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Recently Johns Hopkins International has taken over administration of Punta Pacific Hospital in Panama City, Panama. Johns Hopkins International has had an affiliation with Punta Pacifica previously. Now the international branch of the prestigious United States hospital will be in charge of day to day administration of Panama’s prestigious Punta Pacifica Hospital. In conjunction with the announcement of administrative changes at Punta Pacifica Johns Hopkins International announced a new medical tourism initiative.

Medical Tourism in Panama

Panama is becoming a hot spot for medical tourism. With the dollar as its currency, close proximity to the USA compared to other medical tourism destinations such as Brazil and India Panama is attracting more uninsured Americans for elective surgical procedures. In general an uninsured American can fly to Panama, have an elective procedure at half price or less, convalesce in the tropics and return home for less than the cost of the same procedure alone in the United States.

Health Care in Panama

Panama has a national health care system. Care is available to all at very low prices. In order to practice medicine or dentistry in Panama the doctor has to do a two year internship which involves working in a clinic, usually in the interior of the county, providing health care through the national system. This includes physicians trained and certified in the United States and Canada.

Besides having an affordable national health care system Panama is a referral center for much of Latin America. Many of Panama’s physicians are in fact trained and certified in their specialties in North America. Punta Pacifica Hospital and affiliated clinics are examples of Panama’s leading role in health care throughout Latin America. Specialists at Punta Pacifica see private patients from anywhere in the world and also see referrals from the national health care system. Thus locals benefit from state of the art training of the physicians at subsidized prices. Also, those who can pay private rates save themselves a trip to Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, or Texas Medical Center for the same quality of care at roughly half the cost, not counting transportation and difficulty getting entry into the United States.

Johns Hopkins International and Medical Tourism

The new Punta Pacifica administrator has previously administered a Johns Hopkins International affiliate in Turkey and his second command comes from an affiliate hospital in East Africa.

The argument for medical tourism in Panama is that Panama is a democratic, stable country that uses the dollar as currency. English is widely spoken in Panama and Punta Pacifica’s staff speaks Spanish and English. As noted above costs for elective procedures are roughly half that seen in the USA. Another factor is the culture in Panama which is seen in the medical system too. Things are less hectic in Panama. Doctors tend to take more time with their patients. Also for those interested in medical tourism Punta Pacifica and Johns Hopkins International will help coordinate living arrangements, outpatient nursing care, rehab, and all of the details need for a safe and speedy post operative recovery.

For a medical tourism referral please feel free to contact us at ABPanama.