Professor Fatih Agalar from Turkey, a talented surgeon in the field of cancer treatment and a specialist who knows the technologies of working with the medical robot "da Vinci", made a report on medical tourism at the Kazan Innovative University. The meeting was attended by the rector of KIU Asia Timiryasova, Vice-rector for Academic Affairs Yulia Kamasheva, Vice-Rector for Economics and Strategic Development Lilia Vorontsova, Vice-Rector for Corporate Governance Timur Kramin, as well as the head of the International Department Ekaterina Vracheva, Deputy.Dean for Scientific Work of the Faculty of Service, Tourism and Food Service Management Aidar Mullayanov.
In the speech, the speaker spoke about the ethical problems associated with medical tourism, financial aspects, social consequences, reasons for choosing treatment abroad, negative and positive aspects. So, if earlier people from less developed countries went to more developed countries to receive the treatment that they did not have at home, today the trend has changed. Now the main motivation of medical tourism is the price, easy availability of medicine. The expert also identified such a reason as long waiting lists for a particular operation.
The top best destinations for medical tourism include Canada, South Korea, Cuba, Thailand, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Turkey, the United States, and Israel.
There are more than 40 accredited clinics in Turkey, which use a certain algorithm for working with patients. "The service is designed so that we provide our patients with round – the-clock support and assistance," says the professor. – For those who arrive in Istanbul by plane, we send a shuttle with an interpreter who takes the patient to a specialized hotel. There, the patient receives all the necessary initial care, passes tests, and is under the supervision of medical staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
In addition, a modern international clinic, according to the doctor, must meet such minimum requirements as a convenient schedule, reasonable prices, the schedule of arrival, hospitalization and discharge of the patient, the specifics of staying in the hospital and in the country throughout the treatment, care and care for the patient, postoperative observation, translation services.
As Professor Fatih Agalar stressed, the most important thing in medical tourism is to find a suitable medical center and a suitable doctor for the patient, as well as to build a high-quality doctor-patient relationship.
Asiya Vitalyevna thanked the professor for his speech: "You have given us a new look at the development of the Tourism direction at our university. Now in the process of education, the emphasis is only on tourism in the field of recreation and travel. It will be right if we introduce students to the principles and experience of leading countries in the field of medical tourism."
In conclusion, the speaker expressed the opinion that it will be very easy to develop medical tourism in Kazan. "The capital of Tatarstan is a very beautiful and attractive city. There are a very large number of medical centers here that implement various popular medical programs." Moreover, the development of medical tourism in Russia is one of the priority areas. In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 7, 2018 No. 204 "On national goals and strategic objectives of the development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2024", the volume of exports of medical services by 2024 should amount to $1 billion per year. For this purpose, a federal non-profit organization, the Russian Association of Medical Tourism, was created, uniting clinics, departments and private specialists acting in the national interests of the development of medical tourism.