Ninety-four per cent of UAE’s medical tourism industry insiders believe their sector of the industry has yet to reach its full potential, said a report.

The report, published by prominent UAE-based health travel consultant Dr Prem Jagyasi, showed that confusion, a lack of information and fear about complications following surgery were the main reasons for patient reluctance to cross international borders for health services.

“The medical tourism industry is going through an exciting phase where international and intra-regional activities are taking places within this sector of the health market,” said Dr Jagyasi.

The findings are particularly significant for the region, as the UAE appears at number 11 for countries identified with medical tourism, he added.

“The responses received clearly revealed that there is an overwhelming perception among industry leaders that there is so much more that can be achieved,” he said.

The purpose of the health tourism survey, according to Dr Jagyasi, was to gain valuable insights into aspects of medical tourism from professionals who are closely involved with the industry.

Ninety-five per cent of the survey’s participants identified themselves as being either directly or indirectly involved with healthcare travel in the scope of their work and the resulting information supplied by these insiders revealed many important facts concerning this specialised sector; including its terms, trends, status, opportunities and challenges.

The knowledge gleaned from the survey will be used to promote this sector of the healthcare industry and will provide important content for a soon-to-be published guidebook for consumers who are considering undertaking treatment abroad.

“One of the survey questions enquired why the respondents thought that there may be a reluctance in some consumers to participate in healthcare tourism and the main responses we received were that they may have concerns about complications, experience confusion over aspects of available services, be uninformed and find the option complicated,” said Dr. Jagyasi.

“This is important information, as it clearly shows that education is a vital component in allowing us to facilitate medical tourism to reach its greatest potential. If we can allay people’s fears about foreign treatments and guide potential health tourists with information and advice on visa and travel issues, then we will be providing a vital service for them, as well as giving a welcome boost to the region’s health sector,” he added.

Of the 35 countries identified in the survey as being significant healthcare tourism providers, India was ranked as the number one popular destination, with Thailand and Singapore positioned at second and third places respectively. The United States had a surprise ranking at number four and the UAE came in at number 11.

“The Asian and Far Eastern countries are well-established medical tourism destinations, so the top three placings were expected,” said Dr Jagyasi.

“The US came in at number four, which wasn’t anticipated. It could mean that there are as yet untapped opportunities for facilitators looking to incorporate this potentially lucrative market in their service provision,” he added.

“Medical tourism can offer huge benefits in terms of quality of service and its affordability; in fact, the survey revealed that industry leaders view these as being its key drivers.”

“The industry is set to grow enormously over the next two decades as more and more destinations open up to patients from overseas,” Dr Jagyasi concluded. – TradeArabia News Service