New US-based medical tourism association

The International Association of Medical Tourism (IAMT) is a new non-profit organisation, based in New Jersey, USA, committed to offering wellness services to healthcare seekers worldwide. It is a coalition of hospitals, doctors, healthcare service providers and volunteers. It arranges care for patients, who are association members, but takes no fee as the patient pays the hospital direct. IAMT aims to offer a range of benefits to member healthcare providers, insurance companies and agencies. The founders have been long time volunteers in various international humanitarian activities. Voluntee

The International Association of Medical Tourism (IAMT) is a new non-profit organisation, based in New Jersey, USA, committed to offering wellness services to healthcare seekers worldwide. It is a coalition of hospitals, doctors, healthcare service providers and volunteers. It arranges care for patients, who are association members, but takes no fee as the patient pays the hospital direct.

IAMT aims to offer a range of benefits to member healthcare providers, insurance companies and agencies. The founders have been long time volunteers in various international humanitarian activities. Volunteerism is the base of the organisation. A number of IAMT professionals and associates provide honorary services as volunteers. There are membership fees, a minimal part of which will go towards administrative expenses and the rest will be used for a ‘Donate a Surgery’ programme.

IAMT seeks to provide an unbiased source of information for patients, insurance companies and employers about top hospitals and their quality of care. The organization aims to offer medical guidance, treatment, and assistance to the uninsured, under-insured and anyone within the US in need of additional resources.

A key aim is to offer international patients the power to choose by providing information about doctors and hospitals, enabling them to make informed decisions.

Founder and president Naresh Jadeja said: “We can help them. We will provide information about these facilities and detailed avenues from whom to seek help. No one should have to compromise with their health. You meet so many people and you hear so many stories about somebody who couldn’t pay for that knee-replacement surgery or a cancer patient who was denied treatment for some reason or the other. But there are several reputed hospitals even within the US and overseas which offer affordable treatment options to the uninsured and the under-insured.”

Jadeja told IMTJ: “Our healthcare awareness campaign will provide information for all destinations including US, Europe, Canada, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. There are medical tourism associations other than IAMT but every organisation has its own set of goals, values and mission. Our initial focus is Americans but we want to be worldwide.”

It has already opened a regional office for the Asia Pacific region to provide information about US and Europe hospitals to patients in Asia Pacific countries. It will also oversee all logistic operations of IAMT in India, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, UAE, and the Philippines. Businessman N.D Rana is the regional president. It plans to run conferences in 2010 in Mumbai, India and Newark, USA, both with a focus on Asia.