issue 59 november 2013 executive · fact is invigorating a booming indus-try worth as much as $100...

ISSU

E 59

NO

VEM

BER

201

3th

eB

AN

KIN

GEX

EC

UTIV

E

Emerging Medical Tourism Hubs

EMERGING

MEDICALTOURISM

HUBS

Lebanon and Latvia, two relatively small countries located on two opposite sides of the globeshare a gigantic common trait as they are emerging as attractive hubs on the global highly

competitive medical tourism map.

the BANKING EXECUTIVE

24

ISSUE 59 NOVEMBER 2013


The definition of tourism has ex-panded way beyond just going onholidays and visiting places of inter-est. Why? … Simply because more

than 7 million people clutch theirpassports and hop into planes to flyabroad looking for featured, afford-able and quality medical care. This

fact is invigorating a booming indus-try worth as much as $100 billion; a150% increase since 2004 when theindustry was worth $40 billion.

While most travelers plan to stay outof the hospital while on vacation, agrowing number of medical tourists– people who combine treatmentwith travel -- are crossing interna-tional borders for the purpose of at-taining medical services.

Widespread air travel, mountinghealthcare costs in developed coun-tries, long waiting lists and an ageingworld population have all con-tributed to a global explosion ofmedical tourism in the past decade.That is on the developed countries’side, however, significant factors onthe developing countries’ side haveplayed a vital role in converting theircountries into medical destinationsattracting not only tourists seekingfun, but even demanding patientsfrom more advanced countries.

Among these essential features arelow labor costs, internationally ac-credited hospitals and skilled person-nel, superior infrastructure, betteraffordability, accessibility, and easyavailability of information throughmedia and telecommunication.

ISSUE 59 NOVEMBER 2013the BANKING EXECUTIVE

25

Medical Tourism may be de-fined as the provision of cost-effective medical care withdue consideration to quality incollaboration with the tourismindustry of foreign patientswho need specialized treat-ment and surgery.

Source: www.health-tourism-india.com


Talking about the famous health des-tinations around the world, it is wellknown that India presents MotherNature and its bloom; Monte-Carloprides itself for the Mediterraneanweather and the climate; Czech Re-public, culture and architecture andso on and so far. But Lebanon, thehome of cedars and the country ofAlphabet has more and more mira-cles to offer…

Known for its natural beauty,Lebanon attracts hundreds of thou-sands of visitors every year not onlyfor its moderate weather, gloriousbeaches, evergreen mountains, butalso for the higher education andmedical centers available. That’swhy, an old known tradition that isprospering nowadays, and playingan important role in tourism industryin Lebanon is “Health/MedicalTourism”.

With its wonderful climate, well-equipped hospitals, and skilled andspecialized doctors, Lebanon is a re-gional destination for healthcare.Healthcare tourism is a promisingsub-sector, and a specialized nichemarket within the Lebanese tourismindustry. It is attractive to Gulf resi-

dents and citizens of other Arabcountries as they share the Arabiclanguage, culture and traditions, anddue to its geographic proximity.

THE SECTOR…. AT A GLANCEHealthcare tourism has become asignificant element of the Lebaneseeconomy since the establishment ofthe national council for the develop-ment of healthcare tourism in 2002,as an initiative of the Lebanese Min-istry of Public Health. The membersof the council are representatives ofthe doctors’ syndicate, the privatehospitals’ syndicate, insurance com-

panies, and representatives of theministries of information, tourism,health, environment and foreign af-fairs.

Healthcare and hospital services arewell developed, and are integral toLebanese culture. Lebanon can boastof more than 130 years of top qualitymedical experience. Althoughhealthcare tourism has made greatprogress in many countries, nonethe-less Lebanon can still offer the ex-pertise and the excellent servicewhich make it competitive.

Most Lebanese medical practitionersput a high emphasis on further edu-cation enabling them to become ex-perts and specialists in their chosenmedical fields. In fact, Lebanon as-sembles 12,500 doctors where 85%are specialists and 15% with morethan two specialties. 48% of thegraduates are specialized in Euro-pean and American universities. Thephysicians are grouped in more than48 medical societies, 168 hospitals,and 7 university hospitals. The Min-istry of Health, in addition to respec-tive Orders and Syndicates, regulatethe qualification and certification ofdoctors and other medical profes-sionals, some of whom have devel-oped a reputation that is knownthroughout the world.


26


LEBANON… AT A GLANCE

Lebanese Medical Personnel (Key Statistics)

Doctors

Number of doctors per citizen

Number of male and female nurses

Number of dentists

Number of pharmacists

11,50585% with a specialization

15% with more than one specialization37% graduates from European universities

11% graduates from North American universities35% graduates from Lebanese universities

One doctor for each 322 citizens

4175

4283

3359


PLASTIC SURGERYInterest in cosmetic surgery involvingrhinoplasty, liposuction, LASIK eyesurgery, tattoo removal… have cre-ated new demands on the Lebanesemedical centres and pushed them tofurther develop this sector. It now in-cludes new hospitals, medical cen-tres and clinics equipped with newgeneration of medical technologies.Moreover, there are advanced med-ical places for plastic surgery assem-bling administered by reputable andprofessional plastic surgeon.

