learning how to prepare for ISO 9001:2008 for medical tourism is an entirely different matter. Instead of buying a medical tourism facilitator certification from an unaccredited body or certifier that the consumer market doesn’t easily recognize, why not go the route of achieving certification of the business process used in your medical tourism facilitation business?  ISO is internationally recognized and the cost is in the preparation for the certification itself, not for the wall plaque and the logo license.

When I consult in the startup and development of a medical tourism facilitation business, or a medical tourism destination launch, I bring 30 years of experience and medical tourism business know-how and subject matter expertise. From 2003 to 2013, my company coordinated more than 10,000 medical tourism patient referrals to providers in 115 countries. I am not an expert like Ms Katsapi in the documentation of the process, but instead I bring the recommendations for the processes, practices, and standards criteria themselves. You actually need both kinds of consultants. No one can be a master of both and do them well.

Marketing the Medical Tourism Facilitator Business

Once you create the business and its brand, then comes the marketing, advertising and selling. This takes tools, technology platforms, and far more than a website to be done correctly. These tools cost money, and have recurring expenses of time and effort to create content and a distribution plan to publish the content in the form of articles, videos, and advertising collateral. To produce these takes cash for graphic and creative design, copyediting, translation to target consumer languages and the time to post these assets across the various marketing and social media channels. The software and technical management platforms are necessary to do reputation management and monitoring, respond to comments and posts about your business, and ensure that all the places you can be listed on the Internet list your business information accurately. At MHI, we offer this service to clients, and the cost of a basic package to use our private label technology solution is about $600 per month just for the monitoring services. We’ve seen it sold for far more.

To assign an account manager that will manage your social media content distribution across your social media channels is an additional weekly fee to cover the time and services of the account manager. This is an outsourced service that takes the place of a staff member on the medical tourism facilitator’s organizational chart, along with the desk space, telephone service and communications hardware, computer and software licenses, social media know-how, and discipline to distribute content according to an editorial calendar and perform the SEO and SEM treatments necessary to generate leads and visits to your website.

We provide this on a shared use basis for our clients, meaning that our account managers actually work on 5-6 other accounts each day, but that is all they do. Many medical tourism facilitation companies believe they can do all this in-house and skip this expense. They believe that they can do this in-house, do it effectively, and still manage patient quotes and logistics, provider network development, fam tours, site inspections, and the day-to-day activities of accounting and business development and network face time. This tells me straight away that they either have no business or they have a clock with more than 40 hours in a day on it, or they are in denial. 10 years of experience in the business of medical tourism facilitation is how I know this. We tried.

A small medical tourism facilitator company can rarely do all this to avoid having big purchased advertising and media budgets. Even if you have the budgets and the content, professional graphics and creative design (artwork, logos, editing, etc.) add thousands of dollars to properly capitalized an annual marketing and advertising budget. If you attempt to do this in-house, salaries, taxes, and benefits must be added to the budget in order to retain talent.

Your Business Image

Aside from developing a functional and responsive website that makes it to the top of organic searches, you’ll need a commercial address and telephone service. While it is rare that businesses need a fax machine anymore, a commercial telephone service that answers at all hours of the day or night will cost you a minimum of about $8-10 per day to answer 24/7/365. This gives callers a professional brand impression when callers call at night or from other time zones and countries. Many calls and leads are lost because people want information immediately and don’t want to leave voice mail or give up email addresses. But with Google maps, they can (and do) check out your business address to see if you are a real business or working from your house. You can lose lots of brand confidence points working from a residential address. A commercial address will cost you between $75 and $150 per month to rent, even it you work from home behind the scenes. Thinking of adding “Suite XYZ” to your home address for appearances sake? Think again. That photo on Google Maps Street View blows your lame disguise out of the water. If you lose consumer confidence at that level, you have no chance to regain it in order for them to entrust you with plans and guidance or advice for their personal health and safety.

Once you have these things nailed down, you can start writing your executive summary of a business plan that highlights a projected revenue and operating budget, product description, differentiation, marketing and branding strategy, and describe your competency to grow such a business. Only then will somebody risk investing in your business.

So next time you think to write me an email to cooperate or collaborate with you to help you build your medical tourism facilitator business, or you decide to ask me to sell you an organizational chart or checklist to get started, do us both a favor and save both of us time. Perhaps now you will understand why they aren’t available, or why you wouldn’t want them if they were available. And if you were planning to buy me a cup of coffee to trade you business advice, keep in mind I have George Clooney (Nespresso) in my kitchen any time I want it.

1. http://www.british-assessment.co.uk/news/iso-9001-proven-to-help-win-new-business. doi: May 25, 2015

2. Corbett, Charles J.; Montes-Sancho, María J.; Kirsch, David A. (2005). “The Financial Impact of ISO 9000 Certification in the United States: An Empirical Analysis”. Management Science 51 (7): 1607–16. doi:10.1287/mnsc.1040.0358

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Hi, Interesting insights on how to startup a medical tourism business. I have to say that starting into this niche : 1. You need to know what medical is about. Not so many understands the needs of clients and their medical issues. 2. You need a strategic and clear workflow 3. You must really care about people

Great insights on how to start a business in general.

Thanks, Dan

Thanks, Yes that’s the tip of the iceberg. Medical tourism preparation is similar to planning a dinner party. So often medical tourism actors assume that simply assembling the ingredients to make a dinner (peas still in the can, meat still on the bone, lettuce still in the raised garden bed, tomatoes still on the vine, milk still in the cow) is adequate to invite guests to come for a dinner. They often overlook that one must set the table, polish the silver, wipe the smudges off the crystal, and decide on the recipes and actually cook the food. Once prepared, one must have the right serving utensils to serve the food from the chafing dish to the service plate with the right manners and serving techniques to honor one’s guests with the hospitality expected to round out the experience. Finally, after the meal, one must clear the table and serve the desert and after dinner beverages, entertain your guests before they take their leave to return home.

Most medical tourism offers listed on so many competing directory sites are little more than an assemblage of the raw and canned goods stacked on the table as an unfinished product. My hope is that this site and its resources will help them start to consider creative and innovative recipes that can be made from their featured ingredients, so that they can entertain their guests properly.

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Medical Tourism Business Plan

What is a medical tourism business plan , a business plan is a road map that provides directions to the medical tourism business. the  medical tourism business plan describes the business goals and objectives, market potential, target customers, sales and marketing strategies, as well as financial feasibility of the medical tourism program., the business plan could demonstrate the feasibility of a medical tourism business and provide a roadmap for its initial years of operation., typical components of medical tourism business plan include:, identify your vision:.

• What markets does it serve?
• Who are the target customers?
• What are the key products and services?

Establish your MISSION:

• What is your unique selling proposition?
• What promise are you making to your clients?

