Medical travel community to meet at the EMTC 2011 in Barcelona
Monday, 14 March 2011
Type: Events
Website: www.mwtourism.com
European cross-border healthcare will be one of the main topics at the European Medical Travel Conference 2011, taking place on April 27-29 in Barcelona. For two days, about 400 participants from around the world are expected to exchange ideas and opinions and to develop new initiatives.
It was at the European Medical Travel Conference in 2010 that the Venice Declaration on Medical Travel was drawn up. The Declaration subsequently attracted considerable attention and it is now accepted as the basic memorandum on ethical and quality standards for cross-border healthcare. Its core proposition was the need to protect patient safety and provide patient-centric treatments. Luigi Bertinato, a key player in the Italian healthcare industry and an early contributor to the development of the European Directive, was one of the authors of the Venice Declaration on Medical Travel.
EMTC2011 will focus on:
• How the US healthcare reform will facilitate treatment abroad for US citizens
• How the recently approved EU directive on patient mobility can be implemented for the benefit of the patients
• Why telemedical solutions are increasingly being implemented to support cross-border healthcare scenarios, addressing how they support the medical traveller's case management, disease monitoring and data protection rights
• How providers in the Middle East, which is increasingly attracting medical travellers, are positioning themselves in the global market, for example Dubai Health Care City
• The growing potential of the Chinese market. EMTC has partnered with the Chinese Medical Tourism Association - the sleeping giant of the global health scenario
• The development of regional centres and clusters, which are being used by Northern European countries to provide high quality medical treatments
• The emergence of privately-owned spa resorts and medical wellness centres, which offer high quality services
• The rapid growth of infertility treatment in Spain due to the liberal legislation of the country, and which is attracting increasing numbers of patients from Italy, Russia, and elsewhere
EMTC2011 will organize a panel for EU politicians regarding medical travel. The Catalan Health Minister Dr. Boi Ruiz and Walter Sobotka, Minister for Health of Lower Austria will speak at a panel together with leading experts from the EU.
The conference has gained momentum, as Turkey, Lithuania, Mexico and China have registered complete delegations, coming with more than 10 participants each. The EU topics are driving the overall interest, the future of the Middle East healthcare politics is on the agenda and the US patients are waiting for the right structures and models to be implemented for their safe stays in the EU.
Spanish healthcare providers and associated businesses are on alert these days on a national level, and 2011 gives a unique opportunity for pushing medical tourism with the help of the EMTC2011 and working on incoming patient streams for the whole country. German insurance companies like AOK and TK are expanding their networks to Spain for the care of expatriates and retirees - a strategy which attracts a lot of genuine interest.
"For Spain the EMTC2011 can mark a turning point in healthcare business. This year it is the first chance to give the discussion on cross-border healthcare a platform which might generate followers. This can be the chance for Spain to direct the ongoing discussions about the implementation of the EU directive to institutions and players in the country. Therefore, we consider that attending the EMTC2011 is almost a must for any Spanish healthcare professional," said chairman and organiser, EMTC2011, Dr. Uwe Klein.
The recently founded European Cross-border Healthcare Organization (ECHO), (www.echo-europeanhealthcare.com), a non-profit European trade association for medical travel, will also be represented at the EMTC2011, being a partner for future cooperation. ECHO's mission is to moderate, stimulate and fuel knowledge and expertise to the EU directive. The membership is associated with lots of benefits for European healthcare providers as well as associated institutions and companies.
Dubai Health Care City also entered a partnership with EMTC2011 and Dr. Ayesha Abdullah will attend the conference.
Dr. Klein further said: "Since we have set up this series of conferences I have never seen before such a key momentum in the medical travel industry. The recent changes in the EU, the US healthcare reform and also the current political changes in the Arab world, have brought the conference with its unique concept into a pole position. We are looking forward to a vibrant and important conference this year, bringing together entrepreneurs, politicians, institutional decision makers and researchers again."
Source: MWT
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