Editor’s Note: What follows is Part Two of a conversation with Oguz Engiz of Medicana International Ankara Hospital in Turkey. Part One of the conversation can be viewed by clicking here.

MTT: I noticed you provide “medical travel packages.” What prompted you to develop these and what exactly is in a package? OE: We provide packages to cover all medical services, travel and accommodation for the patient and a companion. We also arrange sightseeing trips to local attractions. For most, that means taking a ride or hot air balloon ride, exploring the geology of Cappadocia, and enjoying belly dancing or fine dining.   MTT: Do packages mean you don’t work with facilitators? OE: No, we work with about 15 different facilitators and give them commissions based on the amount of service or revenue they create.   At this point, we need them. We work with three or four in Iraq, a few in Azerbaijan. We also have the advantage of having 140 or so embassies here in Ankara. They have their own counselors who we deal with to set up care. They, in turn, help build a bridge between the countries. If they are happy with the service and outcome provided, you’re in a good position to see more patients from that country in general.   Right now, 60 percent of our international patient cases are arranged through facilitators, all of which are geographically near Turkey. In that way we’re sort of like Thailand. What I observed there is that many of their patients are either from the area or ex-pats who don’t want to go home.  Like us, Thailand is a sort of removed part of the world, but the care level is so high that people are willing to stay or travel the relatively short distance to get it. India, on the other hand, doesn’t try to attract patients from nearby areas. It gets people to come from the US, England, Afghanistan, even Russia. Theirs is a different power of attraction. What they have is a central government that actively works to recruit patients from afar. They really get tremendous help from the government. Essentially the government works like their agents, and they are very successful. In fact, every day six planes full of patients fly from Afghanistan to New Delhi for care. No visas are needed, and they are treated like ambassadors.  It’s really something.   MTT: If you’re willing, can you share your strategy for growth in the year ahead? OE: Yes, in 2012 we’d like to do something new, something we didn’t have the courage to do at the outset. We want to open contact offices in the countries we serve, starting with Georgia and Albania, then maybe Libya and Algeria, depending on how things go. We want to try and institutionalize our services and the relationship by investing in the country and establishing a presence, or entity, if you will. We also want to work locally to do more advertising and open regular communication with the doctors in those areas to familiarize them with our services. We think there would be an advantage to building some close ties with them.   MTT: Are you thinking this would be in the confines of a hospital or existing practice? OE: This would be a free-standing office that includes a travel agency. People have to feel confident that the staff understands everything —  the medical terminology, the facilities of the hospital they’re considering,  the travel requirements, post-care requirements —  and can make all the necessary arrangements. The goal is to make it as inclusive and one-step as possible.   About Oguz Engiz Oguz Engiz was instrumental in several key World Bank health projects between 1992-1996. Since 1996, he has been an executive in the private hospital sector at facilities, including Bay?nd?r Medical Center and Mesa Hospital, and now serves as CEO at Medicana International Ankara Hospital, Ankara’s largest private hospital. He is a frequent lecturer on Strategic Hospital Management at universities and has participated in national and international conferences on hospital management. In addition, he serves as Chair on Health Volunteers (Turkey) and as publisher of hospitalmanager journal.  Engiz can be reached at [email protected]