Determine your OBJECTIVES:

• What are critical activities for business success?
• What are your tangible goals for the year?

Prescribe STRATEGIES for Success

• What is the blueprint/road map to achieve desired results?
• What is the direction, philosophy & methodologies?

Create ACTION Plans

• What are the macro steps needed to bring these objectives into existence?
• Who will perform these activities to meet targeted goals?

Forces you to think systematically, realistically, and objectively about your medical tourism business

A reality check , determining the feasibility of your medical tourism business idea , which forces you to consider all relevant factors and assumptions, communication tool for all stakeholders: management, financials, partners, employees, customers, etc., a timetable for operations, helping you to coordinate all the diverse activities that go into running your own business., identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the business model, a blueprint for medical tourism operations in order to achieve international business goals..

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Starting a Medical Tourism Business – Growing Business Opportunity

The medical sector is one of the biggest sectors in the world. Given the field in which it deals, the world suffers with lots of health issues and with the changing times the health issues among individuals have only grown. A disadvantage to one is an advantage to another. As many people are suffering from various health problems, the medical world that includes doctors, nurses, hospital, chemists, medicine industry, all are seeing immense growth.

As the world is much more connected than ever before, people are also engaging for medical services at global level going for treatment to the best hospital in the world rather than limiting their approach to regional or national level. Some countries are known to be the best in the world for medical treatment and thus they attract patients all across the globe who come for treatment. This has led to the rise in medical tourism.

Medical tourism in simple words is traveling from one place to another, especially from country to another to obtain medical treatment. There are many reasons that compel or encourage people to go for medical tourism. Some of them are:

• Relatively cheaper treatment that can easily be afforded
• Better medical facilities and treatment opportunities
• Renowned doctors who have made their names 
• Excellent medical services and facilities
• For special and specific treatment that is limited to only few places

There are many developing countries and underdeveloped countries that have poor medical infra and facilities. This leads to health crisis and people who can afford have to seek help from doctors of other countries like USA, China, Singapore, London and India.

Similarly, some treatments are expensive in many developed nations and people there prefer to get treated in other countries that offer relatively cheaper treatment like India, Thailand, Singapore, Costa Rica, etc. Thus the business of medical tourism grows and is now one of the sectors that is witnessing immense growth all over world. If you are interested to try hands in medical tourism then this article is of help to you.

Role of a Medical Tourism Business:

Before you move ahead do you know what exactly will be the role of your business? What exactly a medical tourism business does? Such questions deserve a brief answer so that before you invest in the business you get to know what exactly it is all about. As a medical tourism business you are expected to have details of doctors who are specialized in specific medical field, are physicians, are much renowned, list of hospitals along with the service they offer and their location, cost of treatment for various health disorder in various hospitals and under various doctors, contact details of all such doctors and hospitals with verified credentials for all such doctors and hospitals.

You are also required to have healthy network in the medical tourism field in order to accommodate the visiting client, travel route, his stay in the place and other necessary needs. Thus as a medical tourism business you are required not only to facilitate the best medical treatment to your client but to also assist him in his stay and accommodation. For all the above things you will charge them your required fees. 

Though these things look simple but get very tough when you go and work inside. Arranging medical visa, booking emergency flights, managing bed in some very sought after hospitals are quite tough tasks that require experience and good source and networking within the medical sector. 

Feasibility Analysis and Research on Medical Tourism:

Before you enter any field it is necessary to be well informed about the various aspects of that field. Thus when you plan to invest in the medical tourism industry it is necessary that you get well informed and for that you need to do deep research on the topic. The best way for you to get detailed information is to hire a professional and conduct a feasibility analysis report that will give you the true picture of the medical tourism industry.

You can get all the answer you deem fit to know through this based on various researches and data analyzed. This ensures that you will take an informed decision in the field of your business and plan accordingly. Some of the common questions that come across are:

• How much investment is required?
• How much profit will one make in this field?
• What exactly is medical tourism? Various aspects of it
• Key points related to the industry
• What to do and not to do while starting your business
• Opportunities, competition and return.

You can also and specific questions based on your area of operation, investment, resources and your role in the business. Based on the results prepare a solid business plan that will help you in shaping up your business idea and moving up towards its implementation.

Get yourself Certified:

Credentials are important in medical tourism and therefore you should get yourself certified from the required authority. By fulfilling the required criteria you can get yourself certified and a license will be issued that will help you in the later while of your business. Most of the countries through their health ministries and tourism ministry grant licenses to the qualified businesses so that they can continue in their business.

Since you will be dealing beyond your country therefore you have to get various certifications and permissions. In order to make your job easy, you can hire a professional advisor in medical tourism to help you out from various technical glitches you may face. As you get all the required certification and permissions move ahead by teaming up with hospitals and doctors.

Networking: Teaming up with Doctors and Hospitals

Teaming and networking with group of hospitals and doctors is a necessary step in order to create your own circle where you can refer your clients. The formal way is to first sit up with the hospital head or the doctors concerned and explain your terms. Since you are giving new clients to the hospital your work would be easy.

In return the hospitals give a percentage of the total profit made from fees that the patient pays along with endorsement and reviews. If you have successfully closed the deal you can get a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by them. You should also network with some renowned doctors who are in demand for special treatment. Thus connecting your client directly with the concerned doctor gives an edge over the rest. 

There are two sides of medical tourism. First is when you facilitate your own countrymen to another country for treatment and second is when you facilitate foreigners from different countries in your own country. The second is a bit easy when it comes to networking with hospitals and doctors in your own country. For the first, you can also team up with other such medical tourism businesses operating in those countries and on each referral you can get a pre-determined commission. 

Getting Medical Visas:

There is a determined process through which everyone gets the required medical visa to travel to another country both from his country and to the country he aims to visit. This may sometimes get delayed at times and that is when medical tourism agencies play their role by using their sources in the Visa department. In order to facilitate easy and immediate visa approvals build your contacts in the ministry of External Affairs of your country.

Arranging Travel Tickets, Accommodations and Departure:

An ailing person traveling to a different country cannot afford to get these things done especially in a foreign country and that is when you will come at their rescue. Get all the travel details of your client and book their tickets, manage their accommodations in advance including their departure. In case of emergency booking tickets and rooms becomes hard and that is why you should be in close terms with traveling booking sites and agencies for smoother work. 

Special Traveling and Ambulances:

Some critical patients require special treatment and travel facilities like air ambulances, and specially equipped ambulances which are not easily found unless asked for. It is necessary that you are in contacts with them in case of emergency to ensure your client is treated well on time. 

Your Presence in the Market:

Your presence in the market is needed to be felt in order to grow. Get your own website with a presentable business name along with logo. Be active on all social media and digital platform using social media marketing. The traditional way is to network with doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, chemists to endorse you.

