Comment

Comment by Jack Schafer on August 30, 2011 at 10:15pm

Unfortunately, the traditional travel industry is not able to get involoved in Medical Tourism because of the legal ramifications. Sure, and independent travel agent or agency with nothing to lose will get excited and take the chance, but in my meeting with some of the big boys (AAA, AMEX...) they have way to much to risk.  

Just gonna take more time to go mainstream... but it will.

Comment by Stomdas Dental Clinic on April 1, 2011 at 5:51am

Hi Jack. Just want to get your opinion about how a well established clinic can find and make connections with good reliable facilitators. I find it just as hard to make those travel agents understand the opportunity I'm presenting them. We offer dental services for almost 20 years now, experienced doctors, state of the art equipments, 4 offices and a imposing clinic. And the prices we sell our services locally are 7 times lower then in Western Europe, USA, Canada, Australia. Yet for the last 3 months i have failed in finding someone to share my vision, to see the possibilities. Finding a medical tourism facilitator is like finding a needle in the haystack.

Comment by Jack Schafer on January 19, 2011 at 2:15pm

Wanted to keep everyone updated as to the progress of this Travel Professionals Licensing Program. I have no doubt that Medical Tourism will someday become commonplace throughout the world, and the systems of distribution will unfold at the perfect time to accommodate that need. 

Motivated by enthusiasm and need, I spent the past year trying to break down locked doors as if I was the only person who could see the value of these two industries coming together. As a salesman, my automatic response to an objection is a rebuttal, thus as everyone was telling me (in both industries...) "we're not ready yet", I was stuck in my "build it and they will come" mentality and enthusiasm, leaving one meeting after another, with people a lot smarter and more successful than I am,  thinking "they just don't get it..."

In the end I've come to realize that both industries do get it - and neither is ready for the other...yet.  Focusing on tomorrows great ideas, while ignoring today's realities, is the common strength and failure of most entrepreneurs. I do however trust that my ambitions have been atleast entertaining and my visions have been somewhat informative.

Outsourcing medical procedures will become commonplace (as has every other commodity) in a continually homogenizing global marketplace, and this industry is preparing for that to take place. Knowledge and experience are a sound foundation on which to build... and this industry and it's leadership, certainly has an abundance of professionals in place to make this happen... at the perfect time.   
                                    My hat is off to all of you.

Comment by Jack Schafer on December 28, 2010 at 12:45pm

Wanted to wish everyone a very happy holiday season, and a bright and prosperous 2011.
As is the purpose of this area... I am trying to gather information and explore what I believe to be one of the largest drawbacks in this Medical Tourism Industry at this juncture... We do not have a collectively supported public awareness program in place, and we need to establish a uniform distribution channel that easily connects the prospective patient to the product.
I have said since the beginning that Medical Tourism needs to be made available to the public at the Travel Agency level... of which there are 10's of thousands of travel agents that would act as a conduit to the Tour Wholesaler/coordinator - the Facilitator.
The primary objections so far from the MT Industry - Having untrained and poorly qualified persons dealing with the public. My response - these are AGENTS, everything they do is coordinated with an airline, or a cruise company, or a tour operator to fulfill. As long as they can put their client in touch with the qualified Medical Tour Operator (facilitator) to deliver the product - we (the MT Industry) would now have thousands of sales and marketing people available on a local level.
The primary objective from the Travel & Tourism industry (especially the large consortiums (AMEX, AAA, etc.) is how do they manage the risk ? My response... simply by acting as travel agents and operating under standard (legal) agency protocol and procedure. If a Cruise ship sinks, or a plane goes down, or someone is killed on a tour, the agent / agency is not responsible. "Agency Law, having signed releases and disclosures from the traveler, and referring their clients to qualified facilitators, is all the risk management they need.
THAT is finally having a formal "product distribution channel that can financially benefit from, and in turn be willing and wanting to fund the missing marketing and sales - ie: promoting the product to the public.
I ask you all (signed up for this group)... to participate here. If I had all of the answers, I'd be rich and not wanting to share my secrets.
This is an INDUSTRY issue - we can't wait for someone else to do it. It's up to us, and without a formal product distribution channel in place, we can never get to the numbers that we expect.

Comment by Nancy Griffin on July 29, 2010 at 12:40pm

Jack,
The linked article was excellent. Congratulations on your efforts! All will benefit from your forward thinking and hard work!
Best Regards,
Nancy Griffin, RN

Comment by Jack Schafer on July 29, 2010 at 10:59am

The article (link below) was published yesterday online in the largest Travel Agency publication there is - (reaching 50K domestically) - it will go into the print version next week. It's the validation of the marriage of the Medical Tourism Industry and the Travel & Tourism industry. We have meetings lined up starting next week, and should have a network of agents in place by the end of August. (it's taken over a year to coordinate... now it is actually happening.

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/trends-research/medical-tourism-w...

This is a GOOD thing for everyone in the performance delivery end of Medical Tourism, as it is the last and final step in finally having a "product distribution channel" in place that can handle the volume of client that we need to have the ability to work. (we hear and believe there are millions, yet we're operating to deal with hundreds...). The Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality industry is considered the largest all-inclusive industry in the world, and they are collectively very hungry for the opportunity to participate in Medical Opportunity. IT'S NO LONGER A QUESTION OF IF - ALREADY ONE LARGE NETWORK HAS COMPLETELY COMMITTED WITH THEIR 3000 WORLDWIDE AGENTS, AND NOW EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE...

