Region

MINSK, 2 February (BelTA) – A medical tourism center has been set up in Vitebsk Oblast, BelTA learnt from the healthcare department of the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee. The center is based at Vitebsk Regional Teaching Hospital No. 2. The center will develop and arrange therapeutic and recreational programs at the leading state-run hospitals of the region. A personalized treatment protocol will be developed for each patient based on his or her case history. The patients will be offered a variety of health centers. They will be provided with all the necessary information about the healthcare facility and the approximate cost of the program. A personal consultant will be assigned to each patient to accompany him throughout his/her entire stay and provide all kinds of assistance. Interpreter’s services will be provided if necessary. Apart from medical services, the center also offers hotel reservations, transfers, and excursion tours. According to the healthcare department, the oblast has made big strides in promoting the export of medical services. The physical infrastructure of hospitals has been improved, cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic equipment has been bought, doctors are mastering latest treatment techniques which were earlier used only in research centers. At present, the healthcare facilities of the oblast are implementing seven business plans. One of them provides for the purchase of high-tech equipment to the tune of ?90 million for the heart department of Oblast Hospital No. 1. The unique invasive surgery complex will pay off within 1.5-2 years, as the new technologies will be available to foreign patients. Belarusian citizens will not be charged for such surgeries. In 2010, the export of medical services in Vitebsk Oblast has doubled compared with 2009. The region exported over Br1 billion worth of services. The biggest customers are the Russian Federation, Lithuania and Latvia. Vitebsk Oblast plans to earn about Br15 billion from the export of medical services in 2011.

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