Category Archives: Medical Treatment/Health Treatment Subject By Speciality

Najib launches RM320m Parkcity Medical Centre

Posted on September 25, 2013 | Comments Off on Najib launches RM320m Parkcity Medical Centre

Malaysia has seen a 20 per cent growth in health tourism over the past 3 years, generating almost RM600 million in revenue last year, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Malaysia’s medical tourism succeeds because of effective government regulation and Japan is one of the countries which has shown great interest in our medical tourism industry, said the prime minister.

Najib officiated the RM320 million 300-bed Parkcity Medical Centre at Desa Park City today, a joint venture between Sime Darby Bhd and Australia’s Ramsay Healthcare.

Meanwhile Bernama reported, Najib said at the officiating ceremony, local healthcare service providers need to regularly reinvent themselves and create opportunities for doctors and nurses to work without unnecessary barriers to stay relevant in dynamic healthcare marketplace.

The Prime Minister said it was the role of these professionals to be the catalysts for improvement, whilst ensuring that the needs and quality of care of patients remain the primary consideration.

He noted that strategic alliances between healthcare service providers would help advance the industry through the adoption of best practices and cross border clinical collaboration.

“As borders between countries become blurred with international cooperation, the potential gains are immeasurable. I urge healthcare service providers to leave no stone unturned in pursuing this potential.

“Becoming a regional healthcare hub ultimately creates more job opportunities and wealth, which benefit the economy and country as a whole,” he said in his speech when openeing the ParkCity Medical Centre (PMC) and the unveiling of Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care (RSDHC) logo, at Desa Park City here, today.

RamsayCT25sept2013
Najib also said the Sime Darby and Ramsay Healthcare partnership would further boost Malaysia’s aims to be a regional healthcare provider and provided a solid platform for expansion in the Asian healthcare sector.

Najib said the prospect of reversing the international brain drain of medical professionals through medical tourism was also very positive.

“Local healthcare providers should leverage all the advantages on offer such as the government’s support, political stability, accessible travel, innovative and pioneering forms of treatment, readily available information over the internet, as well as pristine tourist destinations,” he added. — BERNAMA

source: http://www.nst.com.my / New Straits Times / Home> Latest News / September 17th, 2013

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Posted in Health /Medical Treatment For Overseas Treatment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Medical Treatment/Health Treatment Subject By Speciality, Reports,Features, Statistics, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

Medical tourism picking up in S Gujarat

Posted on September 22, 2013 | Comments Off on Medical tourism picking up in S Gujarat

Surat :

Dr Harshad Joshi, a knee replacement surgeon, would be performing nearly 200 surgeries during November-December.

Around 70 per cent of his patients who would be operated upon during this period are non-resident Gujaratis (NRGs) from the USA, the UK, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Specialized and planned surgeries have become a lucrative business for the city doctors. Also medical tourism is picking up in south Gujarat.

Five years ago, just 10 per cent of NRGs from south Gujarat used to plan medical treatment to coincide with visit to their native places. Now, this percentage has gone up to 60 per cent, medical fraternity sources said.

In south Gujarat, the peak months for the NRG visit are November, December, January and February. It is during this period that the doctors work overtime to attend to the huge number of patients coming for ophthalmology, knee and joint replacements and spine surgeries.

“A simple Lasik treatment that costs $ 3,000 abroad can be done here for Rs 25,000. With falling rupee, it is not only affordable but more than affordable for the NRGs,” said Dr Paresh Vaidya, ophthalmologist.

A simple knee-joint implant is available for Rs 90,000 in India as against $80000 in foreign countries. As a result, many NRG patients, who are without insurance in the USA and the UK, pre-plan their treatment during the visit to their home towns in India.

Dr Harshad Joshi, a knee-replacement expert, told TOI, “The treatment here is affordable. It is a huge saving for the NRGs. We have started receiving bookings from NRIs in South Africa and the UK.”

Cervical disc surgery is done in Surat for Rs 1.5 lakh. But, it costs nothing less than $10,000 abroad.

