The private sectors bodies and organizations involved in medical tourism have warmly welcomed the 8th international Tehran tourism exhibition and have voiced their determination and readiness to take the necessary steps to help boost the industry, said tourism deputy of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), Morteza Rahmani Movahed.
Speaking at a meeting with medical tourism experts and administrators of both state and private sectors, he emphasized that a strong presence of medical tourism in the exhibition can be used as a conduit for the private sector to show its capabilities, and to influence the government to set out legislation that can help remove some of the the sticking points currently being faced by the industry, according to CHTN.
Since medical tourism is almost entirely dependent on the private sector, the resulting interaction will bring about notable achievements, he asserted.
Movahed further added that he sees the first step in developing medical tourism to be the agreement and alignment between private sector bodies and state organizations in the tourism and medical sectors. Therefore an MoU was signed by the four main organizations involved: ICHHTO, ministry of health, foreign ministry, and Iran Medical Council. All four bodies agreed that overall responsibility, and oversight is with ICHHTO.
Outlining the elements of medical tourism, he noted that receiving medical care and treatment is only one aspect of the trip; another aim is to visit, relax, and enjoy the therapeutic effects of traveling. “Based on this, medical tourism is divided into three categories: medical tourism, natural curative tourism, and wellness tourism”.
To address the need for huge investments in medical tourism, a national paper on medical tourism is being composed in which various aspects and issues have been included such as treatment, medical ethics, and technical criteria. The document is expected to pave the way for investors and the private sector to become more involved in the industry, he announced.
The official then pointed to numerous requests for permits from travel agencies to start activities in the area of medical tourism, adding that the procedure for issuing the professional liability certificate for working on medical tourism has been approved. To optimize the process and improve accountability during the treatment process, a physician needs to be in charge of the section of the agencies.
