OneWorld and Medical Tourism Association Visit Panama- More Countries Continuing to Show Enthusiasm About Medical Tourism

Troy, MI, July 16, 2009 --(PR.com)-- At the invitation of Hospital Punta Pacifica, The Panamanian Dept. of Tourism and Ageless Wonders, a Panama-based medical tourism facilitator, Alex Piper, President of OneWorld Global Healthcare Solutions, traveled to Panama on June 22, 2009 to introduce Medical Tourism as a growing industry. Traveling with members from the Medical Tourism Association, the objective was to co-host a conference designed to present Panama with information about the industry. In addition, the visitors traveled to educate the host country on historical market data, and the projected market potential. The four-day workshop was held to help Panama assess itself as a destination for medical tourism, and consisted of presentations, visits to hospitals and clinics, and experiencing Panama’s tourist attractions.

On the first day, Renee-Marie Stephano, President for The Medical Tourism Association and Editor of The Medical Tourism Magazine, presented attendees with knowledge of the Medical Tourism Association and its involvement in the rapidly growing industry. She provided insight to the industry along with its destination countries, to help introduce the next steps for Panama.

Alex Piper, who is also a former benefits executive at Chrysler Corporation, then introduced the marketing aspect of the industry. He provided research on the current medical tourism marketing picture, and then proposed marketing approaches that would set Panama up as a destination country.

Overall, the Panama conference provided confidence to Panama’s participation and its contribution to the development of the industry. OneWorld Global Healthcare Solutions’ Alex Piper was quoted as saying, “2009 has been a great year for medical tourism because we are seeing destinations positioning themselves, and a growing interest from American companies, insurance companies and government. OneWorld specializes in providing a variety of services to both the destinations and the U.S. market which consists of U.S. companies, insurance companies and government, and we look forward to future opportunities as we see more countries entering the market.”

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