Dr. Fawzi Al-Hamouri, Chairman of the Private Hospitals Association (PHA), participated in a specialized seminar at the Royal Jordanian National Defense College entitled “Treatment Policies and Assessment of Medical Institution in Jordan” as part of the national policies course curriculum. Also participating were: Director General of the Royal Medical Services, Major General Dr. Muin Al-Habashneh, and Health Ministry Secretary General Dr. Leil Al Fayez on behalf of the Minister.
Dr. Al-Hammouri, gave a presentation about Investment in the private health sector and Jordan’s success story in Medical tourism. One of the main factors in Jordan’s distinction in medical tourism is the investment in its human resources; many of Jordan’s doctors got the medical education and specialization abroad in the USA, UK Canada and other European countries, currently there are 30,000 Jordanian doctor and the percentage of doctors is 28.6 per 10,000 which is considered pretty high. On the other hand all other medical professions such as dentists, pharmacists, nurses, biomedical engineers, lab technicians are highly trained and have contributed in the Jordanian health renaissance.
Al-Hammouri pointed out that there 115 hospitals in Jordan, 68 of them are in the private sector with investment exceeding 3 billion JOD. These hospitals provide 30,000 jobs of which 95% are Jordanians, and they provide excellent medical treatment for all sectors in the Jordanian society in addition to foreign patients. Jordan was elected to reside the Global Healthcare Travel Council (GHTC) 2015-5017, and was awarded the best medical tourism destination award in the MENA region in 2014, moreover, the Jordanian Competitiveness and Innovation Council classified Medical tourism among the top 5 competitiveness Jordanian sectors.
Al-Hammouri also pointed out the main attributes that make Jordan a prime medical tourism destination, including its strategic geographical location, Jordanian hospitality, variety of touristic and natural offerings, competitive prices, and high quality of medical services; 10 Jordanian hospitals have acquired international accreditation 8 of them are in the private sector, and 25 have acquired HCAC accreditation. Jordan is also known for its safety and security as it has been ranked number 13 among 131 countries in safety by the World Economic Forum.
Dr. Al-Hammouri also talked about the new medical tourism portal “MedXJordan” that was launched to utilize new technology in promoting Jordan as a medical tourism destination and to link patients from abroad directly with caregivers in Jordan, saying it is an excellent example of public and private sector partnership.
Chairman of the Private Hospitals Association also introduced the role of PHA in promoting Jordan as a medical tourism destination through participation in local, regional, and international conferences and exhibitions, and organizing familiarization tours from abroad to introduce them to the advanced medical facilities that provide excellent healthcare. Dr. Al-Hammouri briefed the audience about the Global Healthcare Travel Forum that organized by PHA under the royal patronage from His Majesty King Abdulla II and was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Dr. Hani Al-Mulqi in February 2017. The forum which was attended by 650 delegates from 42 countries, announced “Amman Declaration” to broaden the scope of health travel to include eight segments “(HT8) Health Travel 8”, which include: medical tourism, dental tourism, spa tourism, wellness tourism, culinary tourism, sports tourism, Accessible tourism and Assisted Residential tourism, especially that Jordan is well equipped to receive tourists in all these segments to increase the number of health travelers from abroad.
During his closing remarks Dr. Al-Hammouri expressed his concern regarding the decrease in the numbers of patients coming to Jordan for treatment due to several reasons, including the government’s new regulations to restrict entry from certain Arab countries which are considered main targets for medical tourism, and the regional and international competition from other countries which are investing heavily to promote medical tourism to replace Jordan as a prime destination.