“The cases of NRGs coming to India for spinal surgeries have gone up. It is not as big compared to knee-replacement or eye surgery cases, but there has been a steady 10 per cent increase year-on-year basis,” said Dr KC Jain, a neuro-surgeon.

source:  http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Surat> Medical Tourism / by Himanshu Bhatt & Melvyn Reggie Thomas, TNN / September 13th, 2013

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Foreign doctors get green light as Cyprus embraces medical tourism

Posted on September 12, 2013 | Comments Off on Foreign doctors get green light as Cyprus embraces medical tourism
Cyprus is hoping to lure tourists interested in affordable medical care

Cyprus is hoping to lure tourists interested in affordable medical care

Cyprus is hoping to lure tourists interested in affordable medical care and modern facilities as the island attempts to position itself as a hot-spot for foreign patients seeking procedures.

Last night the Ministry of Health granted temporary licenses to doctors from third countries who are interested in providing treatments and performing operations to foreign patients in Cyprus, provided that these medical treatments are not practiced by Cypriot doctors.

Deputy Government Spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said that the Council of Ministers were informed about this decision, which has been taken in the framework of efforts to promote medical tourism in Cyprus.

He noted that licenses will be issued as long a certain preconditions set by the Medical Council are met.

Papadopoulos said that the Health Ministry and Cyprus Medical Association would have a constant cooperation so that Cypriot doctors can benefit from this plan, through their further training in operations and medical practices, which are not provided in Cyprus.

In June the Cyprus Tourism Organization and Cyprus Medical Association announced they were joining forces in order to promote the island as a medical tourist destination.

The CTO have said that medical tourism will improve Cyprus’ tourist product and will increase tourist arrivals.

source: http://www.famagusta-gazette.com / Famagusta Gazette /  News from Cyprus / Wednesday – September 04th, 2013

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Posted in Associations/Organisations/Government/NonGovernment, Health /Medical Treatment For Overseas Treatment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Medical Treatment/Health Treatment Subject By Speciality, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas

Mainland Rich Go to Taiwan for Checkups

Posted on September 10, 2013 | Comments Off on Mainland Rich Go to Taiwan for Checkups
Taiwan is luring well-off tourists from the mainland with quality health examinations and management packages.

Ever since Taiwan authorities launched a 15-day health/medical tourism permit for mainlanders last year, more than 30,000 people have traveled under the initiative, mainly for high-end physical checkups, cosmetic surgery or anti-aging therapies, according to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council.

The policy, issued last year, was aimed at broadening the island’s health tourism market by attracting more customers from the mainland.

Currently, residents of 26 major cities on the mainland can travel to the island on an individual basis, while medical tourists can be from anywhere.

Hung Tzu-Jen, general manager of the Shin Kong Medical Club of Taiwan, one of the 39 authorized medical institutions to receive such tourists, said on Friday that it has received about 3,000 since the new rule was implemented.

Most were rich male entrepreneurs aged 45 to 55 from Jiangsu, Hebei and Fujian provinces, he said.

The hospital focuses on early screenings for cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which have become top killers across the country.

According to Hung, each customer spends 7,500 yuan ($1,230) on average for packages based on individual situations and needs.

Apart from advanced equipment, “quality services, a custom-oriented approach, the highlighting of preventive care and health management, as well as promotion are the real competitive advantages,” he said.

One of their customers from Jiangsu said that instead of a medicine odor, the hospital gave off a pleasant coffee smell.

Another customer, surnamed Liu, who went to the hospital for a health checkup package for women, said the jelly the B-scan doctor applied on her belly was warm, an unexpected and human-oriented service, as on the mainland the jelly is usually cold and feels uncomfortable.

The package, mainly about early breast cancer screening, costs about 5,400 yuan, she said.

Despite the rising trend, health checkup tourists from the mainland account for only 5 percent of the total at the center, Hung said.

“There must be a major increase in the future,” he said.

International studies showed that usually about 3 percent of a developing country’s rich population considers international health tourism, Hung said.

