According to the Department of Commerce’s U.S. Commercial Service, Jordan’s healthcare system is regarded as one of the best in their region and has the highest per capita rate of health related expenditures after Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Through 44 public and 60 private hospitals, the country provides healthcare services for its citizens and over 250,000 patients from neighboring countries annually.
The country has become a medical tourism destination by offering relatively high quality care at comparatively inexpensive rates. The boom in private hospitals is keyed to this growing medical tourism trade.
Medical tourism generates about two-thirds of all the tourism income to Jordan, as patients often travel with their entire family and/or stay for relatively long periods. It is thought that the medical tourism sector revenues will reach $1 billion in U.S dollars in 2012 and the country is aiming to reach 300,000 medical tourists in 2015 which could bring revenues up to $1.5 billion.
Jordan’s healthcare system uses the latest technologies and has highly educated and well trained doctors. Many Jordanian physicians have received some form of medical training in the U.S., giving U.S. products good exposure. Since the doctors in Jordan are well respected, their technology choices influence buying decisions throughout the region and in other countries as well.
Primary healthcare sector reforms underway include renovating and adding medical diagnostic devices and therapeutic equipment, improving the quality of healthcare and hospital services, upgrading hospital infrastructure, developing and implementing health information systems, and continuing medical research.
Specifically, product sales look good for medical equipment, lab equipment, plastic surgery equipment, dental equipment, medical surgical sterilizers, X-ray equipment, and orthopedic & prosthetic appliances.
To meet the needs of eHealth, there is a need for healthcare management systems, software modules for specific fields and applications, integrated medical insurance solutions, medical devices and equipment, mobile healthcare applications, and for online medical content providers.
An Information Communications Technology (ICT) taskforce was created to focus on the growth of health technology companies, create a point of reference for global and regional leaders wishing to partner with Jordan’s health technology cluster, find innovative solutions in healthcare technology, and develop mentoring programs to link Jordanian companies with leading healthcare technology companies.
Resources include the Ministry of Health at www.moh.gov.jo and the Medical tourism Directorate at www.moh.gov.jo. For more information contact the U.S. Commercial Service in Amman, via email at Muna.Farkouh@trade.gov or phone (962) 6 590 6057 or go to the website at www.buyusa.gov or www.export.gov.
