Colombia Comeback: Latin America Hotspot Sponsors World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress

WASHINGTON - Sept. 8, 2014 - PRLog -- A reversal in safety perceptions and government support helped elevate medical tourism revenues in Colombia by 61 percent to $216 million last year, according to Proexport Colombia, a sponsor of the 7^th World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress, Sept. 20-24, 2014, in Washington, D.C., the Medical Tourism Association® announced today.

“Alliances between the government and private enterprise as well as a great portfolio of medical and surgical services – 16 clinics are considered among the best in Latin America – have made Colombia an attractive destination for international patients,” said Maria Carolina Quijano, director of services in the United States for Proexport Colombia. “New hospitals and clinics are sprouting up all over the country, usually with affiliations to big-name healthcare facilities in the United States including Johns Hopkins.”

Quijano said cardiovascular procedures make up almost half of the medical services provided to some 50,000 foreign patients who arrived last year in Colombia for treatments that are typically 60 percent less the cost of those offered in the United States.

The World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress attracts some 3,000 key stakeholders – hospital administrators, doctors and clinicians, employers, government policy makers, insurance executives, facilitators, and hospitality and tourism interests – from across the globe to share their experiences and identify and solve issues that bear significantly on the industry. For a preliminary list of speakers, go to: http://www.medicaltourismcongress.com/speakers_year/2014-speakers/

The Congress agenda features not only the 5th Global Ministerial Summit, but the 3^rd Medical Directors Summit, the 2^nd Global Women’s Leadership Summit, regional and industry forums, and educational workshops included among more than 1,000 networking meetings for up to 200 qualified buyers of healthcare. Participants, sponsors and invited speakers can keep abreast of Congress updates at www.MedicalTourismCongress.comor make an impact today on theCongress networking platform at http://www2.mtcongress.com/wmtc-networking/

About the Medical Tourism Association®
The Medical Tourism Association® is the first membership-based international nonprofit trade organization for the medical tourism and healthcare industry made up of top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical travel facilitators, insurance companies, and other affiliates committed to promoting the highest level of quality healthcare to patients in a global environment. www.MedicalTourismAssociation.com