The Philippines’ government envisions the country as the “new hub of wellness and medical care” as it is the home to some best hospitals and standalone specialty clinics in the region.

According to a new research report by RNCOS, the nation is planning to introduce special medical visas for foreigners, with a view to grabbing a sizeable share in Asia’s booming health tourism industry.

It is anticipated that on back of such initiatives and developments, Philippines’ medical tourism market will expand at a CAGR of over 25% during 2010-2013.

The research report, “Asian Medical Tourism Analysis (2008-2012)”, says that the Asian medical tourism industry has been growing at a rapid pace for the last few years, and has become a key attraction for the foreign medical tourists.

The industry has gained grounds due to the rising healthcare costs in the developed world, long waiting time, and in some cases, the unavailability of quality healthcare (as in the Middle East).

It is estimated that the market will grow at double-digit rate in near future. Besides, six countries– Thailand, Singapore, India, Malaysia, South Korea, and the Philippines – are expected to be the most potential medical tourism destinations in Asia in the coming years.

The study provides comprehensive research and unbiased analysis of the industry’s current performance and future outlook of the key Asian medical tourism markets.

It acknowledges the fact that the six Asian markets covered in the report – Thailand, Singapore, India, Malaysia, South Korea, and the Philippines – have vast differences in terms of cost, infrastructure, human resources, patient perceptions, competencies, and level of government support.

Each destination has been thoroughly studied in the report that provides valuable information to clients who are looking to venture into these markets, and helps them devise sound strategies.

RNCOS specializes in Industry intelligence and creative solutions for contemporary business segments. Our professionals analyze the industry and its various components, with a comprehensive study of the changing market behavior.

Our accuracy and data precision proves beneficial in terms of pricing and time management that assist the intending consultants in meeting their objectives in a cost-effective and timely manner.

http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/sbwire-135839.htm

Medical Tourism Resource Online

Not surprising since hospitals established by multinational corporates –or even national industrial houses – are set up at great cost which has to be recovered only through their beneficiaries.

They are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and trappings that can detect anything from a cyst to cancer.

It is not that your doctor suspected a strangulated hernia when you went to that mega hospital for a mild stomach ache.

He ordered those X-rays and CT scans and MRIs because he has to show that he has used the hospital diagnostic machinery to continue in service.

His survival is more at stake than yours. If you feel that the corner clinic with its friendly physician is not good enough, then you must pay the price for an opulent hospital which cannot stay alive without returns from its consumers – just like any other product.

Lifestyle diseases

Studies have shown that an ever growing elderly population coupled with growing income levels – added to a spurt in lifestyle diseases like diabetes and cardiac complications – will seek therapeutic help in these hospitals which are better suited for health tourism – the catchword in today’s medical parlance.

They are lavish. Special diets can be ordered. Special services can be commanded. Visitors may dine in style in well appointed restaurants. Their employers or insurance plans take care of the expenses.

Such insurance-related healthcare may profit doctors and hospitals. But, it sets off a new medical practice that was unknown in this country a few years ago, and which has its own risks and dangers.

A study conducted at the Harvard Medical school points out that “computerised patient records might actually encourage doctors to order expensive tests more often.”

This country has also become the favourite destination for foreign tourists seeking high quality medical services at a low cost. ‘Wellness tourism’ is advertised like any other brand.

“India offers treatment of complicated diseases at reasonable costs,” screams one advertisement. Or, another flaunts “ highly proficient team of surgeons treat you as per international standards.”

Not only do they offer high class surgery for the most sought after medical procedures like bypass, angioplasty hip or knee replacements among other things, but they also entice their customers with holiday packages in exotic tourist spots in the country.

If a bypass surgery costs $130.000 in America, the visiting patient can get away with $1,000 for the same in any one of India’s leading cardiac centres. He can have a $43,000 hip replacement for a mere $9000, a complicated $62,000 spinal fusion for a paltry $5000.

It has been estimated that the Indian healthcare industry will become a 280 billion dollar booming business within the next decade.

Instead of condemning the well established super speciality hospitals which cater to those who can afford them, why not pressurise governments to improve the condition of state hospitals to bring them on par in order to cater to the majority of patients who are poor enough to go bankrupt if disease strikes.

The National Health Policy of 1983 recommended “an integrated net-work of evenly spread speciality and super speciality services…through private investments for patients who can pay, so that the draw on government facilities is limited to those entitled to free use.”

