The start of vaccination for medical staff in Puerto Rico and first responders, is an important element that will have a positive effect on the Medical Tourism sector, as it strengthens the island as a destination for other patients. states or countries receive medical care of excellence, safe and at a reasonable cost, said the secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Trade (DDEC), Manuel A. Laboy Rivera.
“The Medical Tourism sector has a promising future in Puerto Rico and despite the emergency we face from the spread of Covid-19, hospitals and medical offices continued to care for patients from various jurisdictions in search of services doctors, “Laboy Rivera said Sunday in a written statement.
“Now with the arrival of the vaccine, which are in addition to the protocols developed by the Medical Tourism Program and medical institutions, patients will receive treatment by professionals vaccinated against Covid-19 and under the best safety standards. So this sector has the opportunity to continue its expansion on the Island.Our commitment is to continue to support through public policy and in partnership with the private sector strategies that maximize this sector through our Medical Tourism Program, achieving greater recognition of the services that Puerto Rico offers, “the DDEC secretary added.
The recent approval in the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Project of the House 2382, will allow to establish the Office of Medical Tourism in the DDEC, to transfer the bottoms of the Corporation to the Department of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico, among others actions necessary to continue strengthening this economic sector.
“Once these processes are completed we hope to generate an economic impact for the Island by attracting approximately 30,000 patients in the next 3-5 years, which represents an economic impact of $ 23.5 million. By 2021, the process will be created to establish an agile certification for hospitals, hotels and medical offices in the following specialties: dental, cardiology, orthopedics, cancer, neurosurgery, gynecology, fertility procedures, pediatrics, ophthalmology and plastic surgery, ”the SDEC secretary stressed.
The Medical Tourism Program joins other public policy initiatives to retain and attract health professionals. It is also projected that the passenger waiver granted by the U.S. Department of Transportation will facilitate the arrival of patients from various parts of the world to receive medical treatment.
“For the next year, the Medical Tourism Program will work on various initiatives to promote the island. These include creating alliances with Caribbean health ministers to make Puerto Rico their first choice. to send their patients to medical treatment in another jurisdiction.Alliances will also be established with health insurers in Central America to use the island as a more viable alternative than the United States, where treatment costs are high. On the other hand, we will work with the medical directors of the cruise lines based in San Juan to use health care providers under the Medical Tourism Program to care for their crews.Another initiative will be to coordinate events with the insured event. in the states of Florida, Chicago and New York, to include Puerto Rican hospitals as part of their provider network. “