Dubai medical tourism packages to include hotels

Hospitals planning on providing medical tourism packages to Dubai will have to include hotel accommodation and recreational activities for families accompanying the patients, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has revealed.

The DHA recently held a meeting with private sector hospitals where it discussed the implementation of its Medical Tourism Strategy. Providers will start rolling out packages from September 1.

Dr Ramadan Ibrahim, director of medical regulation and director of the medical tourism program, outlined how the aim was to deliver “excellence in medical service”.

“In order to achieve this, hospitals will be asked to chalk out medical tourism packages. The package will include treatment, visa, hotel accommodation as well as recreational activities for families who accompany the patient,” he added.

"All relevant stakeholders including immigration, the aviation industry, the hospitality sector, public and private hospitals will work together to ensure medical tourists receive both excellent treatment as well as world-class hospitality that Dubai is synonymous with."

The next step will be for the hospitals and health facilities interested in being part of the initiative to fill out the detailed medical tourism eligibility form and submit all documents with the Dubai medical tourism department within the DHA regulation section.

The documents will then be evaluated by the medical tourism committee and the hospitals will receive platinum, gold or silver membership based on their score.

A Dubai medical tourism website will be launched by the fourth quarter of 2014, where potential visitors will be able to find out details of the members.

The DHA has previously said that it believes the number of medical tourists receiving treatment in the emirate will reach millions annually by the end of the decade.