Many of the clients look on internet or consult their friends, relatives, and family doctors for the same while the rest do Google searches. Whatever the method they adopt you should be present at all platforms in order to rope your clients. In common cases, a patient who cannot be treated further because of lack of resources and facility in a particular hospital is referred to foreign hospitals. They usually give the reference for a particular hospital along with the agency that will manage all the travel and accommodations. This is where your contact will be helpful for your business.

Your Business Team:

Build up your core team that will manage your client and entertain them passionately. Another team that will manage your relations with the hospitals, doctors and other medical institutions. Third team would be managing the paperwork including that of visa approval, tickets, passports, etc. Your team should be efficient and proactive in dealing at all fronts especially with clients and immediate service providers like travel agents, visa approval authority, hospital accommodations, etc. 

Your Business Marketing and Business Branding:

People will get to know you only when you are present at all the platforms they will use to get to you. Social media, digital platforms, websites are common ways to make your presence felt. It is important to present yourself in a professional and sophisticated manner in order to build yourself as a brand. Get your own website which has all the details a client searches for. Be objective and clear to ensure that your client returns satisfied. Some common queries that should be answered are:

• Countries known for treating particular diseases
• Medical hospitals known for treating particular and specific medical disorder
• Renowned doctors specialized in specific field
• Contact details of the aforesaid 
• Ways to get operated in those hospitals, countries and by doctors
• Managing travel tickets, medical visa, accommodation, etc. 
• Reviews by clients, of hospitals, doctors and your business.

With such information on your website your client will return satisfied and will most probably choose you for help. Using advanced methods of digital marketing you can also target your clients who require particular medical help and are in need to travel abroad. You can set up a call center where you can connect with your potential clients and entertain the clients approaching you.

Always Remember:

• While connecting and networking with hospitals and doctors, do a personal check and enquiry about them and the service they offer. Only after you are satisfied with their work commitment and quality medical services, go ahead and network with them.
• Always remind yourself about the role you are limited to play. Do exactly what your job is rather that going ahead and doing things not in your domain as in case you fail you will lose your reputation unnecessarily.
• Do not offer which you cannot fulfil. Tell your clients clearly about the responsibility you are limited to.
• Operate as a genuine and certified medical tourism business to ensure your credibility. Have a registered business and office. 
• Charge what is charged in a competitive market and based on your service and client review you can review your fee model. Be ethical in your business and do not ever exploit your helpless client. It is not only sin but has worse impact on your business as any client in contract with you will do so with full trust and once it is gone your business is over.

Professionalism and promptness is the key to success in service industry. In medical service things go much serious and requires critical approach. It would be best for you if you spend few years in this field before you go on your own as such experience will ease your work when you start on your own.

Medical tourism is the process of travelling to another country for medical care. It may involve travelling abroad for preventive medical treatment, diagnostics tests and treatments, elective procedures, and complex cure.

The major benefits of medical tourism include access to affordable treatments and procedures, a wider range of treatment options, access to expertise from highly qualified doctors and medical staff. In addition, medical tourism often includes a vacation aspect, allowing for the combination of rejuvenating travel, sightseeing and medical care.

Medical tourism covers a broad range of treatments including fertility treatments, cosmetic plastic and reconstructive surgical procedures, organ and tissue transplants, as well as a wide range of medical procedures, such as heart and lung surgery, cancer treatments, dental care and more. Discover the dental services available to enhance the health and appearance of your teeth by clicking here .

Cost savings are one of the main attractions of medical tourism. Depending on the location, medical procedures and treatments abroad can offer cost savings of anywhere from 25 to 50 percent compared to the same procedure or treatment in the US.

Healthcare tourism is a form of medical tourism, mainly focusing on services including health check-ups, preventive treatments, and other wellness services. Healthcare tourism often covers a broader range of services, like relaxation, wellness, and beauty treatments, than just medical care.

Medical toursim is generally considered safe, however it is important to understand the risks and take necessary precautions. Research thoroughly, take time to find a reliable and trustworthy doctor and clinic, and always be sure to check all applicable laws, regulations and standards.

Choosing the right medical tourism provider is key to having the best and safest experience. Do your research and ask a lot of questions. Make sure to find a reputable and certified provider who has undergone extensive training in order to receive accreditation from international organizations.

While Medical Tourism is generally considered safe, there can be side effects and complications for any procedure or treatment, whether domestic or abroad. It is important to discuss the risks and benefits of any treatment with the provider, seek second or third opinions if needed, and be aware of any potential side effects and complications.

Depending on your insurance plan, you may be able to have medical procedures abroad covered. Make sure to check your insurance plan to see if it covers Medical Tourism. Payment options can also include direct payment, credit cards, and special financing options such as loans.

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How To Start A Medical Tourism Business

Are you an entrepreneur who needs fresh ideas for a startup company? A recent report shows that about 100 million new businesses are launched globally every year, according to GEM Global Report. Medical tourism provides patients the ability to leave their city, state, or nation to receive medical care.

The process of launching a health tourism business is probably much easier than you expected. It starts with knowing the basics, like what a “facilitator” is all about. I’d like to share some helpful information about starting up in an industry valued at nearly $38 billion (2019).

What Exactly Is Medical Tourism?

Medical tourism is known by various terms, including medical travel, but they have the same meaning. It’s about crossing national or international borders to receive healthcare services.

Medical Tourism Facilitators.

This is one of the most important terms to know about. A medical tourism facilitator functions as a bridge between the physician and patient by providing guidance to patients when they’re abroad to receive medical treatments. The goal is to connect the healthcare provider and concierge with the patient.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKc26etQ700

Main Tasks.

A facilitator has a wide range of different tasks, including:

• Schedule flight
• Make doctors appointments
• Transfer medical records
• Handle lodging
• Collect payments
• Plan recreational activities

The facilitator can also meet the specific needs of the patient. For example, if the patient has certain health conditions like back pain, they might require a  guide on how to pick a mattress .

Another important function of the medical tourism facilitator, besides functioning as a liaison between the patient and medical personnel, is to find an affordable package for the customer that includes costs related to travel expenses, medical bills, lodging costs, and so on.

Let’s discuss the basic steps to launch a medical tourism business.

Step #1: Get a Feasibility Analyst Report.

You can hire a professional service to complete this task. It will give you a snapshot of the medical tourism industry. As the name suggests, the report will help to determine how practical it is for you to launch a startup company based on various factors.

These reports involve research and analysis based on various factors, including:

• What medical tourism is
• Amount of investment
• Possible profits in the field
• Opportunities and competition
• Do’s and Don’ts for starting a business

This is important information so you can make a wise decision about whether launching a new medical tourism business is practical. If the answer is “yes,” then it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step #2: Create a Business Plan and Learn Your Market.

Business plan..

