Health Tourism News

The Medical Tourism industry earned global revenues of USD 20 billion in 2005 and the Asian market comprising countries like India, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia stood at approximately USD 2.5 billion in 2006. While the global market is predicted to double in size to USD 40 billion a year by 2010, it is estimated that the Asian market will generate in excess of USD 4.4 billion by 2012.

Among all the Asian countries Singapore has been one of the first to work towards increasing its 200,000 tourists a year to a million by 2012 while Thailand has recorded at least 6000,000 new patient arrivals a year and is said to have made an approximate of over $ 1 billion this year alone. Malaysia which is another prominent country where medical tourism is concerned has treated more than 100,000 tourist patients in 2005 and is expected to make over $ 590 million in 5 years while India’s medical tourism sector is growing at the rate of 30% a year and is expected to make at least $2.2 billion a year by the year 2012.

On the economic front, Medical Tourism is rapidly growing into a valuable revenue generator for countries such as Thailand, Singapore, India and Malaysia. The flow of medical tourists has increased by as much as 20 – 30 % a year and governments target to generate revenues of USD 1 -3 billion by 2010 - 2012. Numerous Governments, hospitals, health and tourism providers are quickly facing up to the potential of medical tourism and taking necessary steps to ensure that each one benefits from this boom.

There are numerous factors which have supported this growth of medical tourism and now other emerging drivers too are making their presence known like the growing costs of healthcare, large waiting lists in hospitals, large numbers of uninsured people who are choosing to have less expensive procedures performed in Asian countries, patients returning for follow up treatment based on the success of the procedure, the lures of low cost quality medical care and the added benefit of a holiday, the lure of visiting different countries and much more.

The substantial outflow of patients from their home countries has seen private hospital groups and other established establishments and practices establish marketing offices abroad; hospitals also have linkages with facilitator agencies all of which generates enterprise and employment opportunities, both in the destination country as well as patients’ home countries. The shifts in methods used to access health services will contribute significantly to the revenues earned by countries that offer Medical Tourism, leading industry watchers to comment that after Information Technology, Medical Tourism will be the next major driving force for the economy. It is estimated that Medical Tourism will account for 3-5 % of the India’s healthcare delivery market while Singapore estimates that Medical Tourism will contribute 1.1% value to GDP by 2012.

It is a known fact that countries offering medical tourism are competing with health care facilities which is why they are bound to deliver superlative healthcare and are equipped with high caliber medical professionals and state of teh art technology which is already well established in several Asian countries. Minimally invasive surgery is well established and robotic surgery is currently in use for cardiac and neurosurgical procedures in India and Singapore. A study also shows that Image Guided Surgeries are already quite widely employed in neurosurgical procedures in South Korea. There were approximately over 475,000 cardiac procedures carried out in India in 2004 and the number is estimated to increase to approximately 675,000 by 2008.

Accreditation is yet another indicator of meeting service requirements and leading hospitals in India, Singapore and Thailand have received Joint Commission International Accreditation. These apart, other prominent hospitals in these countries and Malaysia also have ISO 9000/9001/9002 accreditation.

The evolution of Medical Tourism has seen hospital groups extend beyond their home country boundaries into different nations. Companies are consolidating their positions by way of mergers and acquisitions as well as joint ventures. There are several instances of these in Asia.

• Apollo – Gleneagles Hospitals Ltd, a joint venture between Apollo Hospitals Ltd and the Parkway Group of Singapore has a hospital in Kolkata (India) and has plans to set up two more in India. The group also has plans to manage/set up hospital projects in Mauritius and Fiji.
• Pantai Holdings and the KPJ group of Malaysia are looking to expand their healthcare and clinical support services in the ASEAN.
• Bumrungrad International Ltd of Thailand manages the group’s international operations and facilities in Myanmar, Philippines, Bangladesh and an upcoming facility in Dubai.

The Indonesian Lippo Group’s First REIT is the first listed Singapore REIT that gives some exposure to the Indonesian healthcare market. Potential acquisition targets include assets in the Asia Pacific region, in countries with high growth potential. REIT’s portfolio comprises 3 hospitals and 1 hotel in Indonesia, and all of these are strategically located to attract a large number of potential patients (including international patients) and hotel guests.

As developed nations grapple with healthcare costs and an increasing pressure on their healthcare delivery systems, Medical Tourism strengthens its foothold and is here to stay. Countries that offer Medical Tourism are committed to providing world class services at affordable prices – and sophisticated and premium healthcare services are now more readily available without compromising on the quality and standards of treatment. Super specialty hospitals and hospitals offering superlative services in various specialties illustrate this point. For instance, India has several hospitals with a focus on cardiology while key hospitals in Singapore offer liver and kidney transplant services. Specialty hospitals in Thailand offer plastic surgery and LASIK treatments.At this point the countries set to boom appear to be Singapore and India with targeted revenue growth in the range of 230 – 260% supported by strong governmental will and commitment to growing this industry.