Many patients come to Lebanonfrom the Gulf countries, where plas-tic surgery is somewhat still not thatfrequent. But the market is not lim-ited to the Gulf since there are alsoEuropeans and Americans who findLebanese prices attractive.

Angela, a 22-year-old Lebanese na-tional who lives in the United States,says she chose to have her nose op-eration done in Lebanon because itis much cheaper than in America.In the USA she would have had topay 10 times more for the sameoperation. So even if we take intoconsideration, the travel and accom-modation expenses, it would still becheaper than having it in the states.

Dr. Elias Chammas, Head of theHazmieh International Medical Cen-tre commenting on the relativelycheaper cosmetic surgery prices inLebanon, “The plastic surgery marketin Lebanon is very difficult; there aremany doctors and the competition ishigh. We can’t afford high priceshere”.

And regarding the efforts to promotethe sector he adds, “We don’t needbillboards to advertise. We believethat word of mouth is the best way tomake yourself. We are still doctors;we don’t sell supermarket surgeries.


27

“I paid $1,600 in Lebanon.In the US I would have paid almost

ten times as much” Angela, Lebanese national who lives in the USA.


On the contrary, we refuse patientswhen they don’t really need an oper-ation”.

However, medical tourists visitingLebanon search for services beyondplastic surgery. Dr. Mohamad

Sayegh, Dean of the Faculty of Med-icine and vice president of MedicalAffairs at the American University ofBeirut Medical Center (AUBMC),says that international patients aredrawn to the highly specializedhealthcare services at AUBMC. He

says that the majority of cases thatthe center sees are serious and com-plicated and have been referred tothem. Lebanon’s hospitals are espe-cially reputable in the fields of diges-tive, cardiac and brain surgeries.

Latvia, the Baltic Sea’s magnum opusis a combination of culture, heritage,untapped natural beauty and re-cently unique medical services espe-cially in the field of oncologytreatment where it stands second tonone.

Every year, the number of medicaland non-medical tourists to Latvia in-creases as the country is an excellentplace for recuperation and hosts awell-established tradition of healthresorts, highly qualified doctors and

is rich in natural healing resources.

RIGA, THE EUROPEAN CAPITALOF CULTURE… ADDITIONALREASON TO VISIT LATVIARiga, Latvia’s capital has been se-lected to be the European Capital ofCulture. With around 200 culturalprojects and events, including op-eras, exhibitions and festivals, theprogram ranges from a major culturalhistory exhibition on the 500 years ofthe printed book and a contemporaryarts festival to one of the biggest cel-

ebrations of the summer solstice inEurope.

Each year the EU selects two cities toshare the title of capital of culture.One of the two must be in a newmember state. The European capitalsof culture in 2014 are Riga in Latviaand Umea in Sweden. Riga is the Lat-vian capital and with its populationof about 700,000 it is the biggest cityin the Baltic region. Riga wasfounded in 1201 and the oldest partof the city with its distinctive me-


28


LATVIA… AT A GLANCE


dieval influence has been named aWorld Heritage Site by UNESCO.The Central Market, in which oldzeppelin hangars have been con-verted into covered markets, is oneof the largest of its kind in Europe.

Riga’s application to be a Europeancapital of culture was based on thethree principles of creativity, borderexpansion and new forms of interac-tion. The motto for Riga’s initiative isthe legal phrase ‘Force Majeure’.

This is an expression of the desire toenhance the importance of culture asan instrument for improving citiesand people’s lives.

THE SECTOR…. AT A GLANCEThe government of Latvia hasadopted a long-term strategy to en-hance its healthcare sector and beable to attract medical tourists fromall over the world. In this regard, ithas renovated and improved themedical infrastructure and supported

agencies of medical services to offertravellers a range of medical servicesand manipulations, including diag-nostics, dentistry, eye treatment, on-cology, nacrology, reconstructivesurgery, reproductive medicine andrehabilitation.

Moreover, the country collaboratedwith fellow European countries andEuropean Central Bank to fund theongoing projects.


29

Additionally, the Latvian governmenthas signed a cooperation memoran-dum with the Latvian Medical ExportAssociation where the latter willwork on uniting the several elementsof the medical industry. That in-cludes:• formation of common medical ex-

port offer• development of export-oriented

medical standards• creation of publicity to support Lat-

vian medical export (events, press,agents, doctors, patients)

• promotion of investments in med-ical sector

• formation of dialogue betweenpublic and private medicine

The Latvian medical human resourceis in its turn a key factor in the suc-cess of the country’s medical tourismsector. The medical personnel enjoyan excellent reputation as they holdunder their belt the best modern ed-ucation and international experi-ence. Moreover, the government hasbeen effectively investing in its staffto optimally manage medical unitsand offer best treatment to patientsfrom abroad.



