[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]Forward-thinking healthcare professionals can maintain competence and expand knowledge of policies and practices related to patients seeking medical tourism opportunities by earning up to 11 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits at the 6th World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress, Nov. 3-5, in Las Vegas, through a joint partnership -- the first such offered worldwide -- the Medical Tourism Association® and the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine announced today.

“Globalization of healthcare has opened opportunities for patients to travel for medical and surgical care -- domestically and internationally -- but few medical tourism resources exist in terms of CMEs or peer review medical journal articles,” said Eduardo de Marchena, M.D., professor of medicine and surgery and associate dean for the International Medicine Institute at the Miller School of Medicine. “Our goal in developing these CME courses is to educate and engage primary care physicians in pre-travel/preoperative and post-travel/postoperative patient care to decrease risk and improve treatment outcomes.”

Topics approved for CME credit range from “Risk Mitigation and Management Policies and Practices for International Patients,” “How to Incorporate Technology and Staffing into Your Medical/Surgical Travel Healthcare Practice,” and “Importance of Cultural Competency in International Patient Care,” to “Corporate Wellness as an Integral Part of Your Medical/Surgical Travel Healthcare Practice,” “Role of Telehealth In Your Medical/Surgical Travel Healthcare Practice,” and “Roles and Responsibilities of Physicians in Patients' Decisions about Unproven Stem Cell Therapies,” among others.

“Each year, we attract expert speakers who provide attendees with the most valuable content available, but this year, we wanted to give an added bonus by making these sessions count toward CME credit,” said Renee-Marie Stephano, president of the Medical Tourism Association®. “Having such a reputable external organization as the University of Miami approve each of these courses means that attendees -- even non-physicians -- can be confident that they are the receiving the most comprehensive and up-to-date information concerning best-practices and trends in medical tourism.”