Guide to Health Tourism Exporting

Medical TourismGUIDE TO EXPORTING HEALTH SERVICES

Maria K Todd, MHA PhDExecutive Director

The Healthcare Business Institutean international nonprofit NGO

About Your Presenter Master of Health Administration

Doctor of Health Administration

Former Surgical Nurse | Former Travel Agent - AAA Worldwide Travel Agency

CEO of the largest health tourism company in the world

Author of 4 Books on Medical Tourism

Health tourism exporters sell billions of dollars of goods

and services to international patients every year– and

you can be one of them. Exporting health tourism can be an optimum way for you to grow your business.

ARE YOU READY TO EXPORT YOUR

HEALTH TOURISM SERVICES?

© 2013. Healthcare Business Institute - EXPORTING HEALTH SERVICES: Medical Tourism All International Rights Reserved.

Organizational Commitment

Is your organization’s executive leadership committed to exporting

and willing and able to dedicate properly trained staff and

resources?

Is your organization willing and able to travel internationally, such as

attending trade shows and meeting and hosting fam tours in-

country with potential foreign buyers/distributors and media

representatives?

Does your organization have a clear process in place to respond to

international inquiries from all sources (web, email, phone calls,

etc.)?


Planning & Strategy

Does your organization have or is your organization preparing an

international marketing plan with defined goals, strategies and

target markets?

Has your organization updated your website to emphasize your

interest/ability to provide transparent services pricing and provide services with cultural and linguistic readiness for foreign patients?

Does your organization have adequate knowledge on how to

protect your intellectual property internationally?


Export Process

Does your organization have adequate knowledge in arranging health travel logistics and transportation for patients from overseas; such as secure medical records transfer, medical records translation, telehealth consultations with attending physicians, and travel planning?

Does your organization have adequate knowledge about contracting with third-party insurers, foreign employers, and consumers and have payment options such as letters of credit, payment guarantee letters, facilitator contracts, and country representative agreements?

Does your organization have adequate knowledge of the foreign legal and regulatory requirements specific to your services/products?


Collaboration and SupportBUILDING A SUCCESSFUL MEDICAL TOURISM PROGRAM


Framework ContractsThe Healthcare Business Institute – a nonprofit NGO, is active in international development, medical tourism capacity development and institutional readiness assistance.

Whether your hospital, clinic or hotel is new to health tourism or in need of a refresher on the latest ideas and techniques, we will source and manage your project to bring medical tourism experts that provide the nuts-and-bolts information your organization needs to meet the challenges of the health travel and tourism world economy.

Short-term experts and technical advisers will help you meet international customer, foreign investors, and develop meaningful relationships to boost referrals and exports.

We work with government agencies to find ways to leverage government resources and programs to more effectively market and drive inbound referrals from overseas.


International Trade EventsThe Healthcare Business Institute organizes international trade events – which can include:

Webinars and seminars on the fundamentals of medical tourism exportation

Counseling and other support at U.S. and international trade shows;

Recruitment of foreign buyer delegations to trade shows

Fam tour arrangements for foreign buyers to visit your facility; and

Trade missions of delegates to foreign markets for one-on-one meetings with

potential customers and partners.


Planning & StrategyThe Healthcare Business Institute has developed the Medical Tourism Export Business Planner for health tourism suppliers to answer critical questions for

hospitals and hotels entering export markets.

The Planner provides a discussion and series of worksheets to get your

organization thinking about marketing health services to export markets

Conducting market research about buyers in target markets

Tips on marketing your medical tourism product or service

Best practice tips on entering foreign markets

Identifying customers within your chosen markets

About international quality and safety accreditation and certifications


Market ResearchThe Healthcare Business Institute helps international healthcare facilities identify products and services with health tourism export potential through specialisedmarket research and analysis.

Assessing strengths and weaknesses of services you believe have health tourism export potential

Select the most exportable health tourism services to be offered

Evaluate the services to be offered – choose safest, simplest services to start

Matching health tourism services with global trends and needs

Identifying the largest, most profitable, fastest-growing foreign markets for those services

Determining the most penetrable markets for your health tourism exports


FACTAccording to HBI market research, new-to-medical tourism

organizations often tend to choose too many markets and too many

procedures at first. For most health tourism facilities and programs,

choosing one to three foreign markets initially is recommended.


Services & Markets to Pursue

Markets to Pursue

Most Penetrable Markets

Match Services to Global Trends /Needs

Services with Export Potential

Industry Analysis

Business Analysis

Sustainable Community Benefits / Trade-offs


Health Tourism Goal Setting

Summarize your short- and long-term goals for health tourism exports

For each market, determine:

Medical Tourism Product Standards

Accreditation and Certification Requirements Expected by the Market

Product Modifications / Support Required

Establish two-year goals for your health tourism export services

Establish five-year goals for your health tourism export services

Define key performance indicators

Develop an action plan and timelines coupled with resources and budgets


Identify Representatives and FacilitatorsIf you choose to use agencies or medical tourism facilitators, you will need to sign a

formal contractual agreement. The agreement will define your relationships:

Specify performance objectives and brand standards to be upheld

Describe territories and whether the agent or facilitator will have exclusive sales and

representation rights

Set the length of the term for which the agreement is applicable and agree upon specified

minimum sales volumes to retain sales rights

Outline protection of intellectual property

Describe other obligations imposed, violations of which would justify termination of the

agreement.

