Government and providers must work together to drive a destination

At MIHTE 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia demonstrated how collaboration between a government and providers of both medical and non-medical service providers can deliver the synergy that is required for a destination to drive forward a medical tourism initiative.

The second MIHTE in Kuala Lumpur highlighted Malaysia’s development as a medical tourism destination. MIHTE is run by the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), an organisation established by the Ministry of Health Malaysia, to bring together the nation’s dual heritage of hospitality and medical innovation and to promote Malaysia as the preferred healthcare travel destination in the Asian region.

MHTC and MIHTE bring together both the public and private sector operators in Malaysia who are working together to develop Malaysia’s medical tourism offering. It’s a model that works well and is unmatched anywhere else in the world. MHTC acts as a focal point or a ‘one-stop centre’ for all matters related to healthcare travel, and to respond to enquiries on policies and programmes on healthcare travel development and promotion. MHTC also offers comprehensive support for international patients who are considering Malaysia amongst their medical travel options and those who are coming to Malaysia for planned surgery and treatment.

The key message from MIHTE was the concept of “integrated care” for medical tourists, embracing not only medical aspects of a patient visit but the delivery of an all round “multi-faceted medical tourism experience”. Malaysia’s support services for medical tourists are one of its outstanding strengths. The MHTC Concierge service provides a one-stop-centre for medical travellers offering easy access to the information needed for a hassle-free medical stay in Malaysia. At Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the MHTC Concierge service has established a significant presence to answer medical enquiries, disseminate healthcare service information and provide information about transport, accommodation, and travel in Malaysia. The MHTC Lounge in the airport’s Arrival Hall facilitates the arrival of health tourists, providing a welcoming area for medical tourists while they await their pick-up service from the respective medical providers There’s also a Careline (Tel: +603 272 68 688) which operates from Mondays to Fridays, 9:00am to 6:00pm for medical and travel enquiries.

Malaysia has established a strong presence in medical tourism. According to government statistics, the country attracted 671,000 medical tourists in 2012 compared to 341,000 five years ago. The key market is cross border medical travel from Indonesia. MHTC operates representative offices in Jakarta, Bangladesh and Hong Kong. The country has benefitted from its British colonial history which has meant that standards and institutions are in place for hospital facilities, medical devices and pharmaceuticals and English is widely spoken. At the same time, it can exploit its Moslem culture and heritage to target outbound patients from the Arabic states.

The theme of “Seize it or lose it” for one of the closing sessions focused on the need for Malaysia to build on the solid foundations that it has built, and was as supported by Dr Janson Yap from Deloitte who stressed the need for Malaysia to expand its footprint, exploit the synergistic relationships of both medical and non-medical participants and explore the multitude of opportunities which it faces in the medical tourism marketplace.

With strong leadership from Dr Mary Wong and supported by Dato Dr Jacob Thomas’ Association of Private Hospitals, MHTC has shown that competing healthcare providers and interests can work together effectively for the benefit of a domestic healthcare industry as a whole. The strength of Asia and its potential to create a medical tourism “powerhouse” in medical tourism is reflected in a recent initiative to create a regional body, the Asia Medical Travel Council (AMTRAC) which aims to bring together the leading Asian destinations and apply a similar synergy to that which has been achieved by MHTC and the healthcare providers in Malaysia.