In Malaysia, medical tourism and health tourism are not new concepts. It forms a substantial component of our economy.
The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) hopes to make RM2.4 billion from the health tourism industry by 2024, according to an article published in The Star. An estimated RM9.6 billion in economic spillover to other industries is anticipated as a result of this.
For comparison, Malaysia reported more than a million visits from health tourists in 2023.
For those who may not be familiar with these phrases, medical tourism simply refers to the practice of individuals visiting overseas for medical care. Usually, lower costs could be a major factor in this.
A panel discussing medical tourism was held at the recent BEYOND Expo in Macao. Carl Wu, the CEO of New Frontier and United Family Healthcare, was one of the panellists. New Frontier is an integrated healthcare group that operates 11
International hospitals that provide primary care, acute care, certain specialities, and rehab care. Agus Heru Darjono, the President and Director of Bundamedik Healthcare System in Indonesia, was another panellist. Bundamedik is an ecosystem that manages hospitals as well as integrated or holistic family care.
Melvin Heng, the CEO and Executive Director of Singapore’s Thomson Medical Group, was also present. Thomson Medical Group is a hospital group and IVF group that operates in Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Sunny Dong, CEO & Executive Board Director of Jinxi Fertility Group, an organization that offers assisted reproductive services, facilitated the discussion.
Together, these panellists exhibit a thorough understanding of the Asia Pacific medical tourism landscape. How does Malaysia compare against its neighbours, given the lofty goals set by our medical tourism board this year?
While Indonesia has its own IMTD, the Indonesia Medical Tourism Board, Malaysia has its MHTC.
Agus revealed during the conversation that IMTD has been getting ready to draw medical tourists to Bali by establishing a designated area.
He might be alluding to this year’s anticipated opening of the Bali International Hospital.
A medical centre in Bali would be a great way to support the local tourism sector, as the island is already a popular travel destination. This is because travellers might want to incorporate activities like health examinations into their holiday.
It appears that Malaysia is not home to a single area that promotes medical tourism, but rather a variety of institutions and organizations that can provide excellent care and services.
Subang Jaya Medical Centre is one name that is doing that; it recently revealed that it has won numerous regional and international honours.
The Malaysian Ministry of Health has given the medical centre full support and acknowledgement as a flagship medical tourism hospital by the MHTC.
However, the country’s medical tourism sector might benefit even more from the addition of a new medical tourism hotspot situated inside a major tourist destination.
One project attempting to do this is KL Wellness City. KL Wellness City aims to be the first township in Southeast Asia to fully incorporate healthcare into its lifestyle, as stated on its website.
Although it’s still in the planning stages, the project will provide healthcare, retail services, and modern residences to complement the country’s medical tourism industry.
Melvin brought up the fact that nations like Malaysia are now more competitive due to the strength of the Singapore dollar.
When combined with the general flattening of doctor quality, Malaysia appears to be able to compete with its neighbours as a destination for medical tourism.
Although doctors may be equally competent, Carl mentioned on the panel that there can be differences in health information exchange (HIE).
To put it another way, health information exchange is the sharing of healthcare-related data between hospitals or other healthcare organizations. This makes it possible for patients and medical professionals to safely and appropriately access patient information.
More specifically, reducing the language barrier to facilitate more effective information exchange may be an issue when it comes to medical tourism.
According to him, ensuring that medical records and systems completely comply with international standards is a major investment for New Frontier. This implies that every medical record that leaves their system can be used and shared.
That might entail requiring bilingual or multilingual medical reports for all patients.
MedPlanner, a local business filling in HIE gaps, is a secure clinical messaging software that helps healthcare organizations and doctors manage and discuss patients daily.
But in the future, perhaps the focus should be more on growing medical tourism in the area as a whole than on rivalry between SEA nations.
The panellists discussed how patient care is increasingly a global issue. Strong financial advantages exist for SEA in becoming a centre for medical tourism.
However, as Melvin said, if a country has an excellent healthcare system, it becomes extremely difficult to care for both domestic patients and those who are visiting from abroad.
Since this can be quite stressful, it’s critical to create forward-thinking ecosystems and solutions with an eye on the regional and global scale.
