Articles & News

Bridging Culture and Care: Insights from Dr. Heitham Hassoun, Chief Executive of Cedars-Sinai International

GHA Accreditation for Medical Tourism Cedars Sinai
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In Pursuit of Excellence: CEO Spotlight with Ms. Artirat Charukitpipat

CEO Spotlight with Ms. Artirat Charukitpipat
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Are You Using SIT’s in Your Medical Travel Program?

Standardized information templates (SIT’s) are a quick and easy way to improve operational efficiency and the patient experience, regardless of the stage of development of your medical travel program. Traveling patients are often seeking information and price estimates from multiple healthcare providers, the quicker you are able to respond with information that is relevant to their needs, the likelier it is that you will gain their trust.
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Medical Travel Programs Must Rethink Strategies in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis

The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed life as we know it. Healthcare provision, travel, the economy and social norms have all changed drastically in what seems like the blink of an eye. Like most industries, medical travel has been hit hard. Fear of contracting the virus – particularly in a hospital setting, lack of healthcare capacity, travel bans, and economic hardship don’t exactly make it easy for patients to seek elective treatments at home, much less in other regions or countries.
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5 Resources for Improving the Patient Experience for Medical Travelers

Patients face unique challenges when seeking care in a different country or region. There may be fear of the unknown, long flights, cultural and language barriers, and being away from friends and family - all while preparing for a major surgery or treatment.
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Judging a Book by its Cover – The impact of the physical environment on patient perceptions and wellbeing

atients often judge the quality of a provider’s medical services based on their perceptions of a hospital’s physical environment. Walk into a hospital with stained walls and trash scattered along the floors and you’re likely to do a one eighty and head back out the door.
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Global Healthcare Accreditation and the Quality and Accreditation Institute Announce Strategic Partnership to Offer Medical Travel Accreditation in India

The Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) Program for Medical Travel Services and the Quality & Accreditation Institute (QAI), have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration between the two accreditation programs to strengthen the protocols and services provided by healthcare providers to medical travel and international patients in India.
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GHA and AACI Sign Memorandum of Understanding

Medical tourism accreditation
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Global Healthcare Accreditation Releases its Latest Standards for Medical Travel Services

The Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) Program for Medical Travel Services recently announced the release of GHA Standards 4.1 for hospitals and ambulatory medical centers with medical travel programs.
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Phyathai 1 Hospital Achieves GHA's COVID-19 Certification of Conformance for Medical Travel

Medical tourism certification
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The Silent Patient – What you don’t know can hurt you

As the head of a hospital or hospital department you are probably not in the habit of waking up each morning thinking: “Wow, the sun is shining, the coffee is percolating, and I just can’t wait to see all the new patient complaints we’ll receive today!''
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GHA Leadership Off To Asia

Karen Timmons, CEO of Global Healthcare Accreditation and Dr. Paul Van Ostenberg, Chairman of the Standards Committee departed June 13th for a 10 day whirlwind business tour of several APAC countries including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
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Accreditation Program for Hotels and Resorts to Fight COVID-19

medical tourism, accreditation, hotels
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Saudi Insurer Will Contract with Select GHA Accredited Healthcare Providers

Saudi Enaya Cooperative Insurance Company announced today that it will pursue contracts with selected healthcare providers accredited by the Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) Program, an independent accrediting body that seeks to improve the patient experience and excellence of care received by patients who travel for their medical care and treatment.
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Bumrungrad International Hospital is First to Achieve GHA’s COVID-19 Certification of Conformance for Medical Travel

Covid-19 Certification medical tourism
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Mobile App Used to Enhance the Patient Experience

Getting lost on a hospital’s sprawling campus or labyrinth of hallways may soon be a thing of the past. A healthcare provider in New York State recently implemented a wayfinding app that allows patients to quickly navigate to any area of the hospital or hospital campus.
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GHA Goes to Europe

On May 14th and 15th, a diverse group of medical travel stakeholders descended on Athens, Greece to network and discuss the latest trends in European and global medical travel.
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GHA Meets with Healthcare Leaders in Thailand

GHA's Karen Timmons, Dr. Paul Van Ostenberg and Somporn Kumphong meeting with International Health Division at Thailand’s Ministry of Health (above). June 20th, 2017.
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Airports, Planes and Patients: Don’t let what you can’t control, negatively impact patient satisfaction

For someone who is ill or suffers from a serious medical condition, the act of preparing for surgery or treatment can be debilitating both mentally and physically. In the best of cases the person may face multiple doctor appointments, medical exams, financial burdens, and perhaps even doubts about the ultimate success of the treatment, all while attempting to balance work and family commitments.
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Patient-Centered Care Runs More than Skin Deep

A flutter of the drapes causes you to stir, bringing into focus a rippling of light and shadow along a mahogany paneled wall. Your eyes drift across the lavish décor of your suite and slowly come to rest on a crumpled mass of pale green sheets lying on a futon couch nearby. Almost immediately the cheerful hum of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons fills the room, followed by the soft patter of footsteps.
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