I’m pleased to be here and certainly, it’s been invaluable for promoting the MedTreks brand, our network and laying the groundwork for possible future expansion.  One firm, RHNbio is particularly exciting in that they are a publicly-owned firm from Korea (offices in Maryland) that have done and are doing extensive testing on and application of stem cells under various scenarios.  It is amazing technology!

Several surprises have come to light as well, namely the destinations of Korea and Malaysia in particular.  As I’m discovering, Korea is home to a number of prestigeous and experienced surgical care facilities, particularly, their expertise in spinal surgeries/procedures.  They are apparently world-renowned! 

Malaysia too, is host to a number of well-regarded facilities including the Penang Adventist Hospital and administered by a U.S. executive.  Throughout the exhibit hall and exhibitors, English is spoken and the common language that binds us all together.  On the other hand, I’m going to begin boning-up on my Czech, German, Turkish, Korean, Russian and many, many more!!

I never had a true appreciation for the city before this visit but must say it’s more cosmopolitan than I remembered.  At dinner with an insurance broker from Houston this evening, I overheard a good 5 separate languages, all in a very posh setting and the food was some of the best I’ve ever had!  Let me tell you, if you haven’t tried French-Vietnamese, you’re missing out on something exquisite and delightful!

Paul Gallese and I ran into one another shortly before he was due to “go on” as speaker.  He and I met at a tourism conference this past November in Arlington, Virginia.  Then as now, he was entertaining and provocative…at least as judged by the nodding and shaking heads, not to mention, the laughs and smiles.  Definitely an act and presentation not to miss!

My far the day’s best seminar was on marketing offered by Alex Piper of One World in Troy, Michigan.  I think I can honestly say that the 4-hours spent listenting to–and absorbing–his message, tips, hints and advice was alone, worth the price of admission.  MedTreks will be well-served by the lessons he imparted today and I’ll be looking at and implementing a more-comprehensive and complex marketing plan than I had envisioned prior to his presentation.

The day was long but productive.  Tomorrw mini-sessions begin on a multitude of topics and the exhibit hall opens. 

Good things lie in store!

While beginning final wrap-up for the global healthcare conference in San Francisco (and leaving tomorrow), I discovered that my new (now some 2-months +) friendly Internet Service Provider (AT&T) and their affiliate (Yahoo) have been blocking legitimate, time-sensitive e-mails; a total of 84 dating back to August 8th!!!  None of them showed-up on my desktop…and I’m pretty steamed about it!

Among the misplaced messages were several from the conference organizer, the purpose of which was to set appointments in advance with up to 15 different conference attendees.  Registration and sign-up, however, closed September 1st.  Translation: MedTreks is shut-out of the appointments altogether!

I spent over 3-hours talking to tech support yesterday with no resolution and another 2.5-hours or so today trying to get things resolved.  Alas, we had to settle–temporarily–for chewing gum and baling twine in order to get through the week.

On the road you have to access e-mails on your desktop remotely a la a web browser.  Problem is though, that Yahoo not only doesn’t display the entire desktop but more-troubling, apparently loses, discards or worse still, deletes the most-recently received messages either as others come in or with every page refresh!  Can you say…make things difficult!?

Thus far, I’ve spoken with 6 different people: 2 low-level technicians, 1 manager, 1 supervisor and 2 Tier II techicians, none of whom seem able to discern, let alone, solve the problem.  And talk about “customer service”…I was informed by at least two of these good folks that: “We’re not responsible for lost or misdirected e-mails” and “We’re only responsible for getting e-mails to and from the server”!  Funny, I could have sworn that once upon a time customer service meant doing what was right and making the customer happy when they’re paying for your product and especially when prior to purchasing said product there were no problems whatsoever for the previous 6-years!! 

In any event, I’m going to try and muddle through during the weeklong conference as best possible.  After all, when you’re given lemons, I say…make lemonade!!

Keep your eyes peeled for posts to the blog as I’ll be re-capping each day’s events and letting everyone know how it’s going!

The past few weeks have been extremely hectic preparing for the upcoming World Medical Tourism & Global Health Congress, September 9-12, in beautiful San Francisco and sponsored by the Medical Tourism Association of West Palm Beach, Florida. 

Let’s see…

Brochures?  Check…    Hotel reservation?  Check…     Event registration?  Yessir!   Air tickets?  You betcha!  Laptop?  Roger!  Appointments scheduled?  Yup, and more to come!

The event promises to bring together global healthcare companies from across the globe, the first of its kind and scope in the U.S.!  What a terrific opportunity to spread the word about MedTreks, Healthcare without Borders and continue building a solid network of hospitals, administrators, insurers, employers and others. 

I will be updating the blog with daily reports from the conference, enabling readers to stay abreast of developments, trends and the like, both current and upcoming.  

Stay tuned and be sure to say “hi” if you drop by!!

My hope is that in the coming weeks and months this blog will serve as one of your, if not THE, primary resource(s) for health-related articles, discussion and perhaps, a place to engage in a lively debate or two!  As far as I’m concerned, debate and discussion helps everyone clarify and crystalize ideas but also helps open our eyes to possibilities we may not have considered before.  Ultimately, it’s all good.

Once again, welcome!  I look forward to meeting you and having you become an integral part of the MedTreks blog!