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insurance schemes. For instance, opening a pre-diagnosis center in a partner country
would give the opportunity to the supplier country to display its medical services. On the
other side, the partner country would benefit from medical knowledge and experience of
the visiting medical staff coming from the partner country. As for protocols signed between
healthcare providers and health insurances, it is possible to affirm that both sides would
benefit from medical tourism schemes.
Policy Advice 5. Establishing a database on health tourism for the use of OIC
member countries for further cooperation in terms of patient-treatment exchange and
capacity building in healthcare provision
Rationale:
Data collection in medical tourism constitutes a big problem. Countries experience
challenges in finding the appropriate information as regards activities taken place in
medical tourism industry. The lack of data collection methodology and database creates
obstacles in terms of marketing as well.
Both side of the medical tourism actors (suppliers and demanders) can take data-
based concrete actions for future collaborations. For instance, supplier countries can
provide data on their medical services that are integrated in the medical tourism whereas
demanders can list their priorities in medical treatments. Such a database can open a
platform for collaboration not only in terms of patient-treatment exchange but also in
terms of capacity building in healthcare provision as well. OIC level data sharing in
medical tourism will facilitate both supply and demand side among the region.
Instruments to Realize the Policy Advices:
– COMCEC Tourism Working Group: In its subsequent meetings, the
Working Group may elaborate on the above-mentioned policy areas in a more detailed
manner.
– COMCEC Project Funding: Under the COMCEC Project Funding, the
COMCEC Coordination Office calls for projects each year. With the COMCEC Project
Funding, the Member Countries participating in the Working Groups can submit
multilateral cooperation projects to be financed through grants by the COMCEC
Coordination Office. For the above-mentioned policy areas, the Member Countries can
utilize the COMCEC Project Funding and the COMCEC Coordination Office may finance
the successful projects in this regard. These projects may include organizing seminars,
training programs, study visits, exchange of experts, workshops and preparing analytical
studies, needs assessments and training materials/documents.