"Medical tourists are traveling to get better, not to get frustrated, frightened or cheated," says Julie Munro, president of MTQUA. "They are not ordinary patients. They need extra care, services and consideration and they need to be able to trust their hospital or agent to deliver these."
Medical tourists are faced with more choices for treatment from an ever growing number of hospitals, doctors and agencies around the world that market their services to the medical traveller.
This certification looks beyond the luxuries of five-star hotel services to review aspects of care including communications, ethics, pricing and cultural sensitivity that are critical in good care but that travellers can't judge on their own. "I'm very pleased with the response from the medical tourism industry. We have already certified hospitals, clinics and agents across Asia, in the Middle East and the US."
Medical tourism certification is awarded to a hospital, clinic or medical tourism agency that meets the international standard of quality in 10 areas that directly influence a medical tourist's wellbeing and good results. These include:
Certified establishments display the silver and blue 'Medical Travel Certified' seal. For more information, go to www.mtqua.org.
