Heidelberg not only represents Romanticism, but also science at the highest level. That applies to medicine and life science more than anything else. Best facilities such as the medical faculty of the University Hospital Heidelberg, the Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie Heidelberg (ZMBH) (Center for Molecular Biology), the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) (German Cancer Research Center), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the Max-Planck-Institute for Medical Research and the Center for Integrative Infectious Disease Research (CIID), inaugurated in 2017, operate research on the highest level and of international renown in Heidelberg.
Best medical care
Along with other institutes in Heidelberg, they work every day to further improve the health of patients with new and optimized treatment methods. At the moment, more than 10,000 employees in more than 45 specialist clinics at the University Hospital ensure the best medical care. Thousands of patients from Germany and around the world profit from the breadth of state-of-the-art and successful treatments for many different diseases every day.
More international patients
International patients are growing more and more important for the Heidelberg University Hospital. Kerstin Ammon, Senior Manager in the International Office of the University Hospital, welcomes this trend and summarizes the development: "The number of patients from Qatar had gone up a lot in 2018. We have also been able to offer medical care to a larger number of guests from Kuwait. The number of patients from Russia and Europe who come to Heidelberg for treatment is stable."
Offers for medical tourists
In close cooperation with the University Hospital Heidelberg and selected hotels in the city, Heidelberg Marketing GmbH supports medical tourists with special offers. Heidelberg Marketing GmbH publishes a brochure in English, Russian and Arabic every year and distributes it in the source markets and through the International Office of the Heidelberg University Hospital. Since many patients arrive with family members and often spend several weeks in Heidelberg, the brochure not only informs about the competent medical care options at the University Hospital, but also about accommodation specializing in the target group and possible free time activities for families.
Wide-spread marketing measures
"We would like to make the stay here as comfortable as possible for our guests," says Mathias Schiemer, managing director of Heidelberg Marketing GmbH. "Therefore, we work closely with the press in the countries from where a particularly large number of medical tourists come to us. This way, we can comprehensively inform about the options in Heidelberg and take care of patient needs." In addition to many publications in the different languages of the target markets, Heidelberg Marketing, together with partners from the Tourismus Marketing GmbH Baden-Württemberg (TMBW) and the Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus (DZT), are active at trade fairs and in workshops.