Today’s most loved and successful brands – Apple, Starbucks, Disney - are NOT about selling cell phones, coffee and rides.  Instead, they offer an experience “around” and complimentary TO the product they sell.  By understanding and meeting their clients’ needs, they tap into their emotions and create true and loyal fans.

Healthcare has embraced this shift to “Experience Marketing” in recent years and most hospitals now have some kind of “Patient Experience Manager” on the Marketing Team.  Their job is to understand the expectations and needs of the patient, reduce readmissions and help develop risk-management protocols and patient-centric services designed to exceed expectations, reduce costs and establish themselves as a “Top Hospital.” Ironically, as much as conventional healthcare mocks the idea of Medical Tourism, they could learn a lot from those that have long been doing it successfully!  

Medical Tourism was the first to recognize the patient as a consumer and those that saw the most success, quickly innovated their Value Proposition from selling a surgery to offering an End-to-End EXPERIENCE – one that patients raved that they could never get at home!  

As a former Medical Tourism Facilitator, the IMTCC’s Founder learned that the key to her success came from living in the destination country and being able to hand-hold the patient (and surgeon) through the entire experience.  This daily intimacy permitted her to design effective processes to meet the needs of both doctor and patient and consistently exceeded the expectations of both!

Look at the most outstanding reviews by Medical Tourism patients (when needs are met and expectations are exceeded), you will see 3 common points when they describe their experience:  

• Their confidence in the surgeon and his ability to give them the results they want. 
• How supported, safe and special they felt – the surgeon really listened to them, they received extra medical attention (daily nursing visits), friendly ‘Concierge staff’ to offer support and help between office visits, reducing their stress & worry and how it improved their recovery. 
• And lastly but most revealing is that they do NOT talk about a “low price!” Instead they say that “it was so worth it,” and “they could never get (and are never offered) this level of care at home,” and they would “do it all again” AND… were eager to return for another procedure because of the exceptional experience!

Does it surprise you to hear that, in the end, it’s really NOT about the money? 

A study about Best Marketing Strategies in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal found that it “is worth noting that most patients would accept higher costs if it correlated to an outstanding result and helped limit pain/discomfort.”

More than 17 years’ experience in many countries proves this.  Investing in the patient’s recovery process will improve their experience and pay huge dividends.  Integrate our unique aftercare & support services into your services rather than just recommending them. 

Undergoing a treatment or a surgery is just one part of an extended (and fragmented) experience – 

and those of us ‘on the ground’ in Medical Tourism were well ahead of the curve in recognizing this and 

focusing our services on Experience and Supply Chain Management.  These are the CXOs of Medical Tourism!

Today’s healthcare industry now fully acknowledges the Patient Experience (PX) with Top Hospitals creating the role of a CXO (Chief Experience Officer) tasked with humanizing and improving the PX within the hospital. 

So, where should the focus of our industry be in order to take control of the industry’s overall brand reputation, guarantee integrity, assure sustainable growth and transform Medical Tourism into a respected Health CARE Delivery System?

The Integrity and Standardization of the Complex Value Chain of the In-Country Patient Experience  

Applying “Experience Marketing” to ALL of your patients (not just medical tourists!) can help you take your practice and your reputation to another level.  It IS the future. We can help you…

• • Distinguish yourself from your peers, locally & internationally
  • Provide an exceptional experience for all of your patients 
  • Establish yourself as an expert and innovator in your specialty
  • Abandon unethical commissions and limiting contracts for the IMTCC’s transparent model that promotes Advocacy, Aftercare and Accountability
  • Recognize the importance of the post-op period to minimize complications &ensure great results
  • Build a large base of devoted fans (both local & global) doing your best marketing for you!

The IMTCC is your architect and contractor.  We see the future of healthcare and have the blueprint for its successful construction.  We handle every component in the construction and delivery of an Exceptional Patient Experience that ends up on social media and organically grows your online reputation and visibility… and allows you to focus on what YOU love most: performing surgery.