(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) A number of hospitals and clinics have started offering packages on their websites with visas and accommodation arranged for prospective patients.Though the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) only recently announced that the city will officially become a hub for medical tourists a number of hospitals and medical centres have been offering such services since 2006. Additionally a number of hospitals and clinics have started offering packages on their websites with visas and accommodation arranged for prospective patients.
Dr Haider Al Zubaidy CEO Canadian Specialist Hospital said in an interview with Khaleej Times that the hospital has conducted several marketing campaigns and designed attractive packages for patients coming from abroad. “We started these efforts as early as 2006” he said.
Talking about the number of patients visiting Dubai Dr Al Zubaidy said “Many patients come to Dubai with a regular visa seeking medical treatment without being registered as medical tourists; we see hundreds of patients on a monthly basis who come from East Europe Africa and the Middle East countries.”
He said the packages are for a range of specialties and prices. “We have a full range of packages covering almost all specialties starting from comprehensive health checkups to laparoscopic neurosurgery. Infertility most sought after medical tourism procedure
Staff Reporter
According to a survey conducted by the Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) infertility treatment tops the list of medical tourism procedures. Key findings from the survey held earlier this year show that 48 per cent medical tourists come primarily from the GCC; 32 per cent from the wider Arab world; 26 per cent from Eastern and Western Europe; and 23 per cent from Asia.
The three most popular procedures are: infertility treatments cosmetic treatments and dental procedures. DHCC physicians reported that 80 per cent of medical tourists come to Dubai for quality of care; 61 per cent say it is for the city’s experienced physicians while 48 per cent highlighted the availability of specialist treatments.
The global trend points to cosmetic surgery dentistry orthopaedic and heart surgery as the most common procedures people undergo on medical tourism trips according to US-based public health institute Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions.
Infertility treatment topping the list of procedures medical tourists undergo at DHCC bucks the global trend of common medical tourism procedures. Following infertility treatment the survey findings point that medical tourists opt for cosmetic dental cardiac and orthopaedic procedures treatments or tests.
The survey was commissioned by the DHCC using respondents from its 120 medical facilities. The data collected represents a six-month period beginning January 2014.
Marwan Abedin Chief Executive Officer of DHCC commenting on the results said: “Hearing from our partners who are in regular contact with medical tourists on their views and the feedback they receive is essential in helping us improve our offerings. We are committed to increasing the flow of medical tourists visiting Dubai. We can achieve this with regular feedback and cooperation among our partner clinics and hospitals as well as medical tourism facilitators.”
asmaalizainkhaleejtimes.com “The price ... depends on the kind of package. If you mean general health checkups we have a range of eight different packages and their prices depend on the age gender of the patient and the tests required ... The price of a general health package varies from Dh2200 to Dh4500” he explained.
What an average package entails in terms of treatment and tourism depends on the package. “For example a cataract surgery package starts from Dh18000 and a micro discectomy surgery starts from Dh50000. This is the treatment package alone. We also arrange for other logistic requirements like visa travel transport and accommodation and we add the actual cost to the package price. The logistics prices vary depending on the season and the class of the hotel booked” said Dr Al Zubaidy.
The hospital is fully licensed by the DHA and recognised as one of the health tourism centres in Dubai.
“The response has been very encouraging so far and we are quite sure that with the implementation of the ambitious strategic plan announced by the DHA the figures will show substantial increase” he said.
asmaalizainkhaleejtimes.com
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.