Three clinics accredited for medical tourism

Three clinics in Costa Rica obtained the international certification that makes its services equal to those given in the United States.

The accreditation was delivered by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Facilities (AAAASF), a recognized organization from the United States Health Department.

This approval from the AAAASF allows the medical centers to give health services to 25,000 foreigners who come to Costa Rica every year to look for cheaper treatment and surgeries that keep great quality.

Certified clinics are: UNIBE that offers ambulatory and surgery attention; Sonrisa para Todos (Smile for Everybody) specialized in dental treatments and Pino plastic surgery clinic.

To obtain the authorization of the American authorities all the clinics were submitted to a six-month analysis which included check outs of the infrastructure and resources. The process was focused mainly in the aspects that guarantee the security and safeness of the patients that will be attending those clinics.

The international accreditation of the health services allows us to place Costa Rica in countries like the United States. Costa Rica is the first Latin American country that carries on a project of this size. Affirmed Jorge Cortes, president of Promed.

Promed is in charge of promoting the local offer for the medical tourism outside the country and assure its quality.

Services. A study of the Competitiveness Ministry, government entity in charge of launching health tourism, found that aesthetic surgeries cover 13% of the procedures that foreigners look for when coming to Costa Rica. A 35% also visits the country with dental purposes.

Medical tourists spend between $400 to $600 daily, while the average visitor spends $100.

The offer of the accredited enterprises by American quality norms and foreigners treatment increased to six in the country.

Besides the three clinics, Clinica Biblica Hospital, Cima and La Catolica Hospital count with the approval of the Joint Commission International Accreditation.

This entity matched the quality of the services given in Costa Rica by the three hospitals with the ones given in the United States. The took place from the 2008 and this year.