It’s important to prepare a medical tourism business plan that addresses various issues:

• Number of clients can you manage at one time yet still provide quality service
• Lowest rates you can offer while maintaining a profitable business
• Total costs connected with operating a physical/virtual office and small staff

Local Market.

It’s also important to learn about the local markets for medical travel. For example, certain countries have achieved practice specialties, including:

• India: Heart/orthopedic (bone/muscle) surgery
• Hungary/Philippines: Advanced dentistry
• Turkey: Eye surgery
• Spain: Brain surgery
• Costa Rica: Cosmetic surgery

Step #3: Secure Certification, Licensing, and Permits.

Joint commission international..

The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (ICAHO) is the United States’ most well-known healthcare accreditation organization. In 1994 it formed the Joint Commission International (JCI), which works with medical tourism businesses and healthcare organizations in over 100 countries today.

JCI accreditation includes the Gold Seal of Approval, which it has issued to over 1,000 medical bodies throughout the world. Countries outside the United States and Europe apply JCI accreditation rules to international hospitals

JCI Accreditation.

The Medical Travel Quality Alliance (MTOA) reports that earning a certification seal and adding it to your company’s website or materials show tourists and medical professionals that your health tourism business meets industry standards. This includes meeting strict MTOA evaluations.

After launch, your company should also be aware of updates on accreditations and certifications. This can keep your clients safe by building a strong reputation within the healthcare industry.

Licenses and Permits.

It’s also important to secure various national licenses and local permits to operate a medical travel business. You’ll also need to secure an IRS tax resale number in the U.S., or similar  process abroad.

Step #4: Locate the Top Medical Care Facilities.

This is another important step. Make sure to learn about the top medical facilities and healthcare providers in particular destinations you’ll be promoting.

You can research the information online, although it’s often better to up your passport and go to the travel destinations to conduct a firsthand inspection. For example, you can learn if certain medical facilities are eco-friendly and follow a  medical waste disposal guide .

Contact Prospects.

It’s important to only deal with ones that have features like JCI accreditation and low prices. You can contact the healthcare facilities’ management to share your company’s packages and programs.

Certain doctors might be able to provide information based on existing relationships with other health tourism businesses and share various resources.

There are various factors you should research during your trip. They include the country’s local transportation and post-operative care. This will help clients to feel at ease when they’re traveling throughout the country, or their surgical procedures are complete.

Step #5 Set Competitive yet Profitable Rates.

Make sure to research rates that are reasonable for the medical treatments you’re offering and the geographic region.

Research the rates of “medical tourism agencies.” This usually includes commissions that hotels, resorts, and spas pay and 20% of the patient’s total medical costs that hospitals or doctors pay.

Step #6: Market Your Medical Tourism Industry.

This process figures out your target market. For example, this could include uninsured/under-insured patients, or small employers.

One of the cheapest ways to advertise is through word of mouth. This is by informing primary care physicians that you’re offering health tourism services. It’s important to build a good relationship with the doctors so you can get a steady flow of patient referrals.

Online Marketing.

This includes options like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or lead generation services. It can help to boost your company’s ranking in Google search results. Ideally your business should be on Page 1 of results when potential customers Google particular keywords or phrases related to medical tourism.

Conclusion.

The keys to success in the service industry include professional and prompt service. It’s highly recommended that you get some experience in the medical tourism business before you launch your own company. Always make sure you to do your homework and consult industry experts. This will help your clients get quality medical treatment while enjoying a mini vacation abroad.

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Accreditation & Certification

Medical tourism: travel agents rerouting business plans.

After a traffic accident took both her limbs, Susha Bashayreh is back on her feet again after completing three weeks of rehabilitation at Dubai Healthcare City where new sockets and liners for her prostheses along with physical therapy and training have mitigated the past few years of struggling about on stumps. ‍

Her father, Yousef, who watched Susha mature from a 10-year-old limb amputee and into a young woman, still worries about his daughter’s future like any parent would – just not as much. ‍

The high cost of healthcare, limited access to fast and quality procedures and a new affinity for preventative care that stresses health and wellness have international consumers — like Susha Bashayreh and her father — weighing their options and considering other routes for treatment that are more in line with their income levels. More often than not, that road now involves crossing borders for the inevitable marriage of health and wellness and travel: commonly referred to as medical tourism. ‍

“There’s social pressure to look good,” said the casually dressed executive. “Two of my brothers and half of my friends had hair implants in Turkey. It was an easy choice after that.” ‍

International medical tourism patients from some 115 countries visit Turkey, in large part, from the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Libya and the United Arab Emirates, for surgeries.

Many of these travelers combine health and wellness stays at exclusive resorts with shopping and sightseeing – from the Museum of Modern Art in Istanbul to some of the oldest known human settlements in the world. For that reason, the Turkish Ministry of Health predicts revenue from medical tourism to grow past the $20 billion mark by 2023. ‍

Bullish on Health and Wellness

Tourism expenditures, meanwhile, in nearby Jordan, make up 13 percent of the Arab nation’s $34 billion economy. About 2.8 million travelers visited Jordan in 2014, 250,000 of whom were medical tourism patients seeking treatment, according to the Private Hospital Association of Jordan.

Each of those patients traveled with at least two companions, boosting the total number of medical tourists to some half-million and more than JD1 billion in revenue associated with health procedures, accommodations, transportation and related expenses to the economy. ‍

Visible for its majestic desert scenery and ancient monuments that hold great importance to pilgrims, archeological buffs and tourists worldwide, Jordan can easily resonate with healthcare consumers for time-tested hospitality, affordable treatments and first-rate care and, perhaps, above all secure passage to and from a region synonymous with political unrest. ‍

Jordan is bullish on the prospects of its medical tourism industry. So, too, are other governments in the region that have invested financially to improve facilities and to train and retain healthcare professionals.

The challenge then – and looming opportunity as well – for forward-thinking travel professionals is to grasp this reality and offer advice to the growing number of healthcare consumers who are seeking to become more familiar with expanding medical and wellness tourism destinations and protocols. ‍

For now, medical tourism facilitators, who connect international patients to procedures and treatments worldwide, help to fill this void. But, if, as expected, costs continue to rise and more patients are pushed to seek timely and quality care for conditions outside of their traditional markets, then medical tourism might be an industry that is too hard for any proactive travel agent to ignore. ‍

Travel agents thinking about dipping into medical tourism should know that the industry is valued at $100 billion and growing. And, thanks to robust population growth, rising income levels and lethargic lifestyles that promote related chronic diseases, healthcare spending in the GCC region will reach 69.4 billion by 2018. ‍

The medical tourism sector in the UAE reached $1.69 billion in 2013. In Dubai, alone, revenue from medical tourism is expected to increase by 15 percent to Dh1.1bn ($299.5 million) in 2016 from Dh652m ($177.5 million) in 2012, and again to Dh2.6bn ($708 million) by 2020.

