Ahvaz Medical Center for Iraqi Health Tourists

A center for treating Iraqi patients has been launched in Apadana Hospital in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, with the aim of developing medical tourism and promoting the inflow of foreign exchange.  The hospital has been selected as the pilot program for the implementation of health tourism plans and the center is now ready to offer services to Iraqis, IRNA reported.  According to Fazel Salamat, director of commercial relations with Iraq at Khuzestan’s Governorate, hospitals of Ahvaz received over 5,000 Iraqi patients in the last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2017), which has seen a 25% growth compared to the previous year.  “Besides this number, the companions of patients and those who receive outpatient treatment and hair transplantation must be considered health tourists to Khuzestan,” he said.  During a recent visit to Basra and Maysan provinces of Iraq, Gholamreza Shariati, governor general of Khuzestan, stressed the development of health tourism ties between the neighboring provinces of the two countries.  Following the talks, a group of interns from Basra will soon travel to Khuzestan to undergo intensive nursing courses.