How can it hurt us as facilitators, to re-think ourselves as "Wholesale Medical Tourism Providers, and have 10'S OF thousands of salespeople in place throughout the country, promoting and selling our product locally ?

Fear of this would only come from those who don’t understand it, or those afraid of losing their power to the big kids.

We’ve been developing this relationship for well over a year now, but the cat IS clearly out of the bag, and either you (as the Medical Tourism Industry) coordinate that place for the retail travel agents/professional to eat on your food chain, or this industry will quite easily develop its own supply side relationships… then, rather than having the largest industry in the world as your suppliers, they will become your competition !

Comment by Jack Schafer on May 24, 2010 at 10:08pm

Join the MTA. Renee' Magazine is the very best information source, and the MTA IS at the cutting edge of the industry. Are they the Panacia ??? no-one is, but there is no better starting point !

Comment by Micheal Dees on May 23, 2010 at 11:04pm

Are there any existing industry protocals, classes or registration for MTFs or MTCs?

Comment by Jack Schafer on May 23, 2010 at 10:26pm

Thank you Christine
... and the motivation for us to get this right might just happen when the travel and tour industry gets formally involved. They have been delivering tour products as an industry now for over 150 years, they are hungry now, and this is an incredible opportunity for them. We need to stake our claim by develop a standard protocol and join forces to do this through a standardized distribution channel... start marketing our product correctively and collectively, own a lobbyist, and hire public relations to protect ourselves...
We NEED to start developing this industry from the outside in - not just building from the inside ! Otherwise the Tavel and Tour industry will figure it all out for themselves, and we'll end up flying a Zeppelin in a world of airplanes !

Comment by Christina deMoraes on May 21, 2010 at 5:19pm

Jack, I see where your past experience is really helping to define roles in this industry and how you can use the basic tour operator model to apply to MT! You're right, it IS the inbound tour operator, YOUR representative in the destination country, that has the power to make or break the patient's experience and will affect their satisfaction and perception of YOUR job as the one setting up this whole experience for the patient. I know what my capabilities are and I also know that the more people you have in the information/care channel (aka: food chain) the greater the chance of misunderstanding, incomplete information and he said/she said and assumptions. All of which complicate delivering a single product effectively and satisfactorily. I am thrilled to see the recognition of the need and the important and essential role the in country medical concierge should provide. I personally have only very recently seen other facilitators recognizing the benefit of having a competent and experienced "medical concierge" in the destination country, representing the MTF, providing specific information, care and support not only for their patient and making sure the experience promised is indeed delivered but also even for the surgeon so they are allowed to just perform the surgery (aka: do what they do best!). Only now can I say the industry might be ready to accept this help, because I am NOW finally getting a few MTF's to realize they need an in country concierge such as myself to help continue their excellent patient care and management as they arrive in the destination country. Over the years, the feedback I have gotten from fellow MTF's when I have offered my in country services for them and their patient has been a "no thanks" with a tightly clenched fist! LOL!... meaning, they didn't want to share ANY of the honey even to the end of providing an excellent experience to their client!
As far as a working income model goes, even applicable to a licensing program, I have been a huge advocate for a more transparent and ethical "fee for service" model. When I started 8 years ago, I never gave "free quotes." I developed a value-rich consulting service for my patients which included my extensive knowledge of the procedures they wanted and my ability to help the patient understand them, a medically thorough and complete pre-op protocol that left them NO doubt that they we were thinking of their health and safety first and I created a "Treatment Plan" in conjunction with the surgeons as well as a Total Budget Estimate. I gave them thorough and complete information and pricing for their ENTIRE experience and FULL aftercare support which included in country "medical concierge support." It alleviated concerns and showed transparency and thoroughness. And for this, I charged and they paid. =) I provided a differentiated service and such valuable information. In my opinion, everyone facilitating should be providing this information because THEN you CAN ask to be paid for an upfront and valuable service and the patient will WANT to hire you to provide a service to THEM... NOT to the doctor, NOT to yourself so you can get paid, but to THEM. You are consulting and advising the PATIENT FIRST. Your contract and your responsibility is with THEM to find them the best team of providers for what they need. Now hopefully the "pressure" to get them to book with Dr X (because he pays you 15% instead of 10%!) is GONE. In the last few years however, the market has changed and there are sooo many MTFs that are "giving it away for free" in an attempt to capture the client but in actuality, they're lowering the bar... providing 60 Minutes with more negative MT examples, deceiving the patient (by omission perhaps) and kind of "cheapening" the industry offerings. Yet sadly, most patients don't really realize the quality and value they COULD have and SHOULD DEMAND. There must be training involved in what we do and certification courses. A colleague and I have created coursework for the MT industry that actually provides really useful, hands on, in the trenches, how-to A to Z protocol and standards of practice. You can't get into this business and be ignorant of the product. Relate it to finding a good TA you like and trust... is it one that is new and just out of TA school? One that has to ask the girl at the desk next to him about everything, or one that has "been around" and shows at least a good working knowledge of the system and has even been to a few places himself and can give you an "inside scoop?"

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page