Dominican Republic to have a new Quality standard for Medical Tourism

• The Dominican Republic is the leading medical tourism destination in the Caribbean region, according to the 2022 Medical Tourism Index (MTI), a biennial ranking produced by the International Research Centre.

Santo Domingo, D. N.- The Dominican Institute for Quality, INDOCAL, has announced the availability of a Technical Standard for Medical Tourism, which defines quality criteria for the sector’s value chain in order to ensure best practices and the safety of patients and their families, promoting protocols and standards that will increase confidence in the country as a destination for health services.

INDOCAL director general Lorenzo Ramírez said that NORDOM ISO 22525:2020, approved by the Dominican Council for Quality, CODOCA, provides a holistic approach to healthcare at every stage of the patient experience.

Ramírez reported that the standard, aligned with national development goals, went through a thorough consultation process by the INDOCAL Tourism Technical Committee, made up of experts from the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR), the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), the Dominican Health Tourism Association (ADTS), the Hotel and Tourism Association (ASONAHORES) and other bodies, which reached a consensus to promote it in support of the safety of this thriving market niche.

Welcoming the initiative, Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso, president of ADTS, said that the NORDOM ISO 22525 medical tourism standard is based on compliance with the Ministry of Public Health’s local licensing and accreditation standards, the Ministry of Tourism’s regulatory standards and, in addition, specialised international ISO standards for medical tourism that have been validated by dozens of countries, which represents a major step forward.

Cambiaso said the standard does not replace international accreditations; rather, they complement and strengthen each other, enabling us as a country to aspire to develop a culture of quality and compliance in the health sector.

The voluntary standard, an identical adoption of the ISO standard, can be applied by all organisations involved in medical tourism, including healthcare providers, plastic surgery and dental centres, tour operators, medical facilitators, hotels and specialised recovery centres.

About INDOCAL

It is the national authority responsible for standardisation and for legal, industrial and scientific metrology in the Dominican Republic, and a fundamental structural component of the Dominican Council for Quality, CODOCA.

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