30


What has, is and will be done

European funds 2004-2006 34.3 million Euros• 13.5 Million Euro (Fund)• 10.6 Million Euro (State)

European funds 2007-2013 Infrastructure and equipment of healthcare: 207.3 Million Euro• Development of healthcare centres (25 small hospital support)• Hospital care development (50 projects)s

European funds 2014-2020 391 Million Euro:• European Social Fund 95 Million Euro• ERDF 180 Million Euro

Source: Ministry of Health of the Republic of Latvia

“...Medicine as one of the supportsof economic development and medical

export as one of the engines...”Mr. Olafs Slutins, President of Latvian

Medical Export Association


VIROTHERAPY… LATVIA’S PRIDEAfter more than half a decade, Lat-vian scientists were finally able to hithuge success as they accomplished abreak-through in cancer treatmentthrough Virotherapy techniquesrather than Chemotherapy; a successwhich will definitely have its bigtrace in history as Rivgir (the first ansso far the only) will change cancertreatment methods worldwide.

Rigvir proved to be a success so pa-tients’ interest from all over the worldescalated, accordingly, the LatvianVirotherapy Center (LVC) was estab-lished to provide treatment and sup-port on a larger scale.

The Latvian Virotherapy Centre (LVC)aims to promote Virotherapy as acancer-effective treatment. So it hasdeveloped programs to ensure the

treatment is comfortable and effec-tive for patients coming to Latvia.

LVC takes care of all the travel, ac-commodation and medical arrange-ments for the patient and makes surethat any additional screening andtests are organised to take place inthe Latvian hospital. A full treatmentplan and follow up is created by thedoctors of the clinic after which thetreatment starts.

TARGET COUNTRIESAfter huge success in attracting med-ical tourists from Western Europe,Scandinavia and CIS countries,Latvia has turned its sight towards theArab world. In this regard, the gov-ernment has been working on initiat-ing medical and economic relationswith the Arab world and specificallythe United Arab Emirates.

Latvia can offer highly individual at-titude to every patient and their fam-ily members – personal doctors andpatient managers who are available24/7; a unique 'small concept' whichoffers the chance for the patients toreceive medical services in smalltreatment centers and accommoda-tion in mini-hotels or closed housevillages together with their families,enjoying discreteness and confiden-tiality

THAILANDThailand offers some of the world'sbest values for a variety of healthcare. Major procedures can be 50-70% cheaper there than in the US,and the country had as many as 1.2million medical tourists last year,making it the top destination.


31

• Rigvir was registered in 2004,the EU country Latvia;

• Applied in the treatment ofmore than 10 cancer types in-cluding melanoma, stomachcancer, colorectal, pancreatic,and lung cancer;

• Cancer virotherapy is availablein all oncology clinics of Latvia.

OTHER MEDICAL TOURISM DESTINATIONS

Etihad Airways and airBaltic announce new Riga-Abu DhabiServiceEtihad Airways, the national airlineof the United Arab Emirates (UAE),and airBaltic, Latvia’s flag carrier,announced that direct Riga-AbuDhabi flights will commence onDecember 16, 2013.

The UAE is one of Latvia’s maintrading partners in the Gulf region.In 2012, Latvia’s exports to the UAEreached EUR 72 million, 102 percent up on 2011, and imports fromthe UAE to Latvia amounted to EUR4.1 million, up 44 per cent on2011.


MEXICOMexico now attracts more than 1million visiting patients, many ofwhom are Hispanics from the US,according to Patients Beyond Bor-ders. Dental work and weight-losssurgery are popular procedures.

UNITED STATESThe US, home to some of theworld's top medical specialists,played host to as many as 800,000international patients seeking helpwith the most difficult health condi-tions, according to Patients BeyondBorders. Despite its high prices, thecountry's world-class care for thehardest-to-treat cases made the USthe third-most visited country formedical tourists last year.


32


INDIAAs many as 400,000 foreigners trav-elled to India in 2012 for healthtreatments, making it the fifth most-visited country for medical tourists.High-difficulty operations such ascoronary artery bypass graft surgerycan be 90% less expensive in Indiathan in the US.

BRAZILBrazil is one of the leading placesfor plastic surgery with more than4,500 licensed cosmetic surgeons.The country hosted about 180,000medical tourists in 2012, making itthe sixth most-popular destination.A nose job can be had for about60% less than the cost of the proce-dure in the US; there's even plasticsurgery available for your pet.

Resources: WUAB Research Department- Ministry of Health of the Republic of Latvia- World Health Organization(WHO) - The World Bank- the Economist- Financial Times- Economic Times

issue 59 november 2013 executive · fact is invigorating a booming indus-try worth as much as $100...

Documents