Bangkok’s Bumrungrad is often held up as one of the first hospitals in the world to focus on medical tourism. Thailand’s Bumrungrad International Hospital has been attracting patients from America, Europe, Australasia, and Asia and across the Middle East with a combination of lower-cost, state-of-the-art medical care and five-star hotel service.
Bangkok’s Bumrungrad is often held up as one of the first hospitals in the world to focus on medical tourism. Thailand’s Bumrungrad International Hospital has been attracting patients from America, Europe, Australasia, and Asia and across the Middle East with a combination of lower-cost, state-of-the-art medical care and five-star hotel service. It claims more than one million patients, including 40% from 200 countries visit every year for outpatient or in-patient treatment. However, some have expressed doubts about the validity of these medical tourist figures due to the way in which patient numbers are counted at Bumrungrad; it is suggested that multiple visits to the hospital by a single patient are reported multiple times, thus inflating the patient numbers.
SouthEast Asia’s largest private hospital plans to increase inpatient admission numbers by 30% over the next few years and double capacity for outpatients.
The private hospital was opened in January 1997. 2001 saw the United States put visa restrictions on people from the Middle East; so many Middle Eastern patients sought alternatives. The hospital saw about 12,000 Middle Eastern patients in 2001 and by 2008 this had increased to more than 100,000. The hospital sees 3000 outpatients including 1200 who are non-Thai. The international patients are medical tourists, business and other travelers, and expatriates living in Thailand. International patients make up 42% of patient volume, but 55% of revenue. The hospital has developed services for international patients. The International Medical Coordination Office [IMCO] has 25 doctors and nurses.
Annually, 600,000 patients are Thai. A large number of patients are either expats in Thailand or the region or come from surrounding countries including Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma and Bangladesh, who come for advanced treatment. Then there are 30,000 patients a year from North America, under 30,000 patients from Europe and under 30,000 from East Asia, which includes Japan and China. Over 100,000 patients a year come from the Middle East and those are mainly the Gulf countries, principally the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman. There are growing numbers from Africa and Australia.
In Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and emerging markets like Mongolia and Ethiopia, patients go for advanced care that they cannot find at the hospitals in their country. Medical tourists from the US mostly go due to the cost being from 50% to 80% less expensive than for comparable procedures in the US.
Bumrungrad was the first hospital in Asia to be JCI accredited in 2002 and has been reaccredited three times. This year, the hospital has signed up for the International Quality Indicator Project (IQIP), being the first hospital in Thailand and one of the first hospitals in Asia to sign up. The International Quality Indicator Project (IQIP) assists healthcare organizations in identifying opportunities for improvement in patient care. Nearly 180 healthcare organizations in 12 countries use the IQIP tools to collect, analyze, and compare clinical and administrative health care data.
The hospital owns 31.5 % of Bumrungrad International Limited (BIL), with other investment partners in Dubai and Singapore, and private investors in Bangkok. BIL is an investment and operational arm outside Thailand. BIL is majority owner a hospital in Manila, Asia Hospital International. It has a five-year management contract with the government of the United Arab Emirates to manage the Al Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi that includes planning a 600-bed hospital to replace the existing hospital.
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