The Dubai Health Authority reports 18 private and four public hospitals will be built in the next five years. Private hospitals will target patients from the Commonwealth of Independent States including Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and those in South Asia and Arabian Gulf nations. ‍

Career Opportunities

UAE nationals will spend millions of dollars more on treatments or specialist care that can only be found abroad. Those numbers, added together, make medical tourism an attractive field to bite into. No wonder the industry is enticing hundreds of travel agents to incorporate medical tourism into their business models.

Because healthcare is less expensive for traveling patients due to market price differences from one destination to another, some who chose to become medical tourism facilitators can usually profit 20-40 percent of the total cost of a procedure. In many cases, a medical tourism facilitator can earn more than a surgeon in some countries. ‍

Saad Al Suati, isn’t about to put a price tag on a facilitator or agent who can streamline the medical tourism process, from travel arrangements and transfer of health records to hospital admission and discharge and follow-up.

A short time ago, in biting misery and desperate for solutions, he arrived in Dubai on the seat of his pants. The 51-year-old Qatari national suffered severe pain in both legs that left him crippled to a wheelchair and with pinned hopes that a risky five-hour surgery at Dubai Health Care City could abate four years of misery. ‍

Today, Al Sulaiti is back in Qatar, ecstatic to be walking with minimal assistance and looking forward to a life full of hope and void of despair; the spinal condition misdiagnosed in his home country now mending. Like Susha Bashayreh, Al Sulaiti “can walk again.” ‍

If improving the quality of life for patients while supporting personal financial prosperity is paramount to career interests, then travel agents may be inclined to follow a path taken by increasing numbers of patients — Bashayreh and Al Sulaiti, among them – and explore what medical tourism has to offer.

Exploring the Surge of Cosmetic Tourism: Trends and Considerations in Aesthetic Procedures Abroad

Holistic healing: exploring integrative medicine and wellness retreats, meeting the surge: the growing demand for knee replacement surgeries and advances in the field, innovations in medical technology: how cutting-edge technology drives medical tourism, stem cells have powerful anti-aging properties, new shift for thailand’s medical travel landscape as mta launches new moves, continue reading, accreditation: a critical growth factor for medical tourism destinations, medical tourism training driving shifts in thailand’s medical travel, expanding healthcare access with medical travel facilitator certification, featured reading, dominican republic’s giant strides to becoming a global leader in medical tourism, exploring niche markets in medical tourism, medical tourism magazine.

The Medical Tourism Magazine (MTM), known as the “voice” of the medical tourism industry, provides members and key industry experts with the opportunity to share important developments, initiatives, themes, topics and trends that make the medical tourism industry the booming market it is today.

DESTINATION

1. Overview

Brief introduction to the country and its reputation in medical tourism.

Russia, the world’s largest country by land area, offers a unique blend of history, culture, and cutting-edge technology. While Russia may not be the first destination that comes to mind when considering medical tourism, it has been gaining traction in this field. With substantial investments in healthcare infrastructure and medical research, Russia is slowly but steadily becoming a destination worth considering for various medical procedures. The country has a growing reputation for offering state-of-the-art medical treatments, often at a fraction of the cost you might pay in Western Europe or North America.

Historical and Cultural Significance in Medicine

Russia has a long-standing history of medical research and innovation. From the times of renowned scientists like Ivan Pavlov to contemporary achievements in cardiology and neurology, the country has been instrumental in contributing to global medical science. Russian medical institutions have also been engaged in pioneering work in fields like radiology, organ transplantation, and aerospace medicine, reflecting a cultural emphasis on scientific inquiry and innovation.

The Medical Landscape

The Russian healthcare system is a mix of public and private institutions, providing an array of treatments ranging from general medicine to specialized surgeries. While public healthcare is generally available to citizens, the growing private healthcare sector caters to both local and international patients, often providing services that match global standards.

What Draws Medical Tourists to Russia?

Medical tourists often find Russia appealing due to its advanced technology, specialized treatments, and relatively lower costs. Moreover, the prospect of combining medical treatment with a cultural experience is another attractive feature. Known for its grand architecture, vibrant arts scene, and rich history, Russia offers an all-around travel experience alongside high-quality medical care.

2. Popular Medical Procedures

List and brief descriptions of procedures.

• Cosmetic Surgery : Including procedures like rhinoplasty, liposuction, and breast augmentation, Russia is increasingly becoming a destination for cosmetic surgery.
• Dental Treatments : Dental implants, crowns, and veneers are some of the sought-after treatments.
• Cardiac Surgery : With advanced technology, cardiac procedures like bypass surgeries and angioplasties are performed at specialized centers.
• Orthopedic Surgeries : Hip and knee replacements are commonly done here with a high success rate.

Specializations or Pioneering Treatments

Russia is becoming known for its cancer treatments, including specialized radiation therapies and immunotherapy treatments. Additionally, the country has been involved in research and treatment of neurological conditions, offering specialized services in this domain.

3. Top Hospitals & Clinics

Renowned hospitals and clinics.

• Almazov National Medical Research Centre, St. Petersburg
• European Medical Center, Moscow
• Moscow City Clinical Hospital

Accreditation and Affiliation

Most top hospitals are accredited by Russian healthcare authorities and some even possess international accreditations. These hospitals often collaborate with international medical institutions for research and training purposes.

Special Features, Awards, or Recognitions

Many hospitals have received awards for medical excellence and innovations in treatments. They also offer features like English-speaking staff, modern facilities, and state-of-the-art medical equipment.

4. Cost Comparison

Comparative data.

On average, medical procedures in Russia can cost 30-70% less than in Western Europe or North America. For instance, a dental implant that might cost upwards of $3,000 in the United States could be available for around $1,000 in Russia.

Price Ranges

Costs can vary based on the facility, location, and type of procedure. Always get multiple quotes and consult with healthcare providers to get a more accurate picture.

5. Quality & Safety

Medical standards and practices.

Russia is committed to ensuring high standards of medical care, supported by its educational system that produces skilled doctors and medical professionals. While there might be variations in quality between rural and urban centers, most metropolitan areas have hospitals and clinics equipped with modern technology and well-trained staff.

Accreditation Systems and Regulatory Bodies

In Russia, medical facilities are generally regulated by the Ministry of Health. While not all hospitals may have international accreditations, most top institutions meet or exceed global healthcare standards.

Quality Checks and Patient Safety Protocols

Russian healthcare providers employ a variety of safety measures such as pre-surgical consultations, sterilization protocols, and rigorous post-operative care. They also tend to follow internationally recognized best practices to ensure patient safety.

Patient Rights

Patients have the right to quality healthcare, the right to choose their physician, and the right to confidentiality. These are enshrined in Russian medical law and are generally adhered to by healthcare providers.

