LATAM is consolidating its position as a competitive healthcare alternative for thousands of international travelers seeking high-quality medical care at an affordable cost. To maximize its potential as a unified destination, we will explore the opportunities and challenges that require the strategic alignment of the countries in the region. We will present the perspectives, learnings, vision and success stories from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Panama and Guatemala.

The pandemic, the digital transformation and the changing habits of the new generations have significantly impacted the health and tourism sectors. This situation highlights the need to address new challenges to be able to anticipate and respond effectively to the requirements of professionals and technicians in these industries. It represents a great challenge that leads us to reflect on what will be the competencies and strategies to train, attract and retain our human talent.

Undoubtedly, new technologies play an essential role in medical decision making in order to promote patient wellbeing. We have at our disposal multiple resources, such as the electronic medical record, image digitalization, mobile applications, telemedicine, big data and artificial intelligence, which make it easier for healthcare centers, insurers, the pharmaceutical sector and regulators to build an ecosystem that promotes accessibility and continuity of care, to open the way to a more personalized, preventive and predictive medicine.

Tourism is the main economic engine of the country and despite the great challenges it has faced in recent years, it has demonstrated its strength and resilience. The leadership of the tourism and health cabinets, the public-private synergies, the effective management of the challenges of the pandemic, the robustness and confidence of the financial sector, have allowed to continue making new investments in technology, tourism, and health infrastructure, boosting economic development, job creation and health and wellness tourism.

The Dominican Republic has established itself as the leading medical tourism destination in the Caribbean region. However, we must recognize that competition is global and we have important challenges to address. Therefore, we need information for effective and timely decision making. We will present the results of the second diagnostic study of health and wellness tourism, which will provide us with updated post-pandemic data to be able to carry out better strategic planning for the sector at the national and regional levels.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) declared the Dominican Republic the first country in the world to achieve full tourism recovery after the pandemic. The leadership exhibited by the tourism cabinet and the Dominican Ministry of Tourism was characterized by an unprecedented multi-sector public-private partnership, from which there are many lessons learned. In this presentation we will also look at innovations, data and diversification strategies, which will be part of the pillars to continue positioning the destination.

The patient experience encompasses the patient’s journey, from the first contact with a destination, medical center, insurance coverage, cost transparency and continuity of care, access to their records and medications, and numerous factors related to expectations, cultural competencies, quality and warmth of service. It is a concept that has been evolving and includes new technological advances and indicators that will be part of the discussion of this interesting forum.

The quality and safety of health services are the main attribute to position a health center and a destination. In this panel we will discuss local standards of qualification, local quality seal initiative and international accreditations as a fundamental part of creating a culture of quality, patient, and family centered care.

Wellness tourism represents more than 600 billion dollars worldwide, making it an important and desirable niche market for Latin America. The Dominican Republic has a magnificent natural environment and a solid hotel infrastructure that allows us to create an attractive complementary wellness offer. Likewise, our political and economic stability and the strengthening of the health and medical tourism sector allow us to glimpse the potential for the development of retirement communities.

For a health center to stand out internationally, it requires planning, a focus on protocols, quality, safety, differentiating factors and an effective communication strategy to attract patients. In this panel we will talk about the health services that support the Dominican offer for medical tourism and what are its main competitive advantages, challenges and opportunities to expand its reach.