Patients Without Borders Signs Agreement with Korea to Develop US Market for Medical Travel

Boston, Massachusetts, September 9, 2009 — Patients Without Borders (PWB), a Boston-based medical travel facilitator, has signed an agreement to work with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), a Korean government agency, to promote medical travel to Korea. Medical travel is a fast growing business that sends US patients abroad for more cost effective medical procedures at accredited hospitals and medical centers.

The agreement calls for PWB and KHIDI to work together through the rest of 2009 to market medical travel to Korean owned businesses in the US including Woori America Bank, and large Korean-American communities like those in Los Angeles. Plans for 2010 call for expansion of the effort to all businesses and communities. Korea’s leadership has targeted medical services as a key growth initiative for the 21st Century.

“We are pleased to be working with Patients Without Borders to facilitate travel to our world-class hospitals and clinics in Korea” said Bup-Wan Kim, M.D., PHD, President of KHIDI, at a signing ceremony with Patients Without Borders in New York last month. “With our leading-edge technologies like robotics and procedures including the revolutionary cyberknife, our country is quickly becoming a top destination for international patients,” he added.

Medical travel, or medical tourism as it is sometimes known, has become popular with US patients over the last few years. According to a study by Deloitte Consulting, 6 million Americans will travel abroad for medical care in 2010.

“More than any other government agency we work with worldwide, KHIDI strives to understand and meet the needs of the US medical travel market,” said Jeffrey Carter, CEO of Patients Without Borders.
“The medical community in Korea is advancing the field in such diverse areas as High Intensity Focused Ultra Sound, Orthopedic Surgery, and Bone Marrow transplants. These are the kinds of procedures that are often prohibitively expensive for US patients, even those with insurance, so access to top specialists in these areas at a fraction of the cost is a compelling option for them,” he added.

About Patients Without Borders:
Patients Without Borders is a medical travel facilitator that delivers a total solution for patients, from sourcing and qualification of the best provider, to the planning of transportation, accommodations and post-treatment or procedure follow up. The company works with hospitals and medical facilities certified by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the recognized standard for international medical care. Patients Without Borders has agreements with medical providers around the world. www.patientswithoutborders.us

About Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI):
KHIDI’s goals are to improve the national health industry of Korea by providing comprehensive and professional support programs and to strengthen the competitiveness of the national health industry in this global era. KHIDI works with leading government, academic and private institutions around to world to accomplish these goals.

###

Contact:
Bob Winter
Patients Without Borders
774-233-0448
bob.winter@patientswithoutborders.us
www.patientswithoutborders.us

Contact:
James Bae
Korea Health Industry Development Institute
+82-10-6786-0143
global.khidi@gmail.com
www.khidi.or.kr
www.koreahealthtour.co.kr