Trends in Medical Tourism

Whether you use the terminology medical tourism, medical travel or global healthcare, going abroad for medical treatments, healthcare and wellness procedures is a trend that is here to stay.

According to the World Tourism Organization’s UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, the number of international tourists grew with 7% the first six months of 2010. The number is expected to grow during 2010 and the coming years. Asia and the Pacific (+14%) and the Middle East (+20%) led the growth, with Asia in particular experiencing an impressive re-growth. Here are some of the numbers:

• Sri Lanka +49%
• Japan +36%
• Vietnam +35%
• Myanmar +35%
• Hong Kong +23%
• Singapore +23%

Even though Thailand has had difficult first six months due to the political turmoil, the growth was an encouraging +14%.

The Americas have grown with +7%, while Europe is experiencing the slowest recovery with +2%. This is explained with the USA and some major European markets that have not yet recovered from the economic downturn.

Overall, the international tourist arrivals totaled 421 million during the first 6 month of 2010, which is 7% more than in 2009. However, it is still 2% below the record year of 2008.

Top Ten International Tourism Countries

• France
• USA
• Spain
• China
• Italy
• UK
• Turkey
• Germany
• Malaysia
• Mexico

Medical Tourism figures and trends

While many countries rushed to tell the world about their remarkable increase in medical tourism up until 2008, the market leading destinations have been more silent in proclaiming their medical tourism figures during the two last years. The industry is now rightfully settling down and will with time develop into a full niche market.

As many countries count their figures differently for medical and wellness tourism, it is difficult to get clear overall figures. One often has to settle with benchmarks, which are not always up to date and wholly reliable. If medical tourism and travel were to be counted as a niche tourism sector, it would be much easier to seek out exact figures.

With the increased number of competitors, customers are getting more and more picky. They also demand fast and accurate replies in their information seeking. To gain clients, the healthcare providers have to immediately present their strengths and specialties, and act on the customers’ need and want. The recuperation in the tourism industry will definitely have an impact on medical tourism. How big the regrowth will be depends on the industry players’ and the destinations’ ability to market their services and surpass the expectations of their customers.

World Heart Day on Sunday

The annual World Heart Day celebrates its 10 year anniversary this Sunday, September 26. The World Heart Day was created to promote heart health and inform people across the globe the unconceivable truth; that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading cause of death. Each year, the disease causes more than 17 million lives!

In partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) the World Heart Federation organizes events in 100 countries, with the aim of spreading awareness of heart diseases through health checkups, organized walks and lectures by healthcare professionals.

Even though major risk factors of heart disease, such as age, genes and family history, are beyond control, there are still a few key steps you can adopt towards reducing your risk of heart problems and increasing your health.

• Do not smoke – Smoking increases the risk of developing coronary artery disease by 50% or more.
• Eat a heart-healthy diet – control your salt and fat intake to keep the blood cholesterol level in shape. Control your sodium intake, as too much sodium can increase the blood pressure, resulting in a higher risk for heart disease and stroke.
• Have an active lifestyle and keep a healthy weight – with 30-60 minutes of physical activity each day you can reduce blood pressure levels and keep your weight.
• Limit your alcohol intake – Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to weight gain and with that high blood pressure.
• Go for regular health checkups – High blood pressure and high cholesterol can damage your heart and blood vessels.
• Encourage stress-free moments – High levels of stress is linked to an elevated blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. Establish a regular sleep schedule and regular relaxing activities.

Remember, if you take care of your heart, it will take care of you!!

Happy World Heart Day!

Focus on Next Ministers Roundtable on Medical Tourism

The huge 3rd World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress is getting closer, and more information about the event is released almost every week. The Congress will take place in Los Angeles between the 22nd and 24th of September, 2010, and is expected to draw thousands of industry professionals to the city of Angels.

One of the main events during the congress is the Ministers Roundtable on Medical Tourism. It is the second time that this particular event is held, and this year the meeting will focus on increasing the quality of healthcare throughout the world, patient safety, policy relations and collaborative roles of global agencies in fostering medical tourism development worldwide. During the private, roundtable workshop the ministers will also discuss opportunities and challenges in medical tourism.

Many players in the industry are of course interested in this discussion, and would like to attend the meeting. Sadly though, it is exclusively for Ministers and industry leaders, and not open to the public.

Renée-Marie Stephano, COO and General Councel at Medical Tourism Association, Inc.

The president of the Medical Tourism Association; Renée-Marie Stephano, says: “The Ministers Roundtable is a huge step forward in the right direction as countries engaged in medical tourism are all at various stages of development. Having the leadership of the Ministers of Health and Tourism from around the world collaborating and discussing issues in order to advance medical tourism development as relates to capacity building, infrastructure development, benchmarking, sustainable development and fiscal policies is imperative as this strengthens industry-wide transparency, patient safety and healthcare quality globally. An equally important aspect of the Ministers Roundtable discussion was the economic and qualitative benefits of medical tourism to a country’s population and how medical tourism increases healthcare quality within a specific country and region.”

Truly, there is a need for these kinds of discussions, and Novasans welcomes this event and the topics mentioned below.

Find out more about the 3rd World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress here!

World Health Tourism Congress 2010, Durban

Don’t forget to sign up for World Health Tourism Congress 2010, held in Durban October 7-9. Visit their website for more information!

We hope to see you at the congress!

2.5 Million People Die from Alcohol-related Issues Globally

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that over 2.5 million people across the world die from alcohol-related issues per year. This makes alcohol the leading killer worldwide. About 13 percent of these, or 320,000 people, are between 15 and 29 years old. These numbers are alarming, and therefore WHO has decided to pass a resolution that focuses on the harmful effects of alcohol.

