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Health Tourism Hospital Opens in Western Tehran

The $65m hospital, built over an area of 31,000 sq meters with eight floors, is said to be one of the largest of its kind in the region with 250 beds, 18 operating rooms, and a 1,000 sq meter emergency room with 28 beds
The hospital is equipped with high-tech devices on par with global standards.
The hospital is equipped with high-tech devices on par with global standards.

The Erfan-Niayesh Hospital to promote health tourism was inaugurated in western Tehran on Saturday. The specialized hospital, built over an area of 31,000 sq meters with eight floors, is said to be one of the largest and advanced facility for medical tourism in the region.

The $65 million private-sector project has 250 beds, 18 operating rooms, and a 1,000 sq meter emergency room and services with 28 beds.

“Promoting medical tourism is among the main aims of this hospital,” said Seyyed Gholamreza Fanaei, director of the facility, quoted by Mehr News Agency.

“The goal will be achieved in two ways: admitting overseas patients and sending physicians and specialists to foreign medical facilities, especially in the region,” he said.

The hospital is equipped with high-tech devices on par with global standards including operating room equipment and supplies, and has advanced imaging techniques such as CT-scan, cardiac and cerebral angiography and dialysis, among others. Additionally, the magnetic resonance video imaging (MRI video) has been launched for the first time at this facility.

First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri, Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, adviser to the Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, and other high-ranking officials attended the opening ceremony.

Laparoscopy devices for minimally invasive operations, specialized microscopes for advanced neurosurgeries, and a state-of-the-art radiotherapy ward equipped with the latest cancer treatment tools are among other facilities at the hospital. A separate infertility treatment ward with IVF services, prenatal genetic screening, and genetic engineering is also operational.

As part of health tourism, patients are received on arrival at the airport.

“After undergoing the necessary medical procedures and following recovery, the health tourists will visit Iran’s main touristic attractions, after which they will return to their home country,” Fanaei added.

Initial talks have been held with Ukraine and Azerbaijan to send Iranian doctors to examine and treat patients at hospitals in the two countries.

 100 Hospitals Authorized for IPD

The Health Ministry has authorized nearly 100 hospitals across the country to admit international patients in one or more wards.

 “Ninety-eight hospitals were granted IPD (International Patients Department) permits from among 299 hospitals that had applied for the license,” Mohammad Hossein Mirdehqan, the head of Treatment Supervision Office at the Health Ministry, said in September.

Also, Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization has issued licenses for 14 tour companies to operate in the sector as part of plans to develop health tourism. The schemes are aimed at eliminating unauthorized middlemen who exploit the lack of efficient management in the key sector and create a negative image for Iran.

Iran’s annual revenue from medical tourism is said to be between $400-500 million and officials say it is expected to “reach $2.5 billion in the foreseeable future.”

According to a report earlier this year by Big Market Research, the global medical tourism market is estimated to reach $143 billion by 2022.

It was reported in May that the number of tourists traveling to Iran for advanced medical services has grown by 40% in the past five years.

Erfan-Niayesh is a subsidiary of Erfan Hospital in the capital’s Shahrak-e-Qods neighborhood and administered by a board of directors which includes Fanaei.

The private Erfan hospital opened in 2006 and has been awarded the Diamond Certificate of Accreditation Canada International (ACI), recognized worldwide as a leader in helping countries demonstrate their commitment to healthcare quality improvement and patient safety by providing accreditation to hospitals, clinics, primary care centers and health systems.

It was granted a license for health tourism by the Health Ministry and has received several prizes in innovative healthcare from Belgium.

Another sophisticated medical tourism facility, the 140-bed specialized Gandhi Hotel-Hospital established in central Tehran in 2009 on 17 floors, aims to ensure patients are fully taken care of and their families and relatives are as comfortable as possible during the treatment. It boasts of an emergency unit, special care units, day care clinics, VIP services, and several specialized wards.

The specialized and sub-specialized Noor Afshar Hospital in northeastern Tehran, Sasan Specialized Grand Hospital in downtown part of the capital, Baqiyatallah Specialized Hospital in Vanak neighborhood of Tehran, and Razavi Specialized Hospital in Khorasan Razavi Province are the other hospitals offering the latest services in medical care to international patients.

 

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