December 4, 2019 - Bagatin Clinic puts Croatia firmly on the global medical tourism map in Berlin after being named International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year at the prestigious IMTJ 2019 awards.
A magnificent achievement for Croatian medical tourism last night, as the country's leading clinic, Bagatin, won big at the prestigious IMTJ 2019 awards in Berlin. Organised by the team behind International Medical Travel Journal, the annual awards are the most important in the medical tourism industry, and there was physical representation from an impressive 45 countries at last night's ceremony.
But while winning the title of the world's best International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year was the highlight of Bagatin's trip to IMTJ 2019, it was by no means the only one.
Earlier in the conference, Bagatin Clinic became the first clinic in Croatia and only the 65th in the world to receive the coveted TEMOS Accreditation - in the fields of Medical Tourism Excellence and Quality of International Patient Care. CEO Ognjen Bagatin and Business Development Manager Andrea Stipanic were on hand to accept the accreditations.
Ognjen Bagatin also gave one of the most inspiring presentations of IMTJ 2019, telling his story of how he grew his clinic from a small operation consisting of just him and his two cosmetic surgeon brothers with a turnover of just 30,000 euro offering just aesthetic surgery in 2008, to over 100 employees in 2018 and revenues of 5.5 million euro with four departments (and 120 employees in 2019).
I have followed the Croatian medical tourism industry closely over the last two years, but IMTJ 2019 was the first time I had seen Bagatin on the global stage, and I was curious to see how a leading Croatian clinic would compare to the global heavyweights. Not only did Bagatin rub shoulders with the best of them, but there were many learning from Bagatin and his best practices. One of the IMTJ judges even commented that the clinic is probably the best global case study for best practices of a clinic.
The excellent conference over, it was time for the big night - the annual awards dinner. The Croatian delegation was small, the two Bagatin heroes, Alfred Frankovic from Kvarner Health Cluster, and one fat Brit who wore Bagatin's lucky Croatian tie for the occasion.
And we did not have long to wait for recognition, with Bagatin Clinic a finalist in the category of Best Quality Initiative.
No victory in that category, but the sweet taste of success was soon to come, as the winner of the International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year was announced - Bagatin Clinic! It was an honour to be sitting in the front row and to record the moment above.
A huge milestone for the Croatian medical tourism industry, and a huge recognition of the efforts of the entire BagaTEAM.
A quick chat with the charismatic CEO a few minutes after the award.
Wonderful stuff - congratulations to the entire BagaTEAM, proof that with the right leadership and plan, Croatia can compete with the very best in the global medical tourism industry. I sometimes compare Ognjen Bagatin to Luka Modric, the midfield dynamo who keeps the Croatian medical tourism industry buzzing. Unlike Modric and the heroics of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, young Ognjen left for Zagreb this morning with his World Cup firmly in his hand.
The award is timely for Bagatin and Croatia, as it will shift more focus on the Croatian medical tourism industry. That interest will intensify in March next year, as Bagatin Clinic, together with collaborative international presenter, Cleveland Clinic, will host Europe's first-ever European Patient Experience and Innovation Congress in Dubrovnik. You can learn more about EPIC 2020 on the official website.
For the latest news on the Croatian medical tourism industry, follow the dedicated TCN section.