“That figure should be at least 60 million in the case of mainland, which might be our potential clients,” he said.

He urged Taiwan authorities to boost the efforts by actively promoting the “Taiwan healthcare” brand.

Many countries and regions worldwide have begun to eye the health tourism market, he said.

“The competition is actually among countries and regions rather than just healthcare providers,” Hung said.

In Singapore, for instance, the government invests $100 million every year to promote its local healthcare brands internationally.

Films and TV shows in South Korea have even included scenes about healthcare and plastic surgery.

“Taiwan should learn from them and become a top destination for healthcare tourists from the mainland,” he expected, adding that Taiwan strikes a good balance of quality and affordability.

But for the super-rich in metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai, “They are eyeing the best of the best, like Europe and the US,” he said.

source: http://www.crienglish.com / english.cri.cn / Home> China / by China Daily / by web editory: Yangyang / September 02nd, 2013

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Out-of-box suggestions on Kerala tourism from panel of MPs

Posted on September 5, 2013 | Comments Off on Out-of-box suggestions on Kerala tourism from panel of MPs

House panel says cruise tourism should be part of Incredible India campaign

HouseboatCT05sept2013

Spice route tourism and tea tourism are among the options suggested by a Parliament panel for Kerala , to attract international and Indian travellers.
A place where tourism makes for nine per cent of the gross state domestic product, Kerala is being projected as a one-stop location for at least eight types of tourism.

A report by Parliament’s standing committee on transport, tourism and culture, headed by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, has listed cruises, wellness, medicine, wildlife, tea, spice route, heritage and film shooting as areas for developing tourism in Kerala.

Cardamom, pepper, nutmeg, tea, coffee, clove, ginger and turmeric might assume a new meaning if spice route tourism is promoted. The committee has backed an initiative in this regard from the state. It would not only revive India’s heritage but give “a larger foothold for garnering world tourism revenue”. The other countries in the spice route would include Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Pakistan and Portugal. Kerala Tourism has proposed to link 31 spice destinations in the world, to create a new travel experience.

Also, the cruise potential of Cochin port could be included in the Incredible India campaign’, the panel has recommended. Other ports should also be explored for cruise tourism opportunities, it has said.

Pitching Munnar as one of the prime tourist destinations in India, the committee has said the widespread tea plantations are the region’s unique selling proposition. Tea tourism could be a niche area in Kerala to woo tourists for a special experience. “The tea estates and the bungalows just add another tweak to this perfect serenity.”

Although wellness tourism is already there in the state, the committee says this should be developed as a unique brand to attract tourists from over the world. “The committee would like the state and central government to come up with solution-providing ideas so that wellness tourism in Kerala is developed as a brand.”

To promote medical tourism, the panel has sought support from the Centre, especially around areas such as ayurveda, sidha and unani treatment. Also, medical visa issues need to be addressed.

While praising the state government initiative to develop wildlife and ecological tourism in Kerala, the committee wants vehicular traffic to be restricted inside the Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary. It has also recommended pollution-free and less noisy boats at the sanctuary.

As for film shooting in the state, the committee has recommended a directory of potential locations. The state should also hold workshops and tours for film production executives.

Seeking reduction in tax levels, the committee has noted that Kerala’s tourism revenue in 2012 was Rs 20,430 crore with foreign exchange earnings of Rs 4,548 crore.

ATTRACTIONS AT GOD’S OWN COUNTRY
A report by Parliament’s standing committee on transport, tourism and culture has listed these areas for developing tourism in Kerala

* Cruises
* Wellness
* Medicine
* Wildlife
* Film shooting
* Tea
* Spice route
* Heritage

source:  http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Economy & Policy> News / by Nivedita Mookerji / New Delhi – August 29th, 2013

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Posted in Associations/Organisations/Government/NonGovernment, Health /Medical Treatment For Overseas Treatment, Medical Tourism/Health Tourism, Medical Treatment/Health Treatment Subject By Speciality, Reports,Features, Statistics, Travelling For Surgery Abroad / Medical Surgery Overseas, Wellness Tourism