IMTEC to raise patient travel flow in UAE

The International Medical Travel Exhibition & Conference (IMTEC 2014) opened its doors to patients and global industry leaders in medical travel at the Dubai International Exhibition & Convention Centre, Dubai.
Speaking as part of the keynote panel session, Sobhi Batterjee, president and group CEO of the Saudi German Hospital Group, gave his perception on how to increase the flow of travel of patients in the UAE, especially to Dubai.
“The health care industry has high entry barriers and a long gestation period. In order to build strong health care groundwork suitable to sustain and support a thriving health tourism market, it is necessary to attract corporate players and institutional investors into health care and an attractive investment climate for health care needs to be developed,” he said.
“Collaboration between government and private agencies, including media, in promoting Dubai as a health care destination brand is necessary. Within the ethical framework, media need to promote and highlight the achievements of health care providers in order to further encourage the process,” Batterjee added.
A three-pronged approach like infrastructure, regulations and support systems should be implemented in order to promote health tourism, he said, adding that health care is a labor intensive industry and highly skilled talent needs to be generated. Labor market regulation is necessary for the sustainability of the hospitals and to maintain consistently high medical standards.
Medical tourism also depends on a smooth immigration policy of the country. A network of direct and nonstop flight availability from the identified health tourism catchment areas and special packages for the patients and families traveling on medical visa will help in building the health tourism industry, he added.
The second International Medical Travel Exhibition & Conference (IMTEC) has been relocated from Monaco to Dubai for the first time.