Medical Travel Quality Alliance to certify medical tourism agents
The Medical Travel Quality Alliance has announced the first program to train and certify international patient care managers and medical travel providers worldwide.
"All medical tourists who want treatment in another country now can plan, arrange and complete medical travel with a Certified International Patient Advisor and map out the best road to safer, top quality care, great doctors, and great hospitals," said Julie Munro, MTQUA's founder and a leading medical travel facilitator.
Traveling patients often try to check doctor credentials and hospital standards. Munro said that's good advice, but impossible to do alone.
"MTQUA trains medical tourism facilitators in how to get this information, how to screen and prepare patients, and how to judge quality of care," she said.
Munro said the certification program would also help physicians. Knowing that a CIPA is managing their traveling will reduce patients' worries about being left stranded during the course of treatment abroad, of getting the wrong sort of care or medications, or of having no follow up after they return home, she said.
"As more international hospitals and insurers make medical tourism safer and better by using only certified agents when accepting international patients, medical travel will become a standard option for patients everywhere and this will truly be health care reform," Munro said.
"I don't know anyone else who is able to do this training," said Kenneth Mays, spokesman for Bumrungrad International, a Bangkok, Thailand, hospital that is known for treating medical travelers.
The MTQUA promotes standards and practices, and provides training and workshops in all aspects of medical travelers' continuum of care. The advisory panel includes Harvard and Johns Hopkins affiliated hospitals and established healthcare travel agencies.