List specific intellectual property rights granted to the agencies or facilitator

Define financial terms and payment arrangements


Agency and MTF Agreements

When negotiating and drafting contractual

agreements, consult an attorney with

experience in international trade and laws of

the specified country


Health Tourism Export ProgramsPROGRAMMING COST ACCOUNTING


Health Tourism Service Line Costs

This should be calculated separately from your local service costs

Implants and Consumables

Direct Labor (Doctors, Nursing and Admin)

Service Modifications for International Patients

Overheads Costs

Selling Expenses

General Expenses (including debt service)

Administrative Expenses

Export Marketing Costs

Profit Margins

Procedure Pricing


Health Tourism Service Line Costs

Additional Costs

Foreign Sales Commissions

International patient department costs

Destination management costs /pass thru costs

Professional liability premium costs

Translation costs

Trade show shipping and customs fees & insurances

Trade show staffing costs

Cost of credit or capital

Bank transaction fees

Total Additional Export Costs


Health Tourism International Marketing Costs

Expense

Accounting Fees

Legal Fees

Promotional Material

Travel

Communication (international and domestic)

Advertising allowances

Promotional expenses

Shipping and customs fees for trade show materials

Stand expenses

Total Marketing Fees and Costs


Projected Income – Per Market Gross Profit

Sales Volumes

Cost of Goods Sold

Gross Margin

International Operating Expense

International Patient Department Operations

International Patient Department Training & Development

Staff Nurse Training & Development (Medical English)

All previously identified Service Line and Marketing Costs

International Division’s Domestic Expense Allocation


Track Costing and Revenue per Market.

Don’t smear revenue performance!

Setting Your Prices Direct supply and labor costs

Prorated overheads

Operating Expenses

All international health tourism export associated costs

Allowance: (for unforeseen production costs, operating expenses, unavoidable risks

and simple mistakes that are common in any new undertaking)

Profit / Markup

• Commissions – if any

• Consulting fees

• Communications

• Foreign advertising

• Legal expenses

• Interest payments

• Market research

• Product modification

• Promotional materials

• Provision for bad debt

• Translation costs

• Transportation costs

• Travel expenses

• Other costs


Take volume discounts from the

profit, not the direct costs!

UTILIZING TECHNOLOGYFOR SUCCESSFUL HEALTH TOURISM EXPORTING


Key Elements of E-Commerce

Online presence for your company (a website)

Providing information in your target market’s native language(s)

Key words embedded in your website, so that your company is

found by online search engines

Payment processing

There is one caution for start-up health tourism exporters who plan online sales and the use of

credit cards for e-commerce. Market research indicates that the unauthorized use of credit cards

for international payments is the fastest-growing fraud in international commerce.

If you plan to have a representative in a certain country that is selling on your behalf and

accepting credit cards on your behalf, they must be in compliance with various internet safety

regulations. This includes PCI and HI-TECH in the USA and other similar regulations in the EU.


Equipping Your International Patient

Department for Success Conference Calling

Contact Management capable of 14-digit

dialing

Web and Video Calling

Handy/Mobile Phones

Voice mail with outgoing messages in

several languages

Secure email and fax

Website – optimized for foreign market SEO

Computers with high-speed internet access

Antivirus utilities

Firewalls

Accounting / healthcare revenue cycle

package that can accommodate currency

conversions and coding translations


TIMETABLE STEPSFOR SUCCESSFUL HEALTH TOURISM EXPORTING


Timetable Steps

Identify Key Activities

Assign responsibility for each activity

Determine scheduled start date

Set key performance indicators and performance benchmarks

Determine “go live” date


Marketing Plan Summary

For bankers and lenders

For management team leaders and key staff

Potential investors

For international partners – tailored to each specific or potential audience, as needed


Conclusion

The Healthcare Business Institute is a nonprofit international NGO that specializes in framework contract management and brings the know-how of more than 100 seasoned international health tourism short-term experts and technical advisors ready to help you achieve success

Market Research

Product modification for the international market

International quality and safety accreditation preparation

Strategic Planning & Implementation

Staff Training and Development

Technical assistance (marketing and e-commerce)

Health tourism exporters sell billions of dollars of goods and services to international patients every year– and you can be one of them. Exporting health tourism can be an optimum way for you to grow your business.


Contact Information

Dr. Maria Todd

Executive Director

Healthcare Business Institute, Inc.at the Posner Center for International Development

1031 33rd Street

Denver, Colorado 80202

+1.800.209.7263

The Posner Center for International Development houses 30+ organizations, 120 employees, hundreds of interns and volunteers, a farmers’ market, a learning laboratory, a lecture hall, exhibition and meeting space, and more. This unique community serves as a collaborative epicenter of international development.

Documents

Guide to Health Tourism Exporting