Jamaica as a Health Tourism Destination: Pipe Dream or Opportunity

1
Jamaica as a Health Tourism Destination Pipe
Dream or Opportunity

• Jeffrey East
• Consultant General Surgeon
• Cornwall Regional Hospital
• Montego Bay Hospital
• MoBay Hope Medical Center

2
Definition

• Traveling across international borders to obtain
  health care
• may or may not include leisure
• aspects typically associated with
• tourism

3
History

• Dates back thousands of years to when pilgrims
  traveled to Epidauria in the Saronic Gulf of
  Greece to a sanctuary of the healing god
  Asklepios (of Greek mythology)
• All medical specialties involved and dentistry as
  well
• Until recently, provider and patient used
  informal channels of communication
• Evolving into a much more formal, organized
  business

4
Why health tourism?

• High cost of health care in US
• Long waiting times for certain procedures in UK,
  Canada, Europe, etc
• Ease and relative affordability of international
  air travel
• Improvements in both technology and standards of
  care in many developing countries
• Unavailability of treatment in home country
• Bragging rights

5
Procedures in greatest demand

• Knee/hip replacement
• Cosmetic surgery
• Coronary artery bypass
• Organ transplantation
• Dentistry
• Refractive surgery

6
Countries seriously involved

• United States
• Canada
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Dominican republic
• Mexico
• Panama
• Brazil
• Argentina

7
Countries seriously involved

• Colombia
• Uruguay
• Hong Kong
• China
• India
• Malaysia
• New Zealand
• Philippines

8
Countries seriously involved

• Singapore
• Thailand
• Germany
• Malta
• Portugal
• Spain
• Turkey
• Ukraine
• Israel
• South Africa

9
Jamaica currently

• Very little evidence of non-Jamaicans traveling
  here specifically for health care
• Most are Jamaicans living abroad

10
Problems with Jamaica

• Violence
• Inadequately equipped public and private
  hospitals
• Consultants lack adequate experience (case rate)
  required for safe performance of some of the
  procedures in greatest demand (eg, renal
  transplant, coronary artery bypass, joint
  replacement)
• Unavailability of some of these procedures in
  public hospitals (creating problem with
  acceptance of the trade by Jamaicans).

11
The Way Forward

• All non-cosmetic procedures available to medical
  tourists must be available to the local populace
  in public hospitals, otherwise the public will
  not support the trade this is also the only way
  to guarantee that consultants achieve adequate
  case numbers and rate
• Addition of private wings to public hospitals and
  expansion of private hospital capacity the trade
  should not compete with locals for public
  hospital facilities
• Major upgrade of equipment in public and private
  hospitals major cost

12
The Way Forward

• Acquisition of cutting edge equipment not
  currently present on the island major cost
• (Can we afford this kind of investment and
  still remain competitive with destinations like
  India, Colombia and Cuba?)
• Seek International Accreditation for all health
  care facilities participating (main accreditors
  are the Joint Commission International in the USA
  and Trent International Accreditation Scheme in
  the UK. The ISO also accredits hospital
  facilities.

13
The Way Forward

• Establish relationships with major Health Tourism
  Providers (similar to traditional Tour Operators)
  who act as intermediaries between clients and
  providers provide limited advertising and
  marketing.
• Market in the various Diaspora associations
• Establish a legal framework for speedy
  adjudication of malpractice lawsuits.

14
Can we compete?

• Comparative cost of procedures (cost for India
  may include airfare and brief vacation package)
• USA
  India SA
• Heart valve replacement 200,000 10,000 (India)
• Cor Artery Bypass 130,000 10,000
  (India)
• Liver transplant 450,000 58,000
  (India)
• Dental bridge 5,500
  500 (India)
• Lasik 3,700
  730 (India)
• Facelift 20,000
  1,250 (SA)
• Knee replacement 50,000
  10,500(CosRic)

15
Personal Opinion

• It is certainly possible for individual private
  hospitals and private wings (eg Tony Thwaites
  wing) to seriously offer Health Tourism as a
  service for an admittedly very limited list of
  procedures
• As for Jamaica in general as a Health Tourism
  destination, we have a very, very long way to go
  major effort will have to be made to upgrade
  the services in public hospitals only when the
  quality and range of services offered in public
  hospitals achieves internationally acceptable
  levels will we be able to compete with current
  destinations AND only then will Jamaicans accept
  the trade.