As the world embraces the idea of travel for medical and health reasons, and thousands of small businesses, medical providers, and even entire cities, decide to move in the direction of becoming true Medical Tourism and Health and Wellness Tourism destinations, they too There is a large group of individuals who consider that, by not offering their services to international patients, they are outside the industry. This is a mistake.
Medical Tourism is a type of business that, due to the nature and size of the investments it involves, affects the market horizontally, without leaving out any of its participants. The Latin American Medical Tourism ecosystem is no longer a projected idea that could occur in the near future. From small dental clinics to large hospitals to city clusters, competitors have already moved beyond their initial stages of planning, launching, failing, trial and error, and other steps inherent in business growth and niche innovation entrepreneurship, and are finding themselves now in a new creative stage that seeks and finds opportunities in neighboring countries. Each of our destinations is the commercial target of the other, to some extent, and the battle to become the preferred offering of the globalized world is fought in the minds of patients, which are no longer restricted by taboos, prejudices and recommendations. from the corner doctor.
It is the patient who decides when, with whom and above all where they receive care. Therefore, deciding that we "will not compete in Medical Tourism" is saying that we will not compete for our own local patients. Determining that we are not interested in foreign patients who might need us is accepting that other companies will take that casuistry and turn it into experience and economy, which sooner or later will end up attracting local patients, on whom our clinic or hospital depends.
To genuinely be competitive, we must achieve a level of quality, experience and market access that is at the same level of globalization of that market. We cannot continue looking out the window and believing that the citizens around us are still at the mercy of the local ecosystem, restricted by physical and cultural barriers, when each of them carries a window to the offer of our regional competitors, in their pocket. We must accept that when someone searches for "Clinic" on their mobile device, the world is the limit, and the offers are endless.
The reality of the medical, dental practice and hospital industry today is that its clients have in their hands the power and information necessary to decide to change providers. And while the main trigger for this type of change is the "Price" factor, Quality, the level of Accreditation, even the good manners and human warmth that these customers may perceive from a supplier, continue to be powerful generators of fidelity. Later, the casuistry will be the value by which patients will decide where they move in the search for health, and when that moment arrives, providers who have not been part of the competition in the world of globalized health, will find themselves forced to compete on price; I can't imagine a worse fate than that for a business in the health sector.
Consider investing in a healthy approach to Medical Tourism, as an essential area of knowledge for the growth and survival of your medical company. In Panama, the opportunity to learn and be part of this flow of ideas and experiences is the Panasalud Conference, which is held every two years with a large participation of businessmen and health specialists, who meet to unify ideas and share experiences, in an atmosphere of camaraderie and collaboration. For more information visit Panasalud.com.
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