6. Medical Visa Information

Guidelines and requirements.

To obtain a medical visa, you generally need a formal invitation from the Russian medical institution where you plan to receive treatment. Proof of financial stability and medical insurance are often required.

Duration, Documentation, and Application Process

The visa can be valid for up to 90 days, with possible extensions in case of medical necessity. Documentation usually includes your passport, invitation letter, visa application form, and photographs. Applications are typically processed within 10 to 20 business days, although expedited services are available for an additional fee.

Travel-related Advisories or Restrictions

It’s advisable to keep an eye on travel advisories and consult your home country's embassy or consulate for the most current information.

7. Cultural Considerations

Local customs and etiquette.

While Russia is generally welcoming to tourists, being aware of local customs and etiquette can enrich your experience. A basic understanding of Russian manners, such as greetings and proper attire, can be beneficial.

Language and Communication

While the primary language is Russian, English is often spoken in large hospitals and medical centers. Nonetheless, it's advisable to confirm the availability of English-speaking staff or interpreters.

Dietary Considerations

Russia offers a variety of cuisine options, though traditional foods might be heavy in meat and dairy. Vegetarian and vegan options are increasingly available, particularly in larger cities.

8. Travel & Accommodation

Popular areas to stay.

Moscow and St. Petersburg are popular destinations with proximity to top medical facilities. Both cities offer a range of lodging options, from luxury hotels to budget-friendly hostels.

Proximity to Medical Facilities

Medical centers are often well-connected by public transportation or are just a short drive away from popular accommodation areas.

Transportation and Infrastructure

Russia has an extensive public transportation network, including subways, buses, and taxis. Apps like Uber are also widely used.

Post-procedure Relaxation and Recuperation Spots

Russia is rich in natural beauty, from the beaches of Sochi to the serene landscapes of Siberia, offering plenty of options for post-procedure relaxation.

9. Legal & Ethical Considerations

Legal rights of patients.

Patients have the right to informed consent, confidentiality, and quality healthcare as per Russian laws.

Medical Malpractice Laws and Patient Recourse

In cases of medical malpractice, patients have the right to legal recourse. However, legal proceedings can be long and complex.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical standards are generally in line with international norms. Issues such as organ transplantation are strictly regulated.

10. Benefits & Risks

Among the benefits are lower costs, high-quality specialized treatments, and the opportunity to explore Russian culture and history.

Potential Risks

Language barriers and variations in quality between rural and urban healthcare centers are some of the risks involved. Always conduct thorough research and consultations before proceeding with any medical treatment.

11. Post-procedure Care

Post-operative care.

Russian medical facilities often offer robust post-operative care programs, including rehabilitation and follow-up appointments.

Availability and Quality of Rehabilitation Centers

Rehabilitation centers, especially in metropolitan areas, are well-equipped and staffed with trained medical professionals.

12. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• Is English widely spoken in Russian hospitals? In major cities and top healthcare centers, yes. However, it's advisable to confirm this before you travel.
• How do I pay for medical procedures? Payment methods vary, but most top hospitals accept credit cards and wire transfers.
• Is it safe to travel alone? While generally safe, it is always advisable to be cautious and aware of your surroundings, especially in unfamiliar areas.
• Is medical insurance necessary? Yes, proof of medical insurance is usually a requirement for obtaining a medical visa.
• What is the quality of post-procedure care? High-quality post-procedure care is often available, particularly in specialized medical centers.

Global Provider Members

Russian Ruble

144,500,000

With an area the size of Russia, it is difficult to give any sort of general advice about the climate and weather, except that summers are warm to hot, and winters get very cold in some areas. In general, the climate of Russia can be described as highly continental, with warm-to-hot, dry summers and (very) cold winters with temperatures of -30°C or lower. Heavy snowfall is not uncommon.

Facilitators

Featured treatments.

MedicalTourism.com

MedicalTourism.com is a free, confidential, independent resource for patients and industry providers. Our mission is to provide a central portal where patients, medical tourism providers, hospitals, clinics, employers, and insurance companies can all find the information they need. Our site focuses on patients looking for specific knowledge in the fields of medical tourism, dental tourism, and health tourism.

• Solar Eclipse 2024

The Eclipse Could Bring $1.5 Billion Into States on the Path of Totality

T he total solar eclipse passing through parts of the U.S. on April 8 stands to have a major economic impact on cities across the country as stargazers flock to the path of totality. 

Factors including the date of the eclipse and the number of states in the path of totality means that millions of people will have the opportunity to view the event— and that the cities hosting them could see a combined $1.5 billion injected into their states’ economies.

“That number will include lodging costs for visitors coming from out of state or far away parts of their own state, as well as gas costs and food costs,” says Bulent Temel, assistant professor of practice in economics at the University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, who performed the calculations to arrive at the $1.5 billion figure.

One to four million people are expected to travel for the eclipse, according to Great American Eclipse , an informational site that tracks solar eclipses around the world. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates the days leading up to the eclipse will be some of the busiest travel days of the season, with 50,670 flights on Thursday, April 4 and 48,904 flights on Friday, April 5. That means the spending will be spread out: “[The eclipse] is on a Monday, so you might have folks coming Friday, Saturday, Sunday, spending a few days somewhere ahead of the event,” says John Downen, Director of Impact Analysis at Camoin Associates.

Read More : How Cities Around the U.S. Are Celebrating the Eclipse

Many regions along the path of totality have spent months—if not years—preparing for the upcoming surge of visitors and money. Rochester, NY, is expecting 300,000 to 500,000 visitors across the nine - county Greater Rochester region. Local businesses have a slate of specials and planned events the weekend leading up to the event—including eclipse themed beers from local breweries and a three-day pass from the Rochester Museum and Science Center for visitors to attend a range of talks and performances. 

The area’s tourism board says that some hotels have reported demand skyrocketing an average of 1200% for the four-day span leading up to April 8— unusual demand for a Monday in the region’s off-peak season. 

It’s an economic boost that no amount of planning— or marketing—can replicate. “It’s a really great tourism opportunity,” says Shannon Ealy, Director of Communications and Marketing for the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce. “You can spend millions of dollars on media buys to get our regional brand out there, but you can't exactly buy the sun and the moon crossing over us.” 

Read More: See the 2024 Solar Eclipse’s Path of Totality

But unfortunate weather could still put a damper on things, especially for businesses that might be stocking up for an influx of visitors, since many eclipse chasers decide where to view the eclipse based on weather that can’t be predicted until the event draws closer. “Even a simple factor like a cloudy day could just compromise all these expectations quite a bit,” Temel says. 

The real task for local business and tourism boards lies in converting one-time visitors into ones that return—without the promise of a solar eclipse. “Every single one of those visitors is a potential future visitor to the same area as well,” says Temel. “In the long run, the economic impact would be magnified quite significantly. 

