A Medical Device Daily

AeroMexico (Houston) and the Medical Tourism Association (West Palm Beach, Florida) reported a new partnership to support a medical tourism initiative for patients traveling from the U.S. to Latin American markets for medical treatment. The Medical Tourism Association has designated AeroMexico as the preferred airline for patients of its medical service providers in Latin America.

The association cited the airline's service and that it has more non-stop flights than any other airline from the U.S. to Mexico City with connecting service to other Latin American destinations. Patients, whose needs range from medical and dental care to cosmetic surgery, and their travel companions will be eligible for special travel packages through the airline's designated travel wholesalers and the AeroMexico and Medical Tourism Association websites.

Demand among U.S. residents for medical treatment, including elective surgery, in other countries is projected to quadruple from 1.5 million patients in 2008 to six million in 2010 as individuals as well as health insurance companies and employers seek quality medical care alternatives that are either not available or not as affordable in the U.S.

By 2017, it is estimated that as many as 23 million Americans could be traveling internationally and spending almost $79.5 billion a year for medical care, according to the Deloitte Report, Medical Tourism, Consumers in Search of Value, 2008.

Jonathan Edelheit, president of the Medical Tourism Association, said, "Latin America is poised to become one of the top destinations for medical tourism for U.S. residents, which is why we are so excited about this partnership. We believe patients and their families will have a significant comfort level knowing they are in good hands with AeroMexico. Our association's focus on ensuring the highest quality care for patients in the international medical community now includes their travel arrangements as well."

In other agreements/contracts news, Premier Purchasing Partners (Charlotte, North Carolina) reported that new agreements for nurse call systems have been awarded to Hill-Rom Company (Batesville, Indiana), Rauland-Borg (Mount Prospect, Illinois) and West-Com Nurse Call Systems (Danville, California).

Effective April 1, the 36-month agreements are available to acute- and continuum-of-care members of the Premier healthcare alliance.