The comments came days after Turkey was rocked by a health scandal in the central Anatolian province of Afyonkarahisar, where seven patients were left blind after cataract operations at a private hospital.

None of the participants of the congress commented on the incident.

Dursun Aydın, the health tourism coordinator at the Health Ministry, said health tourism has become “an industry” in Turkey in the past five years. “Medical tourism, especially, has come to the fore. That’s why we are dealing with this issue in this year’s congress,” Aydın said. “From now on, the private sector will deal with investments in Turkey. The Health Ministry will only draw the lines.”

Medical Park’s Usta said that in the past, Turkish patients went abroad to get treatment, but the trend has reversed. “Turkey’s potential in healthcare is becoming global,” he said. “We will all see in the next few years mergers with international healthcare companies. Turkish companies will become brands in the global arena.”

Supporting the private sector

İbrahim Yazar, an official from the Culture Ministry, said the tourism sector should assess the opportunities in spa, wellness, thermal and medical tourism. Nihat Tosun, the undersecretary of health, said his ministry supports the private sector in its efforts in health tourism. “Foreign patients find Turkey cheap and qualified,” he said. “Turkey has the potential to become the thermal base of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia.”

Cevdet Erdöl, head of Parliament’s health commission, also attended the event. “Turkey is exporting health technology,” Erdöl said. “Constructing hospitals abroad can also be considered a type of health tourism. We should produce healthcare devices and offer them to our brother countries. Foreign physicians should also be working in Turkey.”

Speaking at various panels during the event, participants noted that medical tourism is a direct result of the “globalization of healthcare.” Constantine Constantinides from Greece noted the importance of “elderly tourism,” while Renée-Marie Stephano from the U.S. said long queues in hospitals in countries such as Canada or Britain force patients to look elsewhere. “We expect 1.6 million U.S. citizens to travel in the scope of health tourism in 2012,” Stephano said, also noting that cost savings differ greatly between countries.

“In the past, Asia was the capital of health tourism. Now Latin America is leading, while Africa is also developing rapidly,” said Prem Jagyasi, chief of the Global Healthcare Network. “Turkey is also delivering a high-quality service.”

The comments came days after Turkey was rocked by a health scandal in the central Anatolian province of Afyonkarahisar, where seven patients were left blind after cataract operations at a private hospital.

None of the participants of the congress commented on the incident.

Dursun Aydın, the health tourism coordinator at the Health Ministry, said health tourism has become “an industry” in Turkey in the past five years. “Medical tourism, especially, has come to the fore. That’s why we are dealing with this issue in this year’s congress,” Aydın said. “From now on, the private sector will deal with investments in Turkey. The Health Ministry will only draw the lines.”

Medical Park’s Usta said that in the past, Turkish patients went abroad to get treatment, but the trend has reversed. “Turkey’s potential in healthcare is becoming global,” he said. “We will all see in the next few years mergers with international healthcare companies. Turkish companies will become brands in the global arena.”

Supporting the private sector

İbrahim Yazar, an official from the Culture Ministry, said the tourism sector should assess the opportunities in spa, wellness, thermal and medical tourism. Nihat Tosun, the undersecretary of health, said his ministry supports the private sector in its efforts in health tourism. “Foreign patients find Turkey cheap and qualified,” he said. “Turkey has the potential to become the thermal base of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia.”

Cevdet Erdöl, head of Parliament’s health commission, also attended the event. “Turkey is exporting health technology,” Erdöl said. “Constructing hospitals abroad can also be considered a type of health tourism. We should produce healthcare devices and offer them to our brother countries. Foreign physicians should also be working in Turkey.”

Speaking at various panels during the event, participants noted that medical tourism is a direct result of the “globalization of healthcare.” Constantine Constantinides from Greece noted the importance of “elderly tourism,” while Renée-Marie Stephano from the U.S. said long queues in hospitals in countries such as Canada or Britain force patients to look elsewhere. “We expect 1.6 million U.S. citizens to travel in the scope of health tourism in 2012,” Stephano said, also noting that cost savings differ greatly between countries.

“In the past, Asia was the capital of health tourism. Now Latin America is leading, while Africa is also developing rapidly,” said Prem Jagyasi, chief of the Global Healthcare Network. “Turkey is also delivering a high-quality service.”