1st December 2017

For the first time, a delegation of Italian hospitals had the chance to meet and introduce itself to local Ministries, Authorities and healthcare providers. The three-day missions resulted in a great success and laid the foundations for interesting business opportunities for all participants.

The delegation, organized by Destination Health and Intercare and under the patronage of AIOP, the Association of Italian Private Hospitals, and Assolombarda, the entrepreneur association of Lombardy region, part of national Confindustria, included: Fondazione Mondino, Gruppo CIDIMU, Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato and IEO – Istituto Europeo di Oncologia. The mission was organized in partnership with Royalty Consultants, which is Destination Health representative in the region. 

On day one, the delegation met with the International Patient care Division of HAAD (Health Authority Abu Dhabi). The Director, her deputy and two doctors responsible for the evaluation of healthcare providers showed great interest in oncology, endocrinology, genetics, neurology, transplant and rehabilitation therapies and in their pricing, where Italy can be very competitive with USA and Germany, countries where HAAD is presently sending patients from the area.

Second meeting was with the Deputy Chief Operating Officer of VPS Healthcare, the biggest provider in the Emirates, with 20 hospitals, over 125 medical centres, 10.000 employees and medical support services spread across the Middle East, Europe and India. It was a great occasion for a first-hand overview of the public and private healthcare system in UAE and an exchange of views on the need of strengthening medical research in the Emirates and in developing new cooperations with Italian Hospitals.

On November 27 the delegation met the Ministry of Health and Prevention, in charge of all the 7 Emirates of UAE. The director of the department and physicians responsible for the evaluation of hospitals seemed very interested in meeting Italian hospitals, an area yet to be considered by them. This meeting, too, was lively with questions and answers going beyond the plain presentation of services.

Following, the meeting with the Saudi German Hospital, one of the most important centres in the Emirates and the Middle East, was very promising, too. Italian hospitals met the General Manager and the Marketing Manager who explained how their hospital carries out its captive strategies to attract international patients.  They also explained how the visiting professor program works and how they promote the cooperation with international doctors and providers. The day ended with an encounter with the Italian Ambassador in Abu Dhabi, His Excellency Liborio Stellino, who gave the participants a very interesting overview of the Emirates geopolitical situation and of the evolution of its Healthcare system with the opportunities for providers.

The last day of the Italian mission started with a visit to Dubai Health Authority (DHA) in the presence of its Director and four doctors who expressed the appreciation for Italian doctors and medical competence and were happy to finally be able to meet with a group of Italian hospitals to evaluate possibilities of cooperation.

The delegation met with the management of Dubai Healthcare City, a huge strategic development was the Emirates, and Dubai in particular, wish to create a brand new ecosystem with medical schools, hospitals, research centers, investors, pharmaceutical and medical devices companies. Developed as a free zone with a dedicated set of regulations, it is located in the heart of Dubai and comprises two phases. Phase 1 of the development is dedicated to medicine, while Phase 2 will be dedicated to wellness and rehabilitation.

The last part of the mission was the meeting with the Italian Consul in Dubai, Valentina Setta who told the delegation that the interest towards Italy has been growing more and more in the past year, and in particular after EXPO and the number of people who want to combine tourism with a medical check-up in Italy is raising, too.

Destination Health believes that this has been a very important step for Italian Hospitals and, in a broader view, for Italy as a destination for medical tourism, proving that the network approach can be an appropriate strategy, as testified also by the Italian Ambassador.

UAE Health Authorities and Healthcare providers had the chance to discover the level of excellence of Italy offer and our potential as a destination. Now it’s time to put these efforts into practice and to start turning this interest into cooperation opportunities.