“The Las Vegas Health and Wellness Destination Guide,” a 176-page book offering information to patients traveling to Las Vegas for medical procedures, will be unveiled this week at the fourth annual World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress in Chicago.
The book is a collaboration of the Medical Tourism Association and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. It’s the first in a series of medical tourism guides published by the association and the first featuring a domestic destination.
Renee-Marie Stephano, president of the Medical Tourism Association and editor of Medical Tourism magazine, wrote the book, which will be available through Amazon.com, iTunes and Kindle at a minimal charge. The guide also can be viewed online at www.medicaltourism.com.
The book is a how-to guide that explains what medical tourism is, what makes Las Vegas a good medical tourism destination, procedures and treatments available in Southern Nevada and how to budget for a trip.
Stephano said she began working on the guide after meeting with former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman who told her Las Vegas was developing into a top medical tourism destination.
“You not only need world-class health care facilities, but also a value proposition in the destination,” Stephano said.
While Las Vegas has always been considered the “Entertainment Capital of the World,” and has developed a reputation for its dining, the arrival of top medical facilities in the last five years has increased the city’s status as a medical tourism destination. Stephano said the book not only is aimed at consumers, but at the medical and insurance industries.
Stephano said she hopes to have five medical tourism guides published within two years and currently is working on a guide for South Florida.
The guide is debuting at the four-day conference that is drawing 2,000 attendees from 90 countries.