Adds Downen: “It definitely presents an opportunity, especially in smaller communities, to showcase themselves and hopefully capture some future repeat visitors.”  

Read More : Where to Find Solar Eclipse Glasses—And Spot Fake Ones

Lebanon, Indiana, for example, is expecting its population to triple during the weekend before the eclipse. Joe Lepage, the city’s communication and community development director, says he hopes that the eclipse will change the way both locals and out-of-towners talk about Lebanon. 

“We have a large business park, great hospitals, establishments where people can work, but actually staying and living in Lebanon has been difficult to sell.” he says. "It'll give people that are going back home a chance to visit and realize, ‘Hey, that little town is nice.’ But then our locals can see all the things they have in their backyard and realize, ‘Hey, my community is pretty special too.’”

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We’ve Helped Thousands Build Successful Medical Tourism Businesses

For nearly a decade, we have been assisting people of all backgrounds and experience levels build medical travel agencies they can be proud of. We are dedicated to helping medical tourism facilitators achieve their full potential. We understand the challenges of starting a business and are here to provide you with the resources and support you need to succeed.

Now, you too can create a successful medical travel agency with our cutting-edge resources and entrepreneurial educational programs.

Testimonial: What They’re Saying About Our Certification

MTB Annual Membership: The Ultimate Boost for Your Startup

The Facilitator Gold Membership is the perfect solution for startup founders. This membership is designed to provide you with the necessary resources to get your business up and running. Upon signing up, you will receive certification, contracts, and expert consulting services to help you manage and expand your company. Take your startup to the next level with the Facilitator Gold Membership. Some of the primary benefits of joining the membership are:

Everything in the “Certified Medical Travel Agent” Package 

Medical tourism facilitator certification , legal contracts, essential business tools , expert consulting, certification seal for your website, directory listing, 20% discount on marketing, 20% discount on website design services , 1-year membership, health and wellness tourism certification.

The Certified Medical Travel Agent Certification is a valuable asset for anyone involved in the medical tourism sector. This accreditation contains all the information needed to build a successful health and wellness tourism agency from the ground up.

The Certified Medical Travel Agent Certification is an investment in your business and your future that will pay off for years to come. Don’t wait any longer to take the first step towards building your future – choose the Certified Medical Travel Agent Certification today!

Discover the steps to starting a health tourism agency from the ground up.

Increase trust and credibility with clients through best practices in global healthcare., reduce risk and liability through effective strategies., learn how to market your medical tourism company successfully., gain insight into what motivates patients to seek medical treatment abroad., explore business models, hospital partnerships, and branding., learn how to attract international patients to your agency., gain the skills to coordinate world-class medical trips for your clients., medical tourism consulting agreements.

Solid medical tourism contracts are the most crucial tool to safeguard your agency from potential lawsuits. They outline the rights, duties, and expectations of everyone partaking in the medical tourism process.

When drafted properly, a contract is a great way to avoid lawsuits and ensure all parties are on the same page. Sometimes, conflicts still happen, and when they do, you want your contract to provide the most peaceful and sensible conflict resolution.

These agreements help mitigate as much of your company’s liability as possible during the facilitation process. The following contracts are included in this plan:

Patient Waiver Agreement

Facilitator and healthcare provider agreements, agreement between client and facilitator, patient pre-screening and medical history form, contract guidelines, patient application.

Have Questions? Contact Us Today!

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Health Insurers’ Lucrative, Little-Known Alliance: 5 Takeaways

A private-equity-backed firm has helped drive down payments to medical providers, drive up patients’ bills and earn billions for insurers.

By Chris Hamby

Large health insurers are working with a little-known data company to boost their profits, often at the expense of patients and doctors, a New York Times investigation found. A private-equity-backed firm called MultiPlan has helped drive down payments to medical providers and drive up patients’ bills, while earning billions of dollars in fees for itself and insurers.

To investigate this largely hidden facet of the health care industry, The Times interviewed more than 100 patients, doctors, billing specialists, health plan advisers and former MultiPlan employees, and reviewed more than 50,000 pages of documents, including confidential records made public by two federal judges after petitions from The Times.

Here are five takeaways.

The smaller the payout to doctors, the bigger the fees for insurers and MultiPlan

When patients see medical providers outside their plans’ networks, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Aetna and other insurers often send the bills to MultiPlan to recommend a payment amount.

MultiPlan and the insurers have a powerful incentive to keep the payments low because their fees get bigger as the payments get smaller.

Here’s how it works.

The most common way Americans get health coverage is through an employer that pays for workers’ medical care itself and uses an insurance company to administer the plan. Providers in the plan’s network have agreed-upon rates, but out-of-network providers often must negotiate payments.

By using MultiPlan’s frugal recommendations, insurers say they are saving employers money. But insurers and MultiPlan also benefit because their fees are typically based on the size of the declared “savings” or “discount” — the difference between the original bill and the amount actually paid.

In some instances, insurers and MultiPlan have collected more for processing a claim than the provider received for treating the patient.

UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. insurer by revenue, has reaped about $1 billion in fees annually in recent years from out-of-network savings programs, including its work with MultiPlan, according to legal testimony.

Patients could be on the hook for the unpaid bills

Patients have seen their bills rise after their insurers began routing claims to MultiPlan, as providers charge them for the unpaid balance.

Some patients said they have scaled back or ceased long-term treatment as a result. The predicament can be especially punishing for people who depend on out-of-network specialists, including for mental health or substance abuse treatment.

Patients have limited recourse. If they want to sue, they usually must first complete an administrative appeals process, and even if the case goes forward, they stand to collect relatively modest amounts.

Self-funded plans are mostly exempt from state regulation, and the responsible federal agency says it has just one investigator for every 8,800 health plans.

Some medical providers face big pay cuts

MultiPlan and insurers say they are combating rampant overbilling by some doctors and hospitals, a chronic problem that research has linked to rising health care costs and regulators are examining. But low payments also squeeze small medical practices.

Kelsey Toney, who provides behavioral therapy for children with autism in rural Virginia, saw her pay cut in half for two patients. She has not billed the parents of those children, but said she would not accept new patients with similar insurance.

Other providers said they have begun requiring patients to pay upfront because appealing for higher insurance payments can be time-consuming, infuriating and futile.

Former MultiPlan employees said they had an incentive to lock in unreasonably low amounts: Their bonuses were tied to the size of the reductions.

Employers are charged hefty fees

Insurance companies pitch MultiPlan as a way to keep costs down, but some employers have complained about large and unanticipated fees.

For a New Jersey trucking company called New England Motor Freight, UnitedHealthcare used MultiPlan to reduce a hospital bill from $152,594 to $7,879, then charged the company a $50,650 processing fee.

