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Here are just a couple of reasons why you should choose Panama for your medical tourism destination:

1. Panama City is the most modern city in Central America.

 

2. Panama City is close to some of the most beautiful beaches and is a fantastic vacation destination to combine your medical trip with.

 

3. It is home to a ton of English speaking doctors who work at state of the art hospitals.

 

4. Many doctors received training in the States and are comfortable using the same techniques foreigners are used to.

 

5. Procedures done in Panama are on average half as expensive as having the same procedure done in the States.

 

6. Package deals from medical tourism companies often cover hotel costs (meaning discounted hotel deals) and additional medical costs.

The Pana-Health group is made up of more than 100 doctors who specialize in 24 different fields of medicine, everything from cosmetic surgery to dental implants. For more information visit www.pana-health.com.

The only store in Panama that offers completely organic products without chemicals or preservatives, Organica supermarket pretty much has the health food sector of Panama City covered. There is a huge selection of products, the most popular being hormone free chicken and pesticide free vegetables. It is debatable, however, if there is a need to buy organic veggies in Panama, as many of the produce is grown on farms that do not use pesticides. If you buy locally, or at the vegetable markets in town, it is not likelly that you’re vegetables have been exposed to chemicals.

Organica also has some other interesting products that might draw shoppers from even farther than Panama City. They stock homeopathic remedies, natural toothpaste, and chlorine free toilet paper. (I guess that is a problem for some people… as for me, I will continue to buy my rolls from good old Riba Smith.)

While it’s nice to have such products available, they come at a price. Most people who shop at health food stores are accustomed to paying more than they would at a regular grocery store, but in Panama City organic and natural products are even more expensive than they are in the States.

But, if it’s gotta be natural, it’s gotta be Organica.

Address: Calle Ramon H. Jurado inside Paitilla Mall in Punta del Este

Phone: 507–390–2000

Imported Quality Meats Inc. has been in business since 1984 and offers some of the highest quality, and definitely one of the widest selections of meat products in Panama City. All cuts are of the highest quality and are only taken from plants and industries that comply with USDA requirements. Every cut, be it beef, pork, lamb, or one of their exotic meats (think ostrich, buffalo and frog legs, to name a few) is assured to be the best and highest quality. The storefront name is Meat’s Gourmet, and it is located on Calle 50 in Panama City.

Meats from Imported Quality Meats Inc. are recognized by the entire tourism industry, from hotels to restaurants and cruise ships crossing the Canal, as being the finest provider of meat in Panama, and I would most certainly agree with them.

Cuts are reasonably priced, especially considering the quality of meat you are getting. Prices range from $6.25/lb for the brisket cut from whole beef, to $55/lb for Kobe beef steak. You can also get seafood; Salmon costs $8.50/lb and Lobster meat will run you $11.25/lb.

Imported Quality Meats Inc. is located on Calle 50 behind ELGA, Edificio #23. You can call 264–8454, email meatsgourmet@hotmail.com or visit the company’s Web site by clicking here.

Over the phone or via email you can place an order to either be picked up or delivered to your location.

As far as high quality meat in Panama goes, you aren’t going to find better. When they say gourmet, they mean it. For serious cooks, this is the best place to go to get the quality cut of meat you are looking for.

More images of Meat’s Gourmet after the jump.

The drive to Pedasi can take up to 5 hours.  Now, with this 12 passenger
flight, tourists, investors and area business people will be able to get
to Pedasi in under and hour!

• WHEN?
  First flight to launch on February 5th, 2010!

• FLIGHT SCHEDULE
  Flights departing Friday & Monday

12:31pm — Departs Albrook  
1:26pm — Arrives Pedasi  

1:41pm — Departs Pedasi  
2:36pm — Arrives Albrook 

• COST:
  Approx $155.50 round trip, depending on gas tax

See more at http://www.aeroperlas.com

The National Fair de la Naranja de Churuquita Grande de Pajonal, Penonomé district, will be inaugurated tonight.
In the sector of Coclé there are a lot of citrus growers and also of other items from northern rural communities of Penonomé, published the newspaper La Estrella de Panamá.
During the last week of January they have worked on preparations for the fair which ends on January 31 where more than 60 associations, public and private entities have registered.

The newspaper said that over 50.000 people are expected to visit the fair; that will exceed the 40,000 who came last year.
The objective of this activity characterized by the great amount of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, limes, lemons and others is that farmers can market their product without middlemen and get the profits of his work directly with these sales.

For the president of the fair, Fernando Núñez, this year they expect a greater amount of public and visitors due to the warm reception it has had in recent years and also because they have had more support from the Ministry of Agricultural Development Region 4 Coclé.

They expect 50,000 visitors to Orange Fair.

The special event starts at 7 pm and goes until 8 pm, although the restaurant will be open from 6 pm to 3:30 am, according to its regular Friday schedule. Indigo is located on Ave Central, San Felipe, Panama City, Panama.

Indigo is a Moroccan Riad serving a mix of mediterranean and middle eastern cuisine. You can either sit in the restaurant and bar for a formal dining experience, in the interior patio with Buddha fountains, in the comfortable Moet-Chandon lounge or on the outside patio where the mediterranean vibe is the strongest.

For more information or to make reservations, call 507–228–1822 or send an email to indigo@indigopanama.com.

 Prensa.com reports, “The bank will be the third component of “Proyecto Impulso” (”Stimulus Project”), and will begin operations with $25 million in capital. The announcement was made by Roberto Henríquez, Commerce and Industries minister, who will present his plan to the Executive Cabinet.”Henríquez explained that 90% of the country’s companies are classified as micro and small. This is why this bank will be focused on granting credit solutions to this sector of the economy.”

 With the program in place, Panama has the potential to see micro businesses flourish and hopes to see new enterprises grow and prosper. Lack of experience among Panamanian businessmen and women, however, might just stunt the much needed entrepreneurial growth.

 What’s the solution? Matt Landau of The Panama Report has an idea: the Panama Entrepreneur Visa.

 He says in part, “Ask any entrepreneur nowadays in Panama what the most difficult obstacle is to deal with and the answer is united: immigration. Visionaries like these can usually see through the little hurdles - the red tape, the cultural nuances, the fact that nothing gets done on time - because that’s what entrepreneurs do. But for small business owners, immigration in Panama is an extremely hard obstacle to overcome. Not only are visas difficult to obtain for oneself, but the ability to import skilled laborers is virtually impossible.

The potential to make a profit in Panama supplies a huge incentive for entrepreneurs to come up with new and better ideas: thus the giant explosion in new corporations created over the past five years. There is - and will be more and more amidst a recession and tightening immigration policies elsewhere in the world - a mad dash to bring in the world’s skilled foreigners.”

To read the full story by Matt Landau, visit The Panama Report.

Saturday, January 16^th prices will go about about 17 cents per gallson. Telemetro reported that in Panama City a gallon of 91 octane will go up to $3.02 and 95 octane will go up to $3.19 per gallon. Diesal will rise to $2.76 per gallon and a gallon of light diesel will cost $2.82.

These prices will remain the same until Friday, January 29, 2010.

If you are planning on spending most of your time in Panama City you might want to consider taking taxis, which within city limits are quite reasonably priced. If you are traveling out of the city look into hiring a private driver.

There are plenty of reputable taxi drivers and tour companies that provide driving services. I use Carlos Aleman (www.panamacarlos.com) for driving in and out of the city. You can call him at 507–6645–7075 or 877–815–6580 toll free from the US and Canada.