First Issue Mediworld Final Draft
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Feature<br />
OIC countries, is the second largest travel market next<br />
only to China ($168 billion) and ahead of the United<br />
States ($147 billion).<br />
“This upward trend presents good business<br />
opportunities for the industry. However, stakeholders<br />
should start addressing challenges to make the most of<br />
the momentum and boost tourism activities,” Badri said.<br />
Medical friendly<br />
Not only has the UAE topped in terms of being a Halal<br />
travel destination, it has also gained a name as the top<br />
place to be considered for medical tourism among Arabs<br />
and Africans and even Westerners who find the<br />
treatments here more pocket-friendly and convenient.<br />
For many Arabs and Africans, traveling to Asia, Europe<br />
or Americas for medical purposes entails long-haul<br />
flights, costly accommodations and cost of living, and<br />
limited access to families and friends in case of any<br />
eventualities due to distant geographic boundaries.<br />
Dubai, on the other hand, is ideally located within hours<br />
around the Middle East and North Africa, giving patients<br />
ease of travel and their families with close access in case<br />
of any emergency.<br />
Dubai, the nation's tourist hub for shopping and<br />
sightseeing, envisions welcoming half-a-million medical<br />
tourists by 2020, the same year that it's hosting the World<br />
Expo 2020.<br />
The emirate had since adopted medical-friendly policies<br />
to compliment the best practices and facilities the<br />
country has to offer.<br />
These include launching a medical complaints portal for<br />
patients within the country and those coming for<br />
medical tourism purposes.<br />
Dr. Layla Al Marzouqi, Director of Health Regulation and<br />
Dubai Medical Tourism Project at the Dubai Health<br />
Authority, said, "We already have a robust medical<br />
complaints procedure in place and the move towards an<br />
e-complaints system will further enhance efficiencies<br />
and streamline processes.<br />
"Our aim is patient satisfaction and implementing<br />
mechanisms that ensure delivery of world-class<br />
healthcare in the Emirate and electronic integration for<br />
all our regulatory processes is an important criterion to<br />
achieve our goals," she added.<br />
Patients can go to DHA website and log into the medical<br />
complaints portal option which has a separate tab for<br />
UAE residents and medical tourists<br />
There are more than 2,780 healthcare facilities in the<br />
country which accept universal health insurance<br />
policies to cover patients' medical treatments.<br />
These hospitals and clinics are well-equipped to handle<br />
all sorts of medical situations with emphasis in seven<br />
areas: or thopaedics, ophthalmology, assisted<br />
reproductive techniques, dermatology, bariatric and<br />
weight-loss surgeries, plastic surgeries and dental care.<br />
Under the project, Dubai: A Global Destination for<br />
Medical Tourism, offshore patients seeking medical<br />
treatments in the UAE can remotely plan for their trip to<br />
the country via the DXH.ae website.<br />
This first-of-its-kind website has all the relevant medical<br />
tourism services including: medical tourism packages,<br />
booking tickets, buying medical insurance and hotel<br />
booking, etc.<br />
DHA said the health insurance would include medical<br />
insurance covering all travel costs and health<br />
complications as well as the cost of emergency cases<br />
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