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Salut Empordà Healthcare Figueres Hospital near Barcelona is the first in Spain to get MTQUA international medical tourism accreditation.
Salut Empordà Hospital in Figueres establishes medical tourism leadership in Spain by giving international patients the highest international standard of care through certification from US-based Medical Travel Quality Alliance MTQUA.
April 25, 2018 – Barcelona and Scottsdale – Salut Empordà Healthcare Figueres Hospital becomes the first hospital in Spain to achieve certification in excellence of care for international patients from the Medical Travel Quality Alliance MTQUA, a global healthcare quality group.
“This seal of quality and professionalism builds trust and reassures the more than 3,000 medical tourists and visitors we get each year,” said Martí Masferrer, CEO Fundació Salut Empordà. “Quality, service, efficiency and transparency are values we uphold and, for this reason, our community is proud to be part of the great MTQUA family.”
Learn more about Salut Empordà Healthcare Figueres Hospital.
The hospital spent almost one year reviewing existing operations and putting in place procedures and policies that met the international standards and best practices set by MTQUA. The US-based organization studied the hospital’s internet marketing, communication procedures, privacy and security measures, multicultural sensitivity, International Patient Services department, care support services and certain operations and business procedures that influence the quality of treatment and care a medical tourist receives.
“From our first visit to Figueres Hospital, we knew it was a special place. The leadership and staff understood from their experiences that international patients and medical travelers have special needs different from local patients, so the changes and improvements we recommended were most welcome,” said Julie Munro, president of MTQUA. “Hospitals that ignore these differences take the chance that patient outcomes will not be as good as they should be, and that, instead of being cured, patients may have more health problems later.”
A hospital, clinic or medical tourism agency receives medical tourism certification through a formal evaluation against standards of quality in 10 non-clinical areas that directly influence a medical tourist’s wellbeing and good results. The MTQUA evaluation team reviews how a hospital manages a medical tourist starting with the inquiry process, through the intake procedure, and finally care management after discharge and after the patient returns home.
“We want to help medical travelers make their dreams come true, providing them with the services they are looking for, with comfort and professionalism, and at the same time enjoying the birthplace of the surrealist genius Salvador Dalí, and the great Mediterranean city of Barcelona,” added Masferrer.
Salut Empordà Healthcare (https://www.empordahealthcare.cat) (Fundació Salut Empordà) is a non-profit foundation originally established in 1313 as a hospital for the poor. The framework of the Foundation encompasses primary care, specialized care and socio-sanitary care. The Foundation manages the Hospital de Figueres (MTQUA certified hospital), the Basic Health Area of l’Escala and the Bernat Jaume center.
Medical Travel Quality Alliance (MTQUA, https://mtqua.org), an independent international organization founded in 2009 to promote the special safety and quality needs in treatment and care of medical tourists, awards the Top 10 World’s Best Hospitals For Medical Tourists™ and publishes Best Practices in Medical Tourism. Medical tourism certification from MTQUA is the only global certification program in care and services for international patients for hospitals, clinics, treatment centers, service agencies, and related providers.
Contact:
Caroline Bodanis, caroline@mtqua.org
Telephone (USA) +1 602-635-4664
(Thailand) +66 85 902 4500
