UIW’s Center for Medical Tourism Research Collaborates with Centro Fox on Upcoming Seminar

The University of the Incarnate Word's Center for Medical Tourism Research (CMTR), in collaboration with Centro Fox, is presenting a special seminar titled "Strategies for the Development and Management of International Medical Tourism." Dr. David G. Vequist, founder and director of the Center, and Ilan Geva of the University of Chicago / DePaul University, will present to administrators and clinicians in the public and private medical sector, other medical tourism stakeholders and the general public on Oct. 19 and 22. Both seminars run from 9 – noon CT.

Learn more and register for the seminar here.

“This is an incredible opportunity to showcase the great work that we have been doing at the University for over a decade,” said Vequist. “To have a former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, and his organization work with us to help support the entire region of Latin America in the development of this industry is a great honor.”

According to the website for the seminar, the upcoming event “is designed to help hospital/clinic administrators, physicians, government officials, tourism coordinators, travel agents, and entrepreneurs to make informed decisions and achieve better outcomes for their organizations and the public they serve.”

The seminar will focus on the topic areas of industry best practices, demand trends, advertising and marketing, recruitment and training of health care practitioners, the economics of medical tourism, the development of healthcare clusters, and the support of government agencies and NGOs.

UIW’s Center for Medical Tourism was founded in 2009 and forms part of the Liza and Jack Lewis III Lewis Center of the Americas. The Center is devoted to medical tourism and travel research, and has consulted with numerous countries, produced many academic publications and been featured in national and international media. Vequist, who started research in medical tourism in 2008 and is regarded as one of the leading academic speakers and authors in this area, is excited about the upcoming events for the CMTR.

“Over the next few months, I will be presenting at medical tourism events in Colombia and Malaysia” said Vequist. “In addition, the Center has some new research coming out in the future that will be very significant and possibly help change international healthcare in very positive ways. Through our collaborations with the Lewis Center of the Americas, we hope to bring various stakeholders together to create more healthcare synergies between the U.S. and Latin America. Expect to see more events from the Center coming to the UIW campus next year.”

Over the last few years, Vequist has seen amazing trends in both domestic and international travel, which he says are changing the way traditional healthcare has been delivered.

“In many ways, the pandemic has forced these changes to come about more rapidly," he explained. "The forces of consumerization, globalization, and technology are finally having an impact on this industry like it has for every other business in the world.”

The vision of UIW’s CMTR is to “provide high-quality research and thought-leadership in the economic, social justice, and societal impacts of the Medical Tourism/Travel industry,” as well as to uphold the UIW Mission and core values.

Having a center for medical tourism research is important for many reasons, Vequist says.

“The great thing about having a world-renowned center focused on medical tourism is that it leads to deeper discussion about the social, ethical, global, and human aspects of healthcare. This fits perfectly with the Mission of the University and allows UIW to have a positive impact on potentially millions of people around the world. Everything that UIW is known for – being internationally focused, specializing in healthcare, and studying the ethics issues facing humanity – is all in one research center that is considered the leading worldwide institute in this area of study."