31-Dec-16 As throngs of Venezuelans trek to Brazil in search of food and medicine, hospitals along Brazil’s northern border are struggling to pick up the pieces of Venezuela’s failing healthcare system. An economic crisis and hyperinflation have cleaned Venezuelan hospitals of supplies. Desperate for care and often undocumented, patients are overwhelming Brazilian emergency rooms as they turn up by the thousands. [image: Marina Lopes / The Washington Post]

07-Nov-16 The New York based specialty orthopedic center, Hospital for Special Surgery, has begun to offer services to medical facilities around the world. The hospital is focusing on opportunities in Asia, the Persian Gulf and Latin America, said Laura Robbins, SVP of Global & Academic Affairs. “We were getting a lot of inquiries from healthcare systems and hospitals around the world." [image: Hospital for Special Surgery]

03-Nov-16 Benchmarking facilitates unique national medical tourism concepts. 30 benchmarks include: 2. Cooperation among official authorities is a must; 7. Most destinations offer transparent pricing; 16. Many medical tourism physicians have US or UK qualifications; 21. Countries such as India and Thailand offer long-stay medical tourism visas; 27. Strong ties with health insurance companies influence the flow of international patients. [image: Mercury Advisory Group]

27-Sep-16 The US Cooperative for International Patient Programs (USCIPP) has partnered with Health Brand Group to promote USA healthcare services in the international markets of China, Hong Kong, and Brazil. The message is of quality of treatment and care, not saving money. The target is 30% overall growth in patients by 2018. [image: IMTJ]

20-Oct-16 Verb Surgical, J&J’s joint venture with Verily Life Sciences, plans to produce 'truly robotic' system that will improve surgical outcomes worldwide. "If you go to Shanghai, quality of care is actually quite good, at the Shanghai Hospital... Go 40 kilometers north... not so good,” said J&J medical devices chairman Gary Pruden. “Our goal is to democratize surgery." [image: OrthoFeed]