Business

Thursday August 6, 2009

Consultant: Malaysia can be medical tourism hub


KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has the potential to become a medical tourism hub, says Frost & Sullivan senior consultant of healthcare for Asia Pacific, Dr Pawel Suwinski.

“The recent promotion of medical tourism in Malaysia is excellent,” he said, referring to promotional initiatives by the Government and the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia.

“Health tourism is one of the brightest points in the growth of the healthcare sector in Malaysia,” Suwinski said at a press briefing on the future of the Malaysian healthcare industry yesterday.

Dr Pawel Suwinski ... The recent promotion of medical tourism in Malaysia is excellent

The latest indicators on medical tourism in Malaysia support Suwinski’s claim.

The compounded annual growth rate of foreign tourists to Malaysia seeking medical care is 25.3% from 1998 to 2008.

Additionally, revenue per patient grew from US$92 in 1998 to US$241 in 2008. While most foreign patients came from neighbouring countries with less developed medical infrastructure such as Indonesia, there is a growing market in developed countries.

Cost and relative political stability lent Malaysia a distinct comparative advantage in the field of medical tourism, said Simranjit Singh, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific director for healthcare.

“There is no denying that Malaysia has an edge over Singapore and even Thailand in this respect.”

He added that the recent recession had led to rising healthcare costs particularly in the West, making the Asian region a cheaper alternative for medical treatment.

According to a survey carried out by Frost & Sullivan, potential medical tourists are concerned primarily with accredited doctors and nurses, accessibility to hospitals and leisure at their place of stay. Malaysia fared well in all three areas, said Suwinski.

Frost & Sullivan deem three other interlocking factors that significantly determine the future of the Malaysian healthcare industry. These are changing demographics (declining birth rate and increasing life expectancy); the growing demand for high quality private healthcare and consequently private health insurance; and changing disease patterns, namely, increased prevalence of obesity, hypertension and diabetes due to urbanisation.

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