A new accreditation scheme for medical travel facilitators has been launched, according to Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA), to increase patient confidence. The goal of GHA's Medical Travel Facilitator Certification is to verify that companies that facilitate medical tourism are capable of offering clients services that improve patient safety and satisfaction throughout the entire medical travel patient journey and are consistent with the facilitator company's business model. Medical travel coordinators have long served as vital bridges between patients and healthcare professionals.

Their assistance with travel arrangements, information about the doctor, and ensuring a smooth treatment journey are just a few of the things they offer. Many patients' primary driving force or motivation for selecting a certain destination provider is the medical travel facilitator. However, because medical travel facilitation is an unregulated profession, it can be challenging for patients to tell the difference between a facilitator with experience and reputable affiliations and one who is more concerned with their interests than their website may suggest.

"The Medical Travel Facilitator Certification provides a trusted third-party validation that shows patients and healthcare providers that a facilitator's services meet the highest standards and are in line with international best practices," says Wiliam Cook, director of business development and marketing at Global Healthcare Accreditation. Patients can now look to the Medical Travel Facilitator Certification as a metric to evaluate and validate a facilitator's capacity to provide the necessary services to ensure an excellent patient care journey rather than relying on anecdotes or unreliable testimonials when making medical travel decisions.

A facilitator is assessed against 15 key competencies, including business ethics, sustainability, and quality improvement, financial transparency, client services, oversight of contracts and agreements, and risk management, which highlight a company's ability to provide top-notch services, in the convenient online setting of the Medical Travel Facilitator Certification.

The advantages of this certification for medical travel facilitator businesses include: the entire medical continuum should be improved in terms of the patient experience. Give facilitators a framework to work within so they can reinforce or adopt sensible operational policies, procedures, and processes that adhere to international best practices. Offer a third-party validation to potential customers and health buyers to increase their trust and confidence. Boost the visibility and awareness of your brand. reduce client and business facilitator risks and vulnerabilities.

Bill Cook predicted that more and more patients would consider accreditation or certification when choosing a medical travel agent. "GHA's Medical Travel Facilitator Certification ensures patients that a facilitator has been vetted by a globally recognized third-party accreditor, affirming that the company has the necessary protocols, processes, and staff training to deliver a safe and high-quality treatment journey and experience," according to the GHA.