D.R. firm pushes health care in Cuba.

Caribbean Salud, based in the Dominican Republic, offers patients the chance to be treated in nearby Cuba--often for conditions not treatable at home.

The arrangement is similar to that between the Cuban government and Health Services International, a Quebec firm which CubaNews reported on last month (May 2008, page 12).

Like HSI, Caribbean Salud has its own deal with Cubanacan, under which it gets a commission for every patient it sends to Cuba for medical treatment.

CubaNews recently visited Elisa Gamboa Campos, general manager of Caribbean Salud, at her office in Santo Domingo. Here, patients looking for a particular type of treatment are first examined by a local Dominican doctor, who writes up their medical histories, which are then forwarded to Cuba for final recommendation on which particular hospital or clinic should treat them.

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Gamboa, a Havana native, says her company is growing rapidly.

"The advantage with patients coming to us is that firstly, when they arrive in Cuba, a doctor is already waiting for them, and second, that doctor already knows what treatment to provide them and its cost," she said. "We have had over 500 patients in one year."

Gamboa also publishes a magazine, Avances Medicos para las Americas, which covers the latest trends in Cuban medicine. An article in its February 2008 issue featured the successful use of the Cuban anti-rodent agent Biorat on Dominican rice farms that were previously vulnerable to rat infestations.

MONEY NOT ALWAYS ISSUE FOR D.R. PATIENTS

Unlike Canadian patients, who enjoy the benefits of a universal health-care system but are put off by long waits for various treatments as a result of that system, those in the Dominican Republic sometimes need certain medical procedures which cannot be done there, regardless of their ability to pay.

For example, CubaNews came across a young, wealthy Dominican who's been unable to find adequate treatment for his psoriasis, and resorted to visiting clinics in Florida and New Jersey. Unable to find adequate treatment in the States, he recently heard about Caribbean Salud and set up an appointment to discuss what the Cubans can do for him.

"Patients are sometimes not comfortable with the diagnoses that they had been given [by Dominican doctors] and are looking for another alternative," said Gamboa. "They know that this is possible in Cuba, and they strongly believe in Cuban medicine."

Caribbean Salud, which gets referrals from the Dominican travel agency Emely Tours, helps patients pursue treatments ranging from orthopedic surgery to addiction therapy. Cuba's Centro Internacional de Restauracion Neurologica (CIREN) works with Caribbean Salud to offer Dominicans treatments involving the nervous system.

CUBA PUSHES RELATIVE ADVANTAGES

In order to raise its profile, a few months ago Caribbean Salud began offering free medical exams to prospective Cuba-bound Dominican patients, which generated some press coverage in the local media. It also signed a deal with local insurance firm La Comercial de Seguros to offer health insurance that covers any type of treatment available in Cuba.

"We foresee success in this initiative, since Cuba has substantive medical advances that can now be put in the service of Dominicans," said Kohuris Henriquez, vice-president of La Comercial, in an interview with the monthly Dominican business magazine Mercado.

Gamboa said Cuba is a viable alternative for Dominicans seeking medical treatment not available at home, since it's very difficult to visit the States due to stringent U.S. visa restrictions imposed on Dominican nationals. In contrast, Dominicans visiting Cuba don't even need visas.

A sister company to Caribbean Salud is Caribean Farmaceutica, which has an agreement with Cuba's state-run Finlay Vacunas SA to provide the Dominican market with biotech products on a wholesale basis.

"Cuban medicine has a lot of credibility," said Gamboa. "We sell to private companies and to major [Dominican] hospitals in large quantities, such as vaccines for hepatitis B, along with many medicines for cancer."

These include vaccines, produced under the Cuban biotech brand Heber Biotec, to protect patients against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, meningitis and anemia.

Gamboa says there's potential for her company to market these and other vaccines beyond the Dominican Republic, "provided that I consult with Cuba to see whether those medications or vaccines are already registered in the country that wants to order them."

Details: Elisa Gamboa Campos, General Manager, Caribbean Salud, Calle Clara Cecilia Pardo y de Marchena (antigua Calle F) #21, San Geronimo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Tel: [phone]. Email: [e-mail].