Medical Tourism City

New Med. Tourism Distribution Channel using Retail Travel Professionals

Licensing Medical Tourism Travel Professionals ?

We certainly NEED to develop a distribution channel in the Medical Tourism industry that works, and having been a wholesale leisure tour operator, the travel and tour industry have systems in place (have for 150 years) to promote. market, and effectively distribute their products - Medical Tourism IS a Tourism product, with a Medical Componant in the middle of it.

What this Medical Tourism industry needs most is an efficient process of connecting the clients with the overseas providers in a safe and profitable manner, by the development of a uniform distribution process that we can all follow, and collective public awareness marketing and advertising.

Everyone right now, from travel agencies to international hospitals are all trying to do it all by themselves by working directly with the patient and bringing in no other professionals that they would have to pay. (wouldn't that be terrible... and the patient suffers !)

Couple to that the fact that as a facilitator, I'm in competition with the very hospitals that I'm trying to send patients to, and they are willing to give all of the savings along to the client (so there are not sufficient revenues for facilitators to actually do this job right)...

It would be as if everyone who wanted to buy a car would have to show up at the back door of the factory... or to get on an airplane, you'd just show up at an airport... EVERY product can only be as successful as the method used to connect it to the consumer, and not only do 9 - 10 consumers not even know we exist, we have NO industry standard in place to make it work correctly and easily for the consumer. They are more apt to hear about Medical Tourism from their nail girl or butician - then they're on their own to search it out directly online... or call Debby's dentist in Costa Rica - he was good...

We HAVE to get busy and build this - not wait for someone else to, but collectively come to gether and do it for ourselves. The MTA has build themselves a lot of members and a big industry of players, now WE have to figure out how to best make what WE'RE doing work... for us!

http://www.MedTourOperator.com

Tags: Agencies, Facilitators., Medical, Operators, Tour, Tourism, Travel, Wholesale, as, clients, More…promoting, their, to, using

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Comment by Pam H on October 21, 2010 at 8:15am: When pondering about this industry as a whole this thought came up...
"Instead of coulda woulda shoulda ...just do it !" This PSH Original quote is a great reminder to quit putting off what we are meaning to do, would do if had alittle more time, and in reflection should have done when someone else does it. When the idea comes just act on it ... instead of waiting. It is good for all of us to have a bit of spontaneous in our life ..and a great time to start is NOW ! All the best ..for all !

Comment by Faisal A. Sami, M.D. on October 19, 2010 at 4:48am: Jack, interesting post. As with any endeavor in medicine, knowledge and education is power. Many people who come to Medicine and its many different niche industries come with a retail mentality. I had to shake this off some of my employees in an imaging center I used to run. I think its what they teach in the business schools. Procure so many widgets at price A and sell said widgets at price B. The problem is that businesses and entrepreneurs do not invest the time and effort needed to train their client/patient to intelligently be able to consume their service or product. I think there is a disconnect between what the providers and hospitals from international destinations have to offer and what the lay person's perception of the medical tourism industry really is. In fact, there is a large role for facilitators to play in educating and training their potential patients/clients to become consumers of medical tourism services both inside and outside of the United States. The value will have to come from creating information products,trainings,and educational materials to educate people about their healthcare options. It will mean investing money and time upfront creating these educational materials which perhaps most facilitators do not have the patience or credentials for. Everyone wants to close deals, but patients have a natural tendency to not want to become a "deal" but rather want someone to actually care. There will be leaders who will emerge in this space. And it will be the people who are seen to be contributing knowledge and education that actually helps patients make decisions while being transparent and accountable. Most of the websites I look at have the same look and feel and basically try and compete on price with a list of procedures,some destinations and some pretty pictures. There is no real value to that other than it being another menu of services from another "company" being operated out of a two bedroom apartment. I think a redirect is needed here,for those entrepreneurs who are interested. One which focuses on creating high quality and valuable content that patients will want to hang on to. If done on a consistent basis, patients/clients will gravitate to those leaders who are seen and felt to be providing the most value. My two cents :)

Comment by Jack Schafer on October 18, 2010 at 5:43pm: Is everyone so engrossed in the facade that they are ignoring the bottom line potential of this industry... and happy just to carve out enough business to justify their involvement and investment to date.

I am an Engineer, so my mind works differently.
I believe this is an industry that has the potential to reach those Forbes business predictions of millions of clients, and I am involved in this industry because I clearly see that potential.

(now the math part...) The marketing and distribution system that we have in place at this moment is a facade - has been to downfall of the industry. Most everyone involved in Medical Tourism at this moment (except perhaps our organizers...) breaking even at best... most are losing money, and justifying that loss by the old projections, based on a business model that has never worked...

Why? (again the math)... we do not have a "product distribution channel" in place that can promote, market, and sell Medic al Tourism to the clients, and THAT is the only place that all of our revenues and returns can come from.

I've never seen so many entrepreneurs so complacent and content to sit back and wait for someone else to pave the road for them.

We have a new business model... if it works, everyone else will follow. If it doesn't I have nothing to loose as waiting for "someone else" to figure it out so that I can become a "me too" has never been my style.
What is with this industry... where are the leaders and thinkers ???

Comment by Jack Schafer on October 4, 2010 at 4:19pm: Thank you Roberta... I'm running as fast as I can brainstorming with some significant players inthe Travel and Tourism industry to really develop a model for them that works. I've talked with AAA, AMEX... and other that can manage the numbers that this industry could potentially manage, however I feel like I'm running a race here with no MT Industry support. What am I missing - the model that we're using simply can not work to accommodate the volume that we expect... and if that potential volume of clients is anywhere near real, we need to have the marketing components in place that can handle it.. and if not the travel/tourism… who ? This is what they do !
Maybe we are back at "build it and they will come..." - but if we don't build it in such a way that it works for them - someone else will. This IS an "industry" discussion, and maybe for the first time it's about marketing and distribution on the client side rather than just building a bigger industry from the inside.

Would LOVE the opportunity to share... there are a lot of people out there (like yourself) that we NEED to brainstorm with so that we can get this right.

Who's on first ???

Comment by Jack Schafer on June 15, 2009 at 10:53pm: No-one knows everything... this industry changes constantly, and the route to success is determined by those who can stay ahead of the curve and build according to industry needs - not their own. Keeping my (our) finger on the pulse is the most critical thing we do. Any idiot can attach themselves to the market, and play successful today - these conntributors to these committees are the people who are actually driving the train rather than just buying a ticket for a short ride.
Most industries afford you the opportunity to jump on and ride the wave at some level... Medical Tourism however is a moving target, and the moment you think you've "got it", is the day you start falling behind.
If someone is paying their dues to be a member here, and can't wrap their brain around ALL of the real advantages provided by this collective environment - they are just wasting their money !

Comment by Medical Tourism City on June 15, 2009 at 9:23pm: Or maybe everyone thinks they know everything, but don't, and that makes them at the disadvantage and you getting all the juicy inside scoop!