Some of the policies that are beeing mooted by the WHO include community action, pricing policies, health services’ responses and reducing public health impact of illicit alcohol. The 193 member countries have now been urged to support positive measures in these directions.

Alcohol addiction is a huge worldwide problem that affects not only the sufferers, but also their families and friends. However, there is help. When launched, the Novasans website will feature an extensive directory with worldwide treatment facilities for alcohol and drug addictions. Don’t forget to visit the Novasans website and pre register already now!

More U.S. Women May Be Obese Than Thought

A new study, appearing in the May issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, says that federal guidelines on obesity should be revised so more women fit into the category of “obese”.

Today, guidelines that determine who is obese is based on body-mass index, also known as BMI. Body-mass index measures wheter a person’s height and weight are proportional. But when comparing this to the World Health Organization‘s guidelines – which use body-fat analysis instead of BMI – about half of the women that were considered obese under the WHO’s guidelines, were not obese under federal guidelines.

Under the international guidelines, about half of white women and more than two-thirds of Latino women are considered obese. Study author Dr. Mahbubur Rahman, at the Univerisity of Texas‘ Medical Branch’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology said “It is especially important to accurately assess obesity in reproductive-age women, as they are more likely to be obese than similarly aged men.” He continues, “These women are at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other obesity-related health conditions, and may forgo or be overlooked for needed tests and treatments.”

Dr. Abbey Berenson, director of the University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health, says “BMI is not ‘one size fits all.’ Inaccurate classification can decrease the impact of obesity prevention programs that will result in many women not receiving the help they need.”

To find out more about how to measure your BMI, look here.

Well-Done Meat Increases Cancer Risk

New research claims that eating lots of meat, especially when it is overcooked, can increase the risk of bladder cancer. Meat that is charred can form cancer-causing chemicals, researchers say. This new finding was presented during the US cancer research conference.

The American study, performed at the University of Texas, is based on over 1,700 people and lasted for over 12 years. The investigators found that the risk was highest for those who ate well-cooked red meat, but even chicken and fish, when fried, significantly raised the odds of cancer. Three significant types of the cancer-causing chemicals, called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), raised cancer risk by more than two-and-a-half.

Lead researcher Pr. Xifeng Wu said “This research reinforces the relationship between diet and cancer. The results strongly support what we suspected – people who eat a lot of red meat, particularly well-done red meat, such as fried or barbecued, seem to have a higher likelihood of bladder cancer.”

Dr. Panagiota Mitrou, of the World Cancer Research Fund, says “We recommend that people aim to limit consumption of red meat to 500g – cooked weight – per week and to avoid eating processed meat.”

In UK alone, more than 10,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed each year, and around 5,000 people die from it every year, with almost 90% being over 65 years old.

When Novasans launches it’s website, it will feature more interesting articles on cancer. Pre-register on our website today for more information.

Some Lifestyles Could Lead to Breast Cancer

Breast cancer might not only result from your genes. New research shows that having an unhealthy lifestyle could provoke the outburst.

Up to a third of breast cancer cases could actually be avoided if women ate less and exercised more, it is claimed. This issue was discussed at the European Breast Cancer Conference last week. One of the participants, Carlo La Vecchia of Milan University told the conference; “What can be achieved with screening has been achieved. It’s time to move on to other things”. The Italian epidemiologist La Vecchia also said that 25 to 30 percent of cases would be avoided if women were thinner and did more exercise.

The World Cancer Research Fund has noted that at least 60 percent of the world’s population does not achieve the minimum recommendation for physical activity. As known before, obesity is not only linked to breast cancer, but a number of other cancer types, such as bowel, pancreas, kidney, and endometrium cancer.

Inactivity is a huge problem in the Western world, and the numbers are higher among girls and women. Physical inactivity is estimated to cause as much as 2 million deaths worldwide annually. The highest rates of inactivity are in European WHO member States with low child and high adult mortality (such as Russia, Ukraine, Hungary and Latvia) rates. The lowest rate of inactivity is seen in the high mortality region of Africa (e.g. South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Kongo).

However, as mentioned before, it is not only physical activity that is beneficial if you want to avoid breast cancer. Studies show that drinking one large glass of wine a day increases the chances of developing breast cancer by 20 percent. Dr. Rachel Thompson said that the WCRF had reviewd 954 separate studies, and can conclude that “the evidence is now convincing that drinking alcohol, being physically inactive and having excess body fat all increase risk of breast cancer.”

What are your thought on the numbers above? Have you experienced breast cancer, and how did you battle it? Comment below or on our Facebook page.

World Kidney Day 11th of March

On the 11th of March this year World Kidney Day is celebrated, as a health awareness campaign aimed at improving the knowledge of kidneys and to cut the rate of kidney disease.

This year, the campaign will focus on Diabetes as the most important cause of Chronic Kidney Disease, and has the theme: “Protect your Kidneys, Control Diabetes”. The campaign is a combined initiative of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF), with the aim of spreading the message that kidney diseases are common and should not be ignored as they then can cause immense harm to human lives. The bright side is that kidney diseases in most cases are treatable.

Below is a list of 10 Ways to Keep Your Kidneys in Top Health

• Control your weight
• Check your blood pressure and cholesterol frequently
• Supervise your blood glucose
• Don’t overuse over-the-counter painkillers
• Do an annual physical exam
• Exercise regularly
• Do not smoke
• Maintain a healthy diet
• If diabetes or chronic kidney disease runs in your family you might be at risk, so be even more precaucious about the above