A $6 million center for medical specialists, the Torres Medicas del Oeste, was inaugurated today at the CIMA Hospital along the Prospero Fernandez highway. The project, which began in 2005, will be the largest medical specialist center in Central America with 500 doctors from 60 different specialties in 144 practices, who should be able to attend to 5,000 patients a week.

The center will offer new technology, especially in the areas of physical therapy, orthopedics, treatment of prostate cancer, plastic surgery and 4-D ultrasounds. Medical Manager of CIMA Hospital, Mario Pacheco, told La Republica that the project is like a Medical Mall where patients will have the benefit of having access to all medical specialties in one place. The project was developed by Portofolio Inmobilario, which is well known for its construction of Plaza Itskatzú.

Services at the Medical Towers will be open to both residents and foreigners, increasing the attraction of Costa Rica as a medical tourism destination. According to the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, about 90% of the operations performed in Costa Rica are on foreigners.

To further promote the medical industry, the Costa Rican Medical Consortium is hosting an International Conference on Medical Tourism, which will be held Dec. 10 – 12, at the hotel Ramada Plaza Herradura.

The forum invites doctors and medical students to share their knowledge and experience in many fields of medicine including plastic surgery, dermatology and orthodontics, among others.

This is the first time Costa Rica will be hosting such an event which will be attended by professionals and students from the United States and Latin America.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on December 3rd, 2007