In the Phoenix area, trustees managing an electricians’ union health plan were surprised to learn that the fees charged by Cigna had risen from around $550,000 in 2016 to $2.6 million in 2019, according to a lawsuit the trustees later filed.

Employers trying to verify the accuracy of insurers’ charges have sometimes faced challenges getting access to their own employees’ data.

Private equity is playing both sides

For years, insurance companies have blamed private-equity-backed hospitals and physician groups for hiking bills and making health care more expensive. But MultiPlan is also backed by private equity.

MultiPlan’s annual revenues have climbed to about $1 billion thanks to its embrace of more aggressive approaches to reducing costs. Its premier offering is an algorithm-driven tool called Data iSight , which consistently recommends the lowest payments to doctors — typically resulting in the highest processing fees.

MultiPlan became publicly traded in 2020, and its largest shareholders include the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman and the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund, regulatory documents show.

Chris Hamby is an investigative reporter for The Times, based in Washington. More about Chris Hamby

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• Moscow, the city for life – Russia

Moscow Urban Forum in Moscow © C.Horn 2013

Recently the Moscow Government published under the headline “Moscow, the city for life” its seven development priorities. A document distributed at the Moscow Urban Forum in December 2013.

Moscow is with a population of over 12 million people one of the biggest metropolis in the world. The real number of citizens is difficult to establish as Moscow is the destination of many migrants, legal and otherwise, drawn by higher salaries and better services and living conditions. In 2010 alone, 126,000 newcomers were officially registered in the city, but the actual number is certainly much higher. The Moscow International Internet Portal indicates that “By some estimates together with commuters working and studying in Moscow, migrants, transit visitors and tourists the daily actual population of Moscow amounts in general to 15 – 20 million people”. It is forecast that by 2035 the population of the Moscow region will increase by 4,000,000 people and amount to 22,800,000 people.  It is expected that by 2020 passenger traffic generated by the ‘New Moscow’ will double whereas the capacity of the existing infrastructure is already exhausted.

Inner city road in Moscow © C.Horn 2012

After adopting in 2011 different government programs for the key directions of the capital’s development, the Moscow Government worked out in 2013 its main objectives for the creation of comfortable living conditions with the definition of seven development priorities: 1) Mobile City; 2) Comfortable urban environment; 3) Healthy city; 4) Well-educated city; 5) Socially protected city; 6) New economics of Moscow; 7) Open Moscow.

It is a large and ambitious programme highlighting the goals reached and progress made in the last years, and illustrating the objectives for the next years in numbers and graphics.

Moscow development priorities, Mobile City © Moscow

An important part takes the improvement and development of the transport infrastructure. Moscow is literally suffocated by the significant growth of the personal car fleet, doubling from 2.6 millions cars in 2000 to 4.5 million in 2012 and the increase of commuting du amongst others to the ongoing separation of business centres and residential areas. Over two-thirds of the municipal investments have been assigned in future for the improvement and modernisation of the transport infrastructure, roads and public transport, an estimated 329 billion roubles for 2013.

Moscow Subway Plan 2013-2020 © Moscow Subway

Today over 60% of the total volume of Moscow passenger transportation is carried by the subway and this traffic capacity should increase by 1.2 billions persons annually. Just to illustrate the ambitions, the program foresees to rise the average annual construction of subway stations from 2.75 stations, from 2009 – 2012, up to 9.1 stations per year for the period 2013-2020, with the final objective to construct 73 new stations by 2020. They say themselves, that it is the most rapid construction program in the entire history of the Moscow subway. In comparison the metro line of the Paris metropolis, Le Grand Paris Express, foresees to build 205 km of metro lines and 72 new stations between 2013 and 2030. It seems that Moscow want to do in less than half the time.

The development priorities draw the picture of a metropolis with a population using in the last years more intensely the public spaces, the cultural institutions, the shopping area and demanding for a higher urban living standard. A population that has better access to medical facilities and a growing life expectancy, 75.8 years in 2012, and a growing natality rate. A population with opportunities for a better education starting from more kindergartens over preschools to high schools. Interesting is the development of the average salary of a school teacher in Moscow, from 39200 roubles in 2010 up to 64100 roubles in 2013: an average annual growth of 12% in a context of an inflation of approximately 6 %, leaving a real salary growth of 6 % per year. Not bad, seen from a Western European perspective.

Pedestrian Street in Moscow © C.Horn 2013

But Moscow also wants to be a city that cares about its less fortunate citizens. The program is about social protection of older generations, assistance to needy families and persons with limited capabilities. It is about free access to public services, like transport, medical treatment, recreation, financial support and accessibility of public buildings. It also concerns providing housing for certain categories of citizens, probably one of the most difficult task, as Moscow has been ranked regularly among the five most expensive cities in the world in terms of the cost of housing.

To finance this new and improved public facilities and services, the Moscow Government counts on the dynamic of investments, supposed to grow from 732 billion roubles in 2010 up to 1719 in 2016. A mixture of better services for the investors, improved infrastructures and tax incentives should keep the dynamic going.

Gorky Park in Moscow in summer © www.2away.de

The Open Moscow development priority aims to create and strengthen the links between to residents and the public services. Improvements in the information and communication with the citizens, in the collecting and carrying out of suggestions of the citizens, and monitoring the activities of the public officers of municipal services, probably to fight corruption and try to establish a kind of confidence. Different internet sites like the Our City Website , regrouped in one Open Data Portal , should play in mayor part in this new Open Moscow development.

This program looks like a step in the right direction. It is developing Moscow towards a multi-layer, multi-functional city, trying to diversify the transport system, the municipal offer in public spaces, recreation and medial facilities, and supporting the poorer populations. The success of the renewal and transformation of the Gorky Park is a sign of these multi-functional and high-quality public spaces and the demand of the citizens for such spaces.

What is still missing for me is a clearer image of what Moscow wants to be in its whole, and in its parts. For the moment the document is set up as a catalogue of good intended programs, but not yet as an integral city development program. An example is the important investments in the public transport and in the road system, with the hope to encourage the citizens to abandon their excessive use of personal transport. But as long as the Moscow develops its road and parking system, citizens might prefer their car to public transport. Further detailed choices have to be taken on the different aspects of these programs and their feasibility in the near future.

Annotation: For this article I analysed the English version of the publication “Moscow, the city for life – Moscow development priorities” from the Moscow Government. During the lecture I got the impression that some mistakes had been made in the English translation. Download for the Russian version of the document (pdf) : Moscow City for life ru

Author: Christian Horn is the head of the architecture and urban planning office rethink

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Hi, I have not been able to obtain this document in english. Do you by any chance have it and can share it with me? Please contact me at [email protected]

Nice. Can I have the English documents?

Hello, thank you for your interest. I have the Russian version in PDF and I can send it to you, if you like. But the English documents only on paper. Best regards, Christian

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