According to the census of 2011, India’s population has gone beyond 1.2 billion. It is a fearful picture when one considers that we have not provided a proper working health care system for all. The majority population does not have access to the minimum health care.

Inadequate sanitation and dearth of clean drinking water adds to the spread of bacterial infections like hepatitis, dysentery or pneumonia which continue to plague our over crowded cities as well.

Last year, India shockingly developed a totally drug resistant (TDR) form of tuberculosis which, combined with the spread of HIV/AIDS poses a serious health hazard in the country. The Central government has also reduced funding for immunisation which leaves more than 50 per cent of our child population exposed to childhood diseases.

It has been estimated that about two million infants die in India annually before they even complete their first year of birth. Those who do, suffer extreme malnutrition that paves the way for other diseases.

Where do they go for medical support? Corporate hospitals? Or, ill managed, badly equipped corporation hospitals?

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/241636/wellness-tourism-health-care-system.html

Medical Tourism Resource Online

More than 1,000 patients were polled on behalf of the health tourism website Treatment Abroad.

Researchers found that 84 per cent of respondents would return to the same doctor, dentist or clinic, with 85 per cent claiming to be ‘very’ or ‘quite’ satisfied with their experience of medical tourism.

When asked why they had travelled overseas for treatment, 83 per cent of survey participants cited cost.

Many had saved more than £2,000 by going abroad and 12.7 per cent had saved more than £10,000.

The survey also revealed that Belgium was the most popular choice among Britons seeking treatment abroad, followed by Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Turkey.

Keith Pollard, managing director of www.treatmentabroad.com, commented: ‘So often overseas treatment is portrayed as being a poor alternative to what is available in the UK and yet it’s clear from this survey that that is simply not true.’

Mr Pollard added that the vast majority of people who seek treatment abroad are ‘delighted’ with the levels of care and the results of their surgery.ADNFCR-554-ID-801321729-ADNFCR

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/interactive/news/majority-of-medical-tourists-would-do-it-again-id801321729-t116.html

 Medical Tourism Resource Online

Speaking to Press TV, on the final day of the Second International Conference on Health Tourism in Iran’s city of Mashhad, the experts also talked about the challenges faced by medical tourism.

VO: At the end of the two-day event, the participants signed cooperation MoUs to help set up health tourism branches in the OIC member states. These centers will help coordinate the trends of medical tourism development and organize annual meetings in collaboration with the Secretariat of Islamic Health Tourism Association in Iran.

http://presstv.com/detail/216809.html

Medical Tourism Resource Online
http://mmedsolution.com/

This 2011 campaign will showcase Germany’s modern and cutting-edge facilities, luxury hotels, spas and spa-towns. This is intended to appeal to travellers who value active and affordable holidays linked with culture and indulgence. The campaign will highlight the top German medical clinics for international patients as well as the tourist attractions of the nearby towns and cities.

Currently about 400,000 tourists visit Germany annually for health related holidays, and this number is growing. This is in addition to the estimated 70,000 medical tourists using German clinics and hospitals that are renowned for their excellent quality and reasonable prices.

Germany’s healthy climate, healing waters, natural therapies and countless hotels, spas and health resorts offer programmes to refresh the mind and reinvigorate the body. The offerings include health and beauty care involving fun and physical and mental relaxation using a wide variety of therapies, massages and treatment methods. Around 300 mineral and mud spas, hydrotherapy resorts, climatic health resorts and seaside resorts in Germany offer a wide choice of preventive and therapeutic well-being treatments. Germany is a land of spas and thermal baths promoting health, beauty and well-being.

source: imtj.com

Australia does not yet offer medical tourism in any organised way as the number of international inbound visitors that meet the definition of a medical tourist is, according to the report, a consistent 7,000 a year from 2006 to 2009. While official figures suggest that there are over a million medical tourists in Australia each year, this is a definition that comes out of the unusual state based and insurance based healthcare systems in the country; so almost all of these are simply Australians travelling away from their home town/city, frequently a relatively short distance by Australian standards, but not by European standards, for medical treatment.

