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International Medical Travel Association Formed |
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The International Medical Travel Association (IMTA) was formally launched at a press conference in Cyprus on March 24. The organization seeks to represent the interests of medical travelers and the medical travel industry, including health care providers and medical travel facilitators. “The medical traveler is first and foremost a patient and deserves to be treated and respected as one. The mission of the IMTA is to bring together the healthcare and travel industries as stakeholders in medical travel, and to build an economically sustainable, excellent and ethical medical travel industry. IMTA intends to protect the integrity of the care provider-patient relationship, to ultimately and most importantly protect the interests of the traveling patient,” said Dr. Steven Tucker, president of the IMTA and medical director of the West Clinic Excellence Cancer Centre, Singapore. The impetus for such an association was made at the Pacific Asia Travel Association conference held last year, during which industry speakers expressed concern that, with the growth of medical travel across the world, there was a disturbing trend of viewing such travel as simply an extension of the tourism industry. Specifically, concerns were raised regarding patients choosing their doctors and hospitals from websites without the advice of their own doctors, and traveling without adequate preparations and support. Dr. Jason CH Yap, director of health care services at the Singapore Tourism Board, suggested that an international association for medical travel would assist participants to network, form new business relationships, share best practices, set standards and eventually accredit and self-regulate. With support from several participants in the medical travel industry in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India and other countries, Dr. Yap took the lead to facilitate the registration and “soft-launch” of the International Medical Travel Association at the International Medical Travel Conference held in Singapore in December 2006. The members signed up at that time worked together to formulate its mission and vision. Founding members of the association include:
Further information may be obtained
from Ms. Felicia Tan at Singapore Tourism Board, Felicia_TAN
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stb.gov.sg