The World Medical Tourism and Global Health Congress in September marked the first annual conference for the Medical Tourism Association, which was attended by 850 representatives of 45 countries.

In addition to the large attendance, 53 exhibitors and sponsors showcased their high quality healthcare and services at the San Francisco event between September 9 and 12, 2008.

The conference provided valuable lessons through advanced workshops, focusing upon marketing, building international patient departments, legal issues, quality of care and medical tourism facilitator hot topics.

Medical tourism was discussed by participants from Black & Decker, Procter & Gamble and Hannaford Brothers, during the Employers panel session.

The benefits and negatives of medical tourism were discussed at the insurance company panel session, where Swiss Re, united Healthcare, CIGNA and Assurant Health participated.

The conference also underwent substantial media coverage, through MSNBC, Human Resources Executive Magazine, Business Insurance and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Over 3,000 one-on-one networking meetings were organized through the event, facilitating contracts between insurance companies, hospitals, clinics and others.

The ADA, AMA and ASPS spoke regarding medical tourism, for the first time at such a conference.

The 2nd Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress will take place October 26-28th, 2009 in Los Angeles, California at the Hyatt Century Plaza.