Maryam Ferdowsi
An interview with Mina Motaghi, CEO of “Behopouyan” medical tourism agency on the potentials of infertility treatment in Iran
In recent years, infertility treatment in Iran and its various methods such as the IVF have gained mass popularity among couples and therefore have caused growth in health economy.
Increased success rate in infertility treatment coupled with more transparency of ethics in these treatments have also lead us to witness an increased demand for these treatments in the Middle Eastern medical tourism market.
In recent years, Iran has managed to attract more and more regional tourists through establishing successful and advanced centers of infertility treatment. However the lack of facilitator companies with a specialized focus on the field has resulted in many challenges in efficient provision of services and marketing.
The “Behpouyan” is one of the companies that has stepped up to fill this gap. Mina Motaghi, the CEO of the company tells us of Behpouyan’s plans for developing the IVF and infertility treatment in Iran.
Ms.Motaghi, for starters, give us an introduction to Behpouyan
Behpouyan is a treatment facilitator company which through the simplification of the planning, design, and choice processes, guides patients medical tourists and patients according to established laws and standards. The company is in effort to satisfy the needs of international patients based on a legal framework.
What is the role of the company in the medical tourism and how does it operate?
Behpouyan aspires to increase the patient’s spectrum of available choices theough online visits and counseling, quality in-patient treatments in different fields, 24/7 support and medical packages with varying costs.
Behpouyan also has made arrangements for patients to communicate with their preferred medical center and corresponding doctor, so at the end they make their travel with their minds at ease and safely.
Other services of the company includes providing the patients and their attendants with arrangements including arranging for tickets and visa through establishing contracts with travel agencies, hotel reservations, in-city travels, currency exchange, and tours of Iran’s cultural and natural sights.
Who works in your medical tourism team?
Behpouyan’s team consists of capable experts, physicians, and specialists in different medical fields. This team has many years of experience under its belts, both in medical sphere in certified medical centers, and in the medical tourism field in IPD sections of certified hospitals.
What medical fields are you focused on and why?
Through its cooperation with a diverse group of medical specialists and medical centers, Behpouyan medical tourism agency is capable of providing medical tourists with services in almost every existing medical field. Still, our focus remains on infertility treatment and IVF.
How infertility treatment in particular can be a benefit for medical tourism in Iran?
Iran is one of the leading infertility treatment centers of the region, it has one of the highest national IVF success ratios.
The reason for this is Iran’s history in this medical field. Iran has been one of the forerunners of the field and through its long history and keeping up to date with global methods, as well as correct marketing and extensive advertisement outside of the country’s borders, it has the potential of attracting large numbers of medical tourists to the country.
Especially since the utilization of some advancements and technologies of the field such as sexual assignment, preimplantation genetic diagnosis or alternative treatments such as egg donation have made a credible brand for Iran in the field. On the other hand, Iran’s cultural compatibility with its surrounding countries is also its most important attraction for medical tourists of infertility field.
What are the benefits of treatment in Iran that can be utilized in the development of medical tourism?
Iran’s most important benefit is its elite specialists and subspecialists in the field of infertility as well as providing services with the highest quality and lower prices compared to regional rivals.
Who are our regional and global rivals in the field of infertility treatments?
Behpouyan agency’s logo
Infertility treatment in Iran is one of the best in the region, both in quality and prices. Still our most capable rivals in the region and in the field of Infertility include Turkey and India, both of which have undertaken extensive marketing campaigns in the field in recent years.
In the world, countries such as Poland and Hungary and the former eastern bloc in general have made a great deal of marketing.
What medical centers does Behpouyan work with in the field of infertility treatment and what is the nature of this cooperation?
Our firm works with various medical centers including the Baharan infertility center located in the Kosar hospital, the Taban Clinic, the Sara Clinic as well as several other certified and credible infertility treatment centers.
Which countries are your target markets?
Our target markets is comprised of countries in the region, since there is greater cultural similarities between our countries and in my experience, infertility treatment in Iran has been in demand in these countries.
Therefore, in these first steps our focused is on the region, although in the future we also plan to consider other markets, namely Europe.
What can be done to develop the brand of infertility treatment in Iran?
There are many marketing methods, however our effort is towards promoting a specific treatment and therefore we have to consider its specific requirements. Concerning infertility treatment which stirs up certain sensitivities in the recipients, the providers, and supervising institutes, marketing should be undertaken based on a long term plan and principles.
With that said, I believe the following to be the main strengths that can be used to introduce infertility treatment in Iran:
- Comprehensiveness
A key factor in the satisfaction of patients and the provision of quality, is comprised of comprehensiveness. That means that the entire medical needs of a family be taken care of from the beginning of the process until the pregnancy itself, under a single collective. - Success Rate
The most important factor in evaluating the performance of any infertility treatment center is its success rate. That is made of the rate of the cases of treatment that lead to the birth of a baby against the total number of attempted cases. The higher this index is, the better the reputation of infertility treatment in Iran. - Medical Staff
Another major factor is the medical staff and its competence in world’s latest medical advancements and standards. A medical team that is made up of experts, specialists, physicians, embryologists, obstetricians and nurses that consider all the physical, moral, religious, etc. toward the treatment of their patients. - Equipment
A full inventory of up to date equipment plays a crucial role in the quality of infertility treatment. Therefore this equipment must be featured in marketing efforts.
What are the future plans of the Behpouyan?
In addition to its rich culture and history, the city of Yazd is a pioneering force for infertility treatment in Iran
We intend to increase the quality of our services further, and increase the reach of our market to new targets from where it covers now. We have several plans to cooperate with domestic and foreign hospitals which we will undertake according to our long term and short term strategic plans.
How can brokers and medical tourism activists cooperate with Behpouyan?
As emphasized many times, the careful enactment of protocols as prescribed by lawmakers makes for a sense of unity and prevents the exercise of one off diversions among medical tourist activists. We also apply this procedure to our intra-organizational policies to cooperate with different medical and commercial partners.
Behpouyan’s transparency in providing its services is another positive trait that other companies can use to strike a lasting partnership with us in the fields of IVF and infertility treatment.
All in all our team is more than prepared to provide its extant potentials to all who actively take part in any part of the infertility treatment sector in Iran and those who attract medical tourists.
What are the principal weaknesses in Iranian medical tourism in your opinion?
First, it is important to note that this industry has a great amount of added value and can bring about entrepreneurship and many new jobs to the country, however I can name the following as main flaws of medical tourism in Iran:
– Lack of Urban and in-route accommodations and facilities for international tourists
– Out of control operations of brokers in hospitals and lack of supervision on them
– Lack of attention to historical landmarks
– Negative foreign propaganda against Iran
– Lack of proper introduction of Iranian attractions
– Lack of supervision on tourism infrastructure and and low quality of services in some of them
– Poor aerial travel system
– Lack of utilization of the potentials of the private sector
– Lack of specialized education on medical tourism
– High volatility of the national currency and intricate pricing of services in the industry
– Lack of familiarity of many hospitals of the country with the industry’s terminology
