The Commonwealth Medical Association is looking to ease medical travel by creating a platform, with inputs from tourism organisations, a top CMA representative said.

The CMA is working largely with the World Tourism Council and other tourism organisations to develop a platform for medical tourism, Dr JA Jayalal, CMA President told businessline, of the initiative that also looks to reduce the reliance on agents in the middle. He was hopeful a framework would be ready in six months, with accredited medical institutions, and details on their quality credentials and treatment rates mentioned upfront. Dr Jayalal recently took charge as CMA President, the second from India in 17 years, he said, of the organization that represents medical communities from 56 countries.

There are about 23 small island countries, from where people travel out for their medical procedures, said Jayalal, and a platform that outlines medical facilities, credentials and rates in different countries would help the individual travelling for treatment.

Large hospitals have their own representatives to facilitate medical travel, but small institutions work through agents, he said. And that could work out to be exorbitant for those who have to travel to a different country to get medical treatment. Sometimes people travelling for medical treatment are made to pay differential rates, he pointed out, adding they were against duality in pricing.

In India, he said, they were in talks with Government and private medical institutions to be present on the platform. Data on the size of the medical tourism market across these countries was still being put together, he said, adding that the CMA was holding a conference on medical tourism in Dubai, next month.  

Headquartered in London, the CMA was established in 1962 and works with National Medical Associations. Dr Jayalal, is a past national president with the Indian Medical Association. In fact, recently, two doctors from India have also been elected to the World Medical Association Junior Doctors’ Network (WMA-JDN).

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