Puerto Rico Poised for Medical Tourism

The Medical Tourism Association announced a strategic partnership with the Puerto Rican Government to support the growing medical tourism sector. Although relatively new to medical tourism, Puerto Rico offers medical travelers a host of benefits, some of which are not available at any other medical tourism destination.

The island is easily accessible from the U.S. mainland, the Caribbean and Latin America. Puerto Rico's healthcare infrastructure and medical expertise rival that of the United States and Europe. Most hospitals are Joint Commission accredited, and many are experienced in high complexity procedures and treatments not available at many other destinations. As a U.S. territory, American medical travelers have the same legal recourse as they do in the U.S.

The MTA and Puerto Rican government are developing a long-term development strategy that includes a feasibility study, training and certification of healthcare and hospitality providers and destination branding.

Luis Rivera Marin, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, stated, "Puerto Rico has the healthcare infrastructure to be a global leader. The training the MTA is providing to our hospitals and hotel sectors will be invaluable to positioning Puerto Rico as a leader in this industry."

The MTA will leverage multiple marketing channels to inform the world about the quality of care and many tourism attractions available in Puerto Rico. These include yearly congress, magazines, and websites.

The Medical Tourism Association is a Global Non-profit Association for the Medical Tourism and International Patient Industry. The MTA works with healthcare providers, governments, insurance companies, employers and other buyers of healthcare -- in their medical tourism, international patient, and healthcare initiatives -- with a focus on providing high quality transparent healthcare.