The Medical City attends IMTEC to promote medical tourism in the Philippines

The Medical City (TMC), a private tertiary care hospital in the Philippines  is attending this year’s International Medical Travel Exhibition and Conference (IMTEC) to highlight the high standard and innovative healthcare system of the country, which has been ranked 8th among the world’s top medical tourism destinations.

The Philippine delegation from TMC is headed by Dr. Cenon Alfonso, an experienced surgeon and the CEO of TMC Clark along with Dr. Maria Mercedes C. Cruz, Dermatologist and Head of Laser Unit, Centre for Wellness and Aesthetics and Dr. Samuel D Bernal, Consultant, Institute of Personalised Molecular Medicine (IPMM), The Medical City. The team will be speakers at IMTEC, the region’s premier inbound and outbound medical travel show, running on October 9 and 10 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Dr Cruz will speak about laser treatment of scars while Dr Bernal will speak about IPMM, the first fully-accredited Human Stem Cell and Cell-based Therapy Program in the Philippines. The backbone of the IPMM is Regenerative Medicine, a revolutionary field involving the engineering of cells and other biomaterials to restore or replace organ function lost or impaired due to disease, injury or aging, and ultimately improving the quality of life.

Dr Alfonso will focus on the subject “It’s More Fun and Healthy in the Philippines Quality and Innovative Healthcare with Tender Loving Care” highlighting the competitive price of health and wellness service, well-trained, Western-educated and English-speaking healthcare professionals, the care and compassion that Filipinos are known for and the country’s several vacation destinations which are perfect for fast healing and relaxing recovery after a medical procedure.  

“Foreign medical tourists choose the Philippines for their aesthetic and un-complicated procedures while thousands of Filipino expats return home for medical care and combine it with their family visit. Our participation is the perfect opportunity to boost our profile and showcase The Medical City’s cutting-edge health services with centers of excellence in the field of cardiovascular, cancer, neuroscience and regenerative medicine as well as wellness services,” according to Dr Alfonso.

Medical tourism is a field that is seeing tremendous growth in the Philippines.  In fact, the country was recently ranked 8th among the top medical tourism destinations in the world, trailing Singapore, USA, UK and Canada, and ahead of countries such as Japan and France, according to the 2015 list of the International Healthcare Research Centre and the Medical Tourism Association (MTA), a global non-profit association for medical tourism and international patient industry.

Clients of the Philippines for medical tourism come from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Pacific Islands, Australia, North and South America, Europe and the United Kingdom and the Gulf States.

“We are hoping to attract and increase the number of medical tourists from the UAE and from the Middle East to the Philippines for their medical procedures. At The Medical City Clark, about 50% of the patients are non-Filipinos coming from USA, Korea, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom and Germany and a few from the Middle East so will showcase our excellent medical services available across various fields of healthcare during our participation in IMTEC,” added Dr Alfonso.

The Medical City is accredited by the Joint Commission International Accreditation (JCIA), the only patient safety and quality healthcare accreditation and certification body with membership in more than 100 countries worldwide. TMC’s health network serves over 50,000 in-patients and more than 1.5 million outpatients every year. It has more than 1,500 medical staff complemented by 5,000 allied medical and administrative staff.

TMC’s first polyclinic in Dubai opened last year and there are plans to expand the service with at least three more clinics every year in the UAE and 20 across the GCC in the next five years. The clinic in Dubai offers multi-specialty consultations, diagnostic services, day surgery and a pharmacy.

The Medical City will be showcasing its services during the two-day exhibition at IMTEC which brings together medical travel professionals, facilitators, decision-makers and thought leaders from all over the world to discuss topical issues faced by the industry, share insights and experience and gain knowledge and perspectives surrounding medical tourism.