Medical tourism in Panama relies heavily on attracting North American medical tourists
Panama offers visitors a pristine, tropical landscape bordering the Pacific and Caribbean coastlines. Recently the Mesoamerican state has focused its investments on medical tourism and now has excellent health services on the offer, with cost savings anywhere from 40 to 70 percent lower than costs of similar treatments in the United States.
But having treatment costs much lower than the United States is not unique selling point, with majority of medical tourism giants also having this quality, So why would this be considered unique for Panama.
Panama is one of those countries like Thailand, Costa Rica, and Hungary, whose medical tourism sector thrives on patients seeking more affordable treatment options abroad, because of rising healthcare costs in high income countries such as the US. This means that the selling point of having lower treatment costs compared to the US becomes more attractive, because the target audience of medical tourism in Panama is those exact Americans who are faced with medical issues and massive bills that they cannot afford.
There has been substantial investment and improvement in Panama’s healthcare in the recent years, as part of the country’s rapid development initiative. Hospitals have been upgraded and and the country’s leading hospitals now bear the latest technology, credentials and international affiliations such as the Joint Commission International Accreditation (JCI).
Due to historical reasons relating to the construction of the Panama Canal, the country is a massive hub of international travel, with many ethnic groups settling in the region permanently. The country is now promoting its medical tourism industry using this diverse community and aims to advance its medical tourism position in the region.
Panama is still a relatively “Westernized” country with an English speaking medical community and medical specialists that have been educated overseas. Furthermore Panama also uses the US dollar as its national currency, making it easy for American tourists to seek medical help without the need to exchange currencies.
Key Strengths of Panama for medical tourism
- Close proximity and ease of access from the United States and Canada, countries that are both targeted by Panamanian medical tourism. The country has excellent lingual, cultural and economic similarities with the US and Canada.
- JCI-accredited hospitals and joint affiliations with US hospitals; joint affiliations mean that these medical centers maintain the same quality as their partners in the US. All the while charging customers as much as 80 percent less.
- Competent and socially compatible medical personnel; majority of Panamanian doctors active in the medical tourism have graduated from the most renowned medical education centers in the world. The country and its doctors offers an excellent sense of Mesoamerican hospitality to medical tourists too.
- Fastest growing medical destination in all of Americas; While Brazil, Mexico, and the US are by far mightier medical tourism destinations in the Americas, Panama is growing faster than all of them, this small country is ready to challenge the established giants of medical tourism in the region.
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Why Are Medical Tourists Flocking to Panama for Medical Services?
There are five major factors as to why Panama is rising to become a medical tourism destination. Here we will examine them in detail and evaluate medical tourism in Panama as a whole.
1.Government backed investments on hospital optimizations and joint affiliations with world-renowned hospitals and institutions.
Panamanian government actively tends to the needs of the medical tourism sector. For example, Hospital Nacional has just finished a $25 million USD renovation, including fully brand new robotic pharmacy and state of the art operating theatre.
Hospital Nacional in Panama City is JCI accredited and serves the most medical tourists in the country
Among the most fruitful affiliations in Panama is the Punta Pacifica hospital, which has established a joint affiliation with the Johns Hopkins Hospital, considered one of the top medical institutions in the world. Punta Pacifica is also JCI-accredited. Another example is the Centro Medico Paitilla that also has JCU accreditation and is affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic in the US.
3.Regulation of Medical Services’ Costs and Quality
Panama has been methodically trying to embolden its tourism capacity with government support. Among these measures we have been witness to the elevation of certain medical procedures to the highest level.
The national health services department has worked hard to enhance the medical capacity in Dental Treatments, Cosmetic/Plastic Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and Cardiovascular treatments, and unsurprisingly most of these procedures are not covered by the insurance in the US. This will allow for Panama to snatch a sizable American patient base in these medical fields in the near future.
The initial strive for mastery of these medical procedures is uncommon in upstart medical tourism destinations and showcases the ambition of Panama to not be another generic medical destination where only cosmetic, dental and Lasik treatments are on the offer. These services have been carefully chosen and emphasized because of the international demand for them as well as their relative rarity and delicacy.
3.High quality, Low Prices
Medical Tourism in Panama follows the same pattern as many other new medical tourism destinations, that being offering quality services for proportionally low prices, however Panama is also faced with several regional rivals in Mexico and Brazil. Considering the wage structure and a number of other factors, Panama can afford to regulate prices unusually low. For example a laparoscopic gastric surgery costs 3 to 6 thousand US dollars in Mexico, a country that targets the same audience as Panama.
Panama is even cheaper than Mexico (20 to 30), with the same surgery costing only 2 to 3 thousand US dollars. While being as much as 80 to 90 percent cheaper compared to United States.
4. Government support and initiatives for medical tourism
The government of Panama has been in constant effort to promote and aid medical tourism in Panama. Panama held its first medical tourism convention in 2013 which also included a proposal by the government to allocate some medical centers to exclusively serve medical tourists.
The proposal would include tax breaks for foreign investors on such centers and a special permit that those who wish to serve international patients must aquire.
5-Tourist Friendly Environment
Panama has one of the most pristine and untouched natural landscapes in Mesoamerica, furthermore it is a politically stable country and a rapidly developing country with an economy based on the US dollar.
The country is one of the most economically competitive in its region. In the recent years, it has also made massive improvements and overhauls to its communications and transportation infrastructure and is now considered one of the most technologically advanced countries in Latin America.
In an effort to promote tourism and give travelers a sense of security, Panama is offering free medical insurances to all incoming medical tourists in case of emergency for first 30 days of their stay in Panama.
Article by: Parsa Khaknezhad
