Medical sector has come a long way — Princess Basma

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma on Monday highlighted the Kingdom’s achievements in the medical sector at the opening of the 12th internal medicine conference. 

The four-day event is organised by the Internists Association of Jordan and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

The princess noted that there were only three physicians in Jordan in the late 1920s, while now there are over 25,000 doctors registered at the Jordan Medical Association. 

She added that the ratio of physicians to population is the same in Jordan and the UK, standing at 2.7 doctors per 1,000 people, and the two countries earn a similar amount of revenues from medical tourism, although the cost of treatment in Jordan is substantially less than in the UK.

Health Minister Ali Hiasat said internal medicine, like other medical specialisations, receives great attention in Jordan, stressing the importance of the conference in providing an opportunity for Jordanian physicians to become acquainted with the latest findings and techniques in the field.

Participants from around 18 Arab and foreign countries are taking part in the four-day event, discussing more than 60 research papers in internal medicine.