Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) announces the launch of a new certification program for medical travel facilitators to assist in building patient trust. GHA’s Medical Travel Facilitator Certification focuses on validating the capacity of medical tourism facilitator companies to provide appropriate services to clients that enhance safety and patient experience along the entire medical travel patient journey as appropriate to the facilitator company’s business model. Medical travel facilitators have for many years played an important role as intermediaries between patients and healthcare providers.

Their services include providing information about the medical provider, handling travel logistics, and ensuring a smooth care journey.  For many patients, the medical travel facilitator is the main motivator or reason why they choose a specific destination provider. However, medical travel facilitation is an unregulated industry; therefore, it is not always easy for patients to distinguish between a facilitator with experience and high-quality partnerships versus another that has a beautiful website but little experience – or worse, is not focused on the patient’s best interests.

According to Wiliam Cook, Global Healthcare Accreditation’s director of business development and marketing:  “The Medical Travel Facilitator Certification provides a trusted third-party validation that demonstrates to patients and healthcare providers that a facilitator’s services meet the highest standards and align with international best practices. Patients no longer have to rely on anecdotes or unverified testimonials to make medical travel decisions, they can look to the Medical Travel Facilitator Certification as a metric to evaluate and validate a facilitator’s capacity to provide the requisite services to ensure an excellent patient care journey.”

The Medical Travel Facilitator Certification is conducted conveniently online, includes access to training, and evaluates a facilitator across 15 key competencies, including business ethics, sustainability and quality improvement, financial transparency, client services, oversight of contracts and agreements, and risk management, which underline a company’s capacity to deliver excellent services.

For medical travel facilitator companies, the benefits of this certification include: Enhance patient care experience along the entire care continuum. Provide a framework on which facilitators can implement or strengthen sound operational policies, procedures, and processes that align with global best practices. Offer a third-party validation that builds trust and confidence with prospective clients and health buyers. Increase brand awareness and visibility. Mitigate risks and vulnerabilities for clients and for the facilitator business.

“Expect an increasing number of patients to look for accreditation or certification as the determinant in selecting a medical travel agent,” said Bill Cook. “GHA’s Medical Travel Facilitator Certification assures patients that a facilitator has been vetted by a globally recognised third-party accreditor, affirming that the company has the required protocols, processes, and staff training to deliver a safe and high-quality treatment journey and experience.”