There are a much larger number of health and wellness travellers, but again the vast majority of these are from within the country. There are very few hospitals or clinics offering facilities to medical tourists from overseas. This research suggests that Australia would benefit from developing niche medical tourism offerings based on Australian medical strengths/expertise, as has occurred with the Cairns Fertility Clinic and its IVF services. Possible areas for development of Australian medical tourism services include cardiology, urology, orthopaedic surgery and oncology. The report recommends that Australia seek a competitive advantage internationally by focusing on the provision of quality services at a lower price point than the United States, and based on niche medical offerings in which Australia has an international reputation and expertise.

There is no state or national government policy on or support of medical tourism and no particular recognition of this as an area of distinctive opportunity. The prospect of medical tourism is seen by all these governments as fraught with difficulties for governments concerned with voters’ perceptions of medical resources being handed over to private sector entrepreneurs. The research suggests that the best way forward would be for the national government to establish and fund a body that develops a nationally coordinated medical tourism policy and actively promotes Australia as an international medical tourism destination through trade shows and other forums. To encourage the development of medical tourism, it is recommended that submissions are developed and presented to government to illustrate the potential for medical tourism to contribute to the supply of medical services and facilities in Australia and to contribute export income to the Australian economy.

One problem identified is that the visa application process for medical tourists is so complex that most medical tourists enter Australia on a tourist visa rather than go through the process of applying for a medical visa due to the associated delay. It recommends that the application process for medical visas (long-stay and short- stay) be reviewed and streamlined. The report identified a problem on price as Australia does not have a comparable selling point on price to India, but Australian medical services are still considerably cheaper than in the United States and several treatments are also less costly than in South Korea.

source: imtj.co

In statements after a meeting with the CTO leadership, the Minister of Health Christos Patsalides said that “the plan concerning grants for the accreditation of private hospitals has already been completed and is set to be announced”.

Grants could reach up to 70 per cent of the cost, the Minister explained, adding that the plan will address the Arab and European markets. He added that interest is also expressed by Russian investors. The Minister said that in times of economic crisis, we must find ways to expand our services but also to promote new products which will highlight Cyprus’ strategic geographical location in providing services.”

Patsalides talked about the need to attract health tourism through incentives and better promotion of local services. He said that the Ministry of Health is working with the CTO, which chairs the competent committee set up to draft a comprehensive strategy in cooperation with the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and other interested organisations.

source: famagusta-gazette.com

The centre-left government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who took office last week, has pledged to end two decades of stagnation in Asia’s biggest economy and achieve stable real economic growth above 2.0 percent a year.

In the short term, the government aims to beat deflation by late fiscal 2011 and boost weak demand while bringing unemployment down from about five percent now to below four percent soon and then down to three percent.

Japan is also eyeing lowering the corporate tax rate, from an effective 40 percent now to the average level of major industrialised nations, which is around 25 percent, possibly from fiscal 2011, the strategy paper says.

Kan, a former left-wing activist who most recently served as finance minister, has promised a “third way” approach for the economy, which is expected to slip behind China soon to global number three spot.

The premier has identified the “first way” as the heavy infrastructure spending of the 1980s and 90s, much of it pork-barrel projects that drove up public debt and left many “white elephant” projects of dubious economic value.

Kan has also rejected as the “second way” the “excessive market fundamentalism” of former premier Junichiro Koizumi which aimed to slim down government but also weakened social safety and widened income disparities.

In a speech last week, Kan outlined his “third way” policies — an ambitious approach that would strengthen domestic demand and jobs while also boosting the social security system and reducing the public fiscal deficit.

Kan has pledged to reduce the world’s biggest public debt mountain, which is nearing 200 percent of GDP, and has warned of the risk of a Greece-style meltdown for Japan if the problem is left unaddressed.

He has said the DPJ would call for a full debate on tax reform and did not rule out the possibility of doubling the five percent sales tax.

His party, in an election manifesto released Thursday, pledged to slice the country’s public deficit in half or less by the year to March 2016, with a longer term ambition of eliminating it by fiscal 2020.

Japan — with an ageing and shrinking population — already collects less than half the taxes it needs to cover its spending.

In order to revitalise the economy, the government wants to focus on core areas, including “green innovation”, which it estimates will create 1.5 million jobs, and health care, which would generate 2.8 million jobs.

More growth would come through strengthening ties with booming Asia, which is already the key market for Japanese exports, and selling technology from renewable energy innovations to Shinkansen bullet trains abroad.

