This article is sponsored by SurgeryCR.com Medical Tourism Facilitators.

The Intercontinental Hotel in (Escazu) San Jose Costa Rica has been chosen as the site where the PROMED Council and the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) will host this year’s annual International Medical Tourism Travel Summit Conference. The summit/conference will take place from April 23rd through the 25th in the luxurious hotel located in Escazu.

For a quite some time now Costa Rica has been developing into a hotbed for medical tourism, making it one of the most popular destinations for travelers seeking high quality healthcare at reasonable prices. Last year’s conference proved to be successful, with over 500 attendees from 15 countries. Representatives from Latin American, North American, European, Caribbean, and Asian nations were all participants at the 2011 Summit. This year’s conference is set to smash past records and is already being heralded as “the most important Medical travel event in Central and South America in 2012”

The event will boast a varied palette of guests including health care providers, hospitals, transportation companies, airlines, medical technology firms, tour operators, hotels, and many more. Prominent guest speakers, both local as well as international, will be giving seminars and workshops on different aspects of Medical Tourism with the purpose of giving listeners a deeper understanding of the industry. Topics will include International Patient Management, Insurance Billing, Becoming a Medical Tourism Facilitator, Medical Tourism Marketing and more.

PROMED Executive Director, Massimo Manzi has high hopes for the 2012 Summit and what it could signify for the Latin American Industry. “The 2012 Medical Travel Summit is a ‘must attend’ event for providers and purchasers of health care in North America, Central America and South America,” Manzi commented. “This Summit is where all of the major players in healthcare and medical tourism gather to network, forge relationships, and generate ideas and plans for promoting medical tourism. The Summit brings healthcare providers together with global health insurance companies, employers, and the leading medical tourism facilitators to create an event of unmatched efficiency for everyone in the medical tourism industry.”    

Early registration for the event lasted until December 31st of 2011. Those fast enough to sign up in time for the Early Bird Promotion paid $300.00 per person if they were PROMED members and $350.00 per person for non-members. Regular registration will run from January 1st until April 23rd at the price of $400.00 for PROMED members and $450.00 for non-members. Those who wish to register online can do so here.

If you have any additional questions you can also call the following numbers: (506) 2201-5263 and (506) 4000-1150

PROMED is a private association of accredited Hospitals, certified Doctors, Universities and Tourist Services, supported by the Costa Rica Ministry of Health and the Costa Rica Tourism Board. During recent years, PROMED has become one of the major players in bringing Costa Rica to the forefront of Medical Tourism. In a nutshell their objective is to promote, as well as offer, quality assurance of the Costa Rican healthcare industry. This is not an easy task by any means, especially when you consider the amount of professionals currently practicing in the country. In doing so, the institution has had to take on many different roles from watchdog organization, to event planners, to quality inspectors.

Medical Tourism in Costa Rica

One of the fastest growing industries in the country, Medical Tourism has opened up a whole new market for Costa Rica. It all started when American and Canadian travelers started frequenting the country in large numbers with the intention of getting surgeries and other medical procedures (including dentistry and cosmetic plastic surgery treatments) done. Upon closer inspection the reasons for this are obvious. Costa Rican private clinics are 50%-70% less expensive than North American ones.

In Addition to this is the fact that the waiting time for an appointment is usually less than half (many times even less!) than what individuals seeking treatment in America are used to. But low prices and short waiting times are not the only attractive part of the deal. Costa Rican hospitals are ranked as some of the best in the world. The national medical system is ranked by the WHO ahead of the USA as well as many other developed nations. It’s also important to mention that many of the local doctors and surgeons have gained experience, certifications, and trainings abroad in Europe and North America. Add to this the exuberant natural beauty and abundant vegetation of the country, it becomes easy to see why Americans are coming in droves (current estimates say between 500 and 1000 a week).

Many private clinics are gearing up to take full advantage of this phenomenon by opening branches near beaches and other popular tourist spots. The famed Clinica Biblica is planning on expanding to the Guanacaste region as part of The Sun Ranch development which will include hotels, a golf course and a retirement community. The CIMA Hospital is also currently working on the construction of a $40 million Hospital located in a 50 area tract of land also in Guanacaste. The San Jose International Airport and the Liberia International Airport are both very close to the major private hospitals and make the transfer process easy and quick.

For the fledgling national Medical Tourism industry, this could just be the tip of the iceberg. Only time will tell if this becomes the next boom for the Costa Rican economy.

Other Information:
Dental Guide to Dentists and Dental Clinics in Costa Rica – Specialists in Dental Implants