Iran, ideal destination for Islamic countries’ health tourists

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - health tourism is provision of satisfactory, up to date, and standard medical and health care services at economically reasonable prices either for the foreign tourists, or for the Iranians who come to large cities from those parts of the country that lack such services.In other words, health tourism is a type of travelling in which in addition sightseeing and enjoying the trip, the tourist also takes advantage of the medical and health care services offered at the destination satisfactorily.Today health tourism is rapidly growing in the world and becoming a highly profitable trade around the globe.It is said that next to Jordan, Iran has the greatest potential for attracting the health tourists of the Islamic and regional countries.The existence of mineral fountains in many parts of the country, having well equipped medical centers, including curing infertility in both men and women, dialyze centers, various types of heart surgeries, plastic surgery, eye surgery, and production of unique medicines such as the anti-AIDS drug called IMOD, and high-tech drugs, and being benefitted from internationally renowned specialists, doctors, and physicians are among the numerous medical advantage of the Iranian health tourism industry.The foreign health tourists can be sub-divided in two groups. The first group is those who travel from advanced countries to other parts of the world seeking high level medical service at considerably lower prices.For instance, in the year 2008, 1.5 million US citizens travelled abroad for medical care and health purposes, partly because such services in their own country were a lot more expensive. For instance a kidney transplant in the United States cost aroudn300, 000 US dollars, which is ten times more expensive than a similar surgery in Iran.The other type of health tourists are those who come from less advanced and less developed countries, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan in Iran’s neighborhood where the medical services are not satisfactory and Iran can offer them greater health services at very reasonable prices.It seems as if Iran has very high potentials for expansion and further development of this type of health tourism.Each health tourist brings 6,000 US dollars to IranThe statistics show that some 30,000 health tourists enter Iran annually, and economic surveys show that each health tourist brings three times as much hard currency to the country than the regular tourists.The Secretary of Iranian Health Ministry’s Health Tourism Committee Dr. Hassan Rushki told an IRNA Social Desk reporter Thursday evening, “Each foreign health tourist brings to our country an average 4 to 6 thousand US dollars.Dr. Rushki added, “If the required infrastructures for health tourism would be well provided in Iran our country would gain a good amount of hard currency from this industry.”He reiterated, “It does not really matter from what kind of country (advanced; underdeveloped) the health tourist comes to Iran, the important point is thorough development of this industry in our country.”Health tourism is still not a national industry in IranToday health tourism is recognized as a national industry in more than 50 countries worldwide.The secretary of Iranian Health Ministry’s Health Tourism Committee said, “Unfortunately, despite the high profitability of this industry and the high potentials of Iran for attraction of the health tourists, health tourism has still not been recognized as a national industry in our country.”Rushky added, “That is while for instance countries like Turkey have seven billion US dollars annual income from the health tourism, and India has an eighteen billion US dollars income from this industry each year.”He reiterated, “Now keep in mind that the medical services offered in Iran are comparable with those offered in advanced countries and our country can develop and make further investments in its tourism industry.”The secretary of Iranian Health Ministry’s Health Tourism Committee said, “Such neighboring countries as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq need our health care services and this means we can be very successful in health tourism.”Rushly added, “Today countries like China by highlighting the news on their acupuncture medical treatment and Thailand by highlighting its massage therapy sessions have managed to attract a huge number of tourists to their countries, and Iran, to, has unused capacities in similar fields which should be taken full advantage of.”Iran, pioneer in offering some medical service in the worldThere are some medical care and health services, as well as some rare medicines offered in Iran, which are rarely found in any other country, and this has turned Iran into one of the health tourism destinations in the world.For instance, in the field of offering biotech medicines Iran is one of the top five countries in the world and nine out of 15 high usage biotech molecules are produced in Iran.In the field of pharmacology Iran ranks first in the region, 4th in Asia and 12th in the world and during the course of the past few years in the field of radio-medicines in the framework of the National Radio-Medicines Program, Iran has produced 52 items of such drugs.The anti-AIDS drug IMOD, too, is produced exclusively in Iran and some countries have announced need for this medicine to cure their AIDS patients.Offering such modern medical services as curing the damages of the brain taking advantage of Schwann cells (named after physiologist Theodor Schwann) and curing the neurological patients taking advantage of stem cells are among the innovations offered in Iranian medical sciences and health service.Challenges of health tourismAlthough health tourism is highly beneficial and brings to the country lots of the much needed hard currency, this industry also has its particular challenges. For instance, the World Health Organization necessitates that the health tourist’s full immunity should be guaranteed.The countries are also required to observe certain standards in order to expand their health tourism industry. Therefore, renovation of hospitals, standardized designs of the health services and improving the quality of the offered health care services are among the dire necessities for expansion of the Iranian health tourism industry.Management of health tourism is another challenge with which this industry is entangled. The capabilities of the doctors and health technicians and specialists, up to date technologies that match the international standards, the economy of treatment costs of medical services, and the Iranian laws are the four important factors that need to be born in mind for attracting health tourists.Iran’s moves aimed at expansion of health tourismNumerous moves have been made to expand the Iranian health tourism industry during the recent years, so that the Set of Rules and Regulations for Tourist Health Care Service Centers was devised, ratified and applied in the winter of 2011.According to this set of rules and regulations those centers which wish to offer health tourism services to foreign citizens need to acquire licenses from both the Health Ministry and the Tourism Organization.Offering health service trainings to the employees of tourism agencies and opening international patients’ wards at the hospitals are among the other adopted measures aimed at expansion of the health tourism by the Health, Remedy and Medical Training Ministry.21st century, the century of health tourismThe conditions and needs of the societies in the 21st century necessitate devising an effective and dynamic strategy for sustainable development of health tourism.Keeping in mind the rapid developments in the world and particularly in the economic field, Iran is obliged to focus in the field of wealth generating industries, including the health tourism.Geographical closeness and cultural and religious similarities have turned Iran into one of the best and most economically reasonable destinations for the Islamic world and regional countries health tourism and therefore, Iran must take maximum advantage of these factors.Health tourism is under the present conditions of the world been turned into one of the most beneficial business around the globe and is so rapidly developing that Iran, too, needs to catch up with its speed and recognize this industry as a national industry.End item/ 149