Growing tourism from less than 10 million annual visitors now to 25 million by 2020 — in part by easing visa regulations for Chinese and by increasing ‘medical tourism — is expected to boost Japan and many of its regions, creating more than half a million jobs, according to the strategy.

Kan, riding high in opinion polls ahead of July 11 upper house elections, seems to have public support for his approach, said Thomas Berger, associate professor of International Relations at Boston University.

“Faced with a budget deficit of epic proportions, the new prime minister has made putting Japan’s fiscal house in order his number one priority,” he said.

“Encouragingly, public opinion data suggests that the Japanese public is prepared to contemplate tax increases and budget cuts if it can reduce the risk of a Greek-style economic meltdown.”

“Public opinion data also suggests the Japanese public believes Japan has the latent economic and technological resources to pull off a comeback.”

source: Agence France – Presse

Many Indian hospitals have tied up with US corporates to treat their employees at affordable rates.

They are also hopeful that patients seeking elective surgeries will continue to choose India as a preferred destination.

Southeast Asian nations such as Singapore and Thailand have been favourite destinations for foreign patients seeking treatment at affordable rates.

However, Indian hospitals are fast catching up.

They are targeting American companies, which will possibly bring a fresh stream of patients seeking low-cost quality services.

India’s two top hospital chains, Fortis and Apollo, have tied up with three US companies to treat patients.

Fortis said it has already treated 20 patients after entering into the partnership, while Apollo Hospital said its deals have triggered a near 100 per cent growth in the flow of US patients.

“If you look around, look at multinational companies (MNCs) or global companies, almost every industry has a global company,” said Shivinder Mohan Singh, managing director of Fortis Healthcare.

“Healthcare is probably the only sector that does not have a MNC. It has very large companies but restricted within one country. So I think here is the opportunity to create a global hearlthcare MNC.”

Fortis’ recent acquisition of Singapore based Parkway Holdings will further consolidate its expansion plans.

The 24-per-cent stake in Parkway will make it the biggest hospital network in Asia.

It has now boasts a Pan-Asian presence, with a network of 62 hospitals and over 10,000 beds.

Fortis hopes the deal will allow it to tap the strong medical tourism business in Southeast Asia.

“There was a global survey that was done recently by an independent company in terms of rating hospitals in health tourism,” said Malvinder Mohan Singh, group chairman of Fortis Healthcare.

“And the top two hospitals are Wockhardt Hospital in Bangalore that is a part of Fortis network and the second is the Gleneagle in Singapore, which is also a part of Parkway network. So within Fortis-Parkway network we have the top two ranked global healthcare facilities.”

The Union Tourism Ministry estimates India’s medical tourism market will be worth US$2 billion a year by 2012.

And to complement the efforts of hospitals, the government has also introduced a new category of medical visas for foreigners.

The visa issued to a patient and companion for a year, can be extended up to three years.

Indian hospitals see a constant flow of foreign patients mainly from the US.

Even though the US Healthcare Bill provides insurance cover for many ailments, elective procedures such as dental correction, facelift and beauty enhancement treatments are not on its priority.

Destinations such as India will continue to be on top as its healthcare costs are only a tenth of the US rates.

source: channelnewsasia.com

The process of healthcare tourism is jointly facilitated by the corporate sectors involved in medical and healthcare as well as the tourism industry – both private and public. Hospitals of Delhi and Chennai provide best treatment for the Laser dentistry in India.

Laser dentistry can be a precise and effective way to perform many dental procedures. The potential for Laser dentistry is to improve dental procedures rests in the dentist’s ability to control power output and the duration of exposure on the tissue (whether gum or tooth structure), allowing for treatment of a highly specific area of focus without damaging surrounding tissues.

The process is to emit light that delivers quick pulses of heat energy to the treatment area. Various wavelengths are used depending on the type of tissue being treated. Surgical lasers are more accurate than traditional dental treatments and allow the dentist to conserve as much bone and tooth as possible.

Laser dentistry in India means real value for money because patients can get benefit from the warm climate for recuperation and can relax in luxury accommodation. Medical tourism can be broadly defined as the provision of ‘cost effective’ private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry for patients needing surgical and other forms of specialized treatment.

The process of healthcare tourism is jointly facilitated by the corporate sector involved in medical and healthcare as well as the tourism industry – both private and public. India is promoting the “high-tech healing” of its private healthcare sector as a tourist attraction.

source: pr-inside.com