marm assistance details how they are preparing for the summer travel season in Turkey

The recovery of tourism

Industry officials, including travel agency marm, expect tourist numbers to Turkey this year to return to 2019 levels, and even exceed those numbers in southwestern beach towns. Travel restrictions for Covid-19 were lifted on June 1 and Turkey started the summer of 2022 well for domestic and international tourism.

According to a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council, Turkey is expected to be the fourth most popular European destination this summer.

In the meantime, marm travel has completed its preparations, expanded its hotel network, entered into agreements with international airlines and added tailor-made solutions to its services such as personalized tours and concierge services.

Along with the high volume of tourists, the need for air evacuation is also increasing, which is why marm travel makes sure to be up to date with the stretcher and wheelchair capacities of the airlines, making initial agreements with them if necessary.

Marm’s in-house medical escort team has completed its refresher training courses and obtained the necessary visas, and is now ready to escort patients aboard commercial carriers worldwide.

Hospitals, especially in the Riviera region, are one of the most important players in tourism. Negotiating extremely inflated prices in Turkey’s economic situation after two years of pandemic requires know-how and experience in the local market.

Cost control

While the annual inflation rate in EU countries reached a record high of 8.1% in May 2022, the highest rate since records were kept, the annual inflation rate in Turkey has increased is accelerated to reach 73.5% in May 2022.

There has been an increase of more than 150% in the cost of electricity and food, and an increase of more than 300% in the cost of oil and gas in one year in Turkey. All these price increases have also had an impact on hospital prices.

The analysis and negotiation of inflated hospital rates with local service providers is more sensitive than in previous years. marm has been in the market for over 36 years and has survived many economic crises by using local economic know-how and taking timely precautions to protect against the impacts of these fluctuations. Unfortunately, some international companies in the sector have had to withdraw from the country.

The mission of the marm is to maintain the balance between service providers and their insurance/assistance partners.

marm has a cost containment team of dedicated and experienced doctors and nurses. Transparent invoices and complete medical information are essential from hospitals. marm has always performed line-by-line medical bill assessments to detect any over-treatment, overcharging or uncovered items; Cost avoidance plays a very important role, especially in this unstable economy.

In addition to performing typical cost containment services on hospital bills, marm’s medical team prefers to be involved in cases from the very beginning. Then the team may obtain an initial medical report, may recommend transport to another facility or advise repatriation. Case management from the first day of treatment allows marm to achieve the most effective cost control.

Case management is a process that begins long before patients are admitted to medical facilities. Network team support, cost avoidance with good cooperation and close monitoring of facilities, are the first steps in case management.

Cost and quality

Quality is not only marm’s strongest ring, it is also part of the corporate culture.

Teamwork is essential to quality and involves all players in the sphere of medical assistance. marm always demands a balance between quality and cost from its service providers. Quality is not only the ability to provide good service, but also good communication and reasonable prices. Our network team periodically assesses service providers from this perspective.

marm’s medical and cost control team prides itself on receiving satisfaction feedback from its partners and works very hard to maintain quality sustainability.

To maintain high quality, marm’s medical team attends and conducts several trainings – marm is one of the training centers of the AHA (American Heart Association) and, with its in-house doctors and nurses who have completed their courses , provides BLS and ACLS training.