22-Mar-17 The Indian National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) has issued new rules for the accreditation of medical tourism agents and has begun to certify some of the hundreds of medical tourism agents currently operating in India. The accreditation is currently voluntary and is valid for two years at a time. [image: IMTJ]

20-Mar-17 Four medical specialities have taken a large number of medical tourists to Dubai in the last two years: orthopaedics, dental, eye surgery and IVF treatment. More than 298,000 medical tourists from outside the UAE visited Dubai in 2015. [image: The Middle East Magazine Online]

16-Mar-17 The USA has long been a top destination for travellers from Gulf Coast Countries seeking healthcare treatments abroad. Since Donald Trump's travel ban was announced, travel bookings from the countries covered have decreased by 80%. With Emiratis alone, travelling abroad for treatment spending USD250,000 per-visit, American specialist facilities are rightly concerned over the implications the ban might have. [image: Arab Health]

16-Mar-17 Malaysia’s medical tourism industry grew by almost 25% in 2016, raking in an estimated MYR1.15 bn (USD260 mn) in hospital revenue, revealed the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council. CEO Sherene Azli said medical tourists were the biggest spenders among tourists in the country. “Our medical tourists mostly come from Indonesia, China, India, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Middle East,” she said. [image: Free Malaysia Today]

 Insights

10-Mar-17 Indonesia is likely the largest outbound medical travel market, according to Josef Woodman of Patients Beyond Borders. “Indonesia’s healthcare infrastructure is generally poor and about 1.5 to 2 mn Indonesian medical travelers go to Southeast Asia or Australia,” he said. China is also one of the largest medical tourism markets as many Chinese travelers look for better healthcare. [image: Skift]