Healthcare Tourism International Opens Office in South America, Quito, Ecuador (12/20/07)

Jan. 12, 2008 - PRLog -- HTI, the Los Angeles-based healthcare tourism non-profit organization that seeks to bring governance and credibility to the global health tourism industry, has taken another step forward by opening a regional office for South America. It is headed by the newly designated VP for South America, Dr. Kenneth Farr, and is located in Quito, Ecuador. This office will enhance the health tourism potential not only in Ecuador, but for the entire region. Dr. Farr comes to this position after a successful international career in the field of public health as a Senior Technical Manager for the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, where he managed health programs in Asia and Latin America and worked closely with major players in the health/medical field. Neilesh Patel, CEO and Founder of HTI, claims that “South America is poised for significant growth in the health travel industry in the next 10 years. The world has truly underestimated the impact of health services in the Central American and South American region. Our office in South America puts us one step closer to bringing safe international health services to the world.”
The HTI team comprises medical, dental, tourism, and business experts from all facets of healthcare. The accreditation process entails improving the non-clinical aspects of the health tourism experience, which makes it a complimentary system to the Joint Commissions International clinical accreditation system. Aspects, such as business practices, recovery options, and language abilities, all include areas covered by the accreditation system. A separate protocol has been developed for the following types of health tourism companies: hotel providers, health tourism travel agencies, non-ambulatory transport vehicles, hospitals with concierge services, airlines, translator/conveyance companies, and insurance companies. Applicants can apply for accreditation, which may involve submission of documents and in certain cases onsite surveys at the organization’s website www.healthcaretrip.org.

Website: www.healthcaretrip.org