Athene Medical Solutions
Do Not Underestimate Health Tourism
Jun 12, 2007
HEALTH TOURISM TRANSLATIONS
ECOPOLITICS
By Metiner Sezer
Turkiye Newspaper
June 12, 2007 Tuesday
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE HEALTH TOURISM
Turkey mustn’t miss this opportunity. I am referring to “Health Tourism. This sector has developed so rapidly in the last few years that I find it difficult to find the words to describe it.
Spain, France, Belgium and Greece had started benefiting from this lucrative market years ago, and now the Eastern European countries such as Poland and Slovakia are jumping at the wagon. And India…that country earns 2 Billion Dollars per annum from health tourism.
Cutting the long story short, let me explain what a huge development this sector is going through, so you can understand how “huge that fish is”.
Take the UK for instance. As you know, 30% + of the country’s population are over 65 years of age and they all have access to (National Healthcare) Furthermore, the health services in this country are very expensive. British National Health Service is having difficulty at carrying this burden. It is struggling, financially to provide access to all potential treatments- an example is the recent “rationing” of access to varicose vein surgery, which may be deemed a cosmetic procedure and therefore not eligible for NHS funding..
In the UK, a by pass operation costs about £10,000-20,000 today. Furthermore, there is a waiting list for 3-5 months for many patients. In France and Belgium there is no waiting list and the same operation costs £7,500-12,000. So instead of operating in the UK NHS could send the patients to France or Belgium hence makes a saving of 20%-50%. The number of the British patients undergoing treatment outside of the UK is 50,000!
The cost of the same by pass operation in Turkey is £4,000. As for hospitals, they are superior in number and equivalent in many respects with regards to clinical quality to the British hospitals. Same thing applies to the doctors. In Turkey, there are extremely good medical professionals who are equivalent in terms of their level of clinical expertise to their foreign counterparts. In Turkey, there is no shortage of medical equipment and facilities either. So what is left? Marketing!
Hospitals such as Dunya Eye Hospital, Acibadem and Yeditepe Hospitals that operate in Istanbul show an impressive performance in health tourism, but…it is not enough! It is imperative to attract more foreign patients, especially for procedures for which they would wait for-for an unacceptably long period of time , or for procedures that are “rationed”- IVF, Banding operations for obesity, aesthetic surgery etc because the potential is there.
After Istanbul, Antalya is also an up and coming region for that type of service. The best professional health service in Antalya is provided by Aspendos Hospital in Belek ANTALYA.
Dr. Ferhat Kayan, the co-chair of Aspendos Hospital Board of Directors who stated that they’d been providing health services to the tourists visiting Antalya said: “This issue is far too important to be limited with “service exclusively for the visiting tourists”. We, in Aspendos Hospital, want the foreigners to come for the health services we provide. This way they can benefit the treatment and enjoy a holiday here.”
The Best in Turkey
Ferhat Kayan and Soner Kayan brothers are two Turkish doctors who have been providing health services in Antalya for many years. They provide medical services for most of the hotels in the region. Both are highly skilled and experienced. The tourists who suffer injuries, accidents or with chronic health conditions get their health back thanks to these doctors’ services. As for Aspendos Hospital…It offers five star hotel comforts.
Mr. Andrew Clarke, a leading health adviser from the UK, stating that Aspendos Hospital is better equipped than many hospitals in the UK, said: “Many British patients would come here if they knew the existence of a hospital like Aspendos in a region such as Antalya. “ Andrew Clarke added that the only shortcoming of Turkish hospitals was the marketing.
Indeed it is not only the British Health Service and insurance companies which complain about the high cost of health services in the UK. European patients too find that cost far too expensive, because insurance does not pay for all the health services they require. For instance dental treatment, cosmetic surgery or chronic illnesses (existing medical conditions). A person who needs dental treatment can have a two weeks holiday and gets the best possible treatment in Turkey for the cost of one dental treatment in the UK.
European population is now considerably older. Today we see more and more German and British nationals moving and settling down in the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. Why? Because they can not afford to live on their pensions in their own countries, that’s why! So, what about those who can not or will not move here? Don’t they need medical care? Of course they do! It is imperative to set up retirement care homes designed for the foreigners in Turkey, because there is a great demand for those.
Taking that demand into consideration, Dr, Ferhat Kayan already started working on a colossal project. He is planning to build a large retirement care home complex over 60 acres of land in Belek. It is quite likely that this substantial project that will cost 60-70 Million Dollars will provide international recognition of Antalya.
If only the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Tourism could support this issue, Turkey would make a huge leap in health tourism area. Because, while Europe is seeking cheaper hospitals for the care of patients, Turkey is looking for the patients themselves. It is a matter of “pot and lid match” so to speak.
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