HEALTH TOURISM GROWTH TO ATTRACT MORE FOREIGNERS SEEKING TREATMENT IN MALAYSIA

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The rising cost of medical care in
developed countries and the popularity of health tourism, especially in
Malaysia, will be among the focus areas of the Healthcare Tourism Congress 2010
here on April 12-13.

It will be officiated by Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

The global competition in the healthcare industry is providing increasing
opportunities for patients to travel abroad to seek treatment.

Foreigners visiting Malaysia for medical treatment has increased
tremendously since 2003, reaching 341,288 patients in 2007.

The revenue generated from medical tourism was about RM222.25 million
(US$67.7 million) for
the first nine months of 2008 from more than 282,000 foreigners.

This was an increase of 16 per cent compared to 2007, according to
statistics from Frost & Sullivan.

The two-day event with the theme, Malaysia: World Top Notch Care Provider,
at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) is in line with the call by Prime
Minister, Najib Tun Razak to tap into the health and medical tourism
industry.

The Congress will feature prominent speakers from the industry, including
Josef Woodman, author of the book Patients Beyond Borders, and President of
Healthy Travel Media Company.

Woodman has toured more than 140 medical facilities in 22 countries and
estimates that 240,000 Americans traveled for medical procedures in 2009, and
the numbers are growing, with many heading to Malaysia.

"For those who are comfortable with the idea of medical tourism, the savings
are attractive.

"The average cost of an angioplasty costing about US$6,000 in Malaysia
will cost US$11,000 in Singapore and US$57,000 in the United States. For the 47
million uninsured people in the United States, these prices matter," he said in
a statement.

Woodman and his team have also been researching contemporary medical
tourism in the countries toured.

A noted consumer advocate for the globalisation of healthcare, Woodman has
lectured at the Harvard Medical School and the University of California-Los
Angeles’ School of Public Health.

He has also hosted more than a dozen seminars and workshops around the world
on the topics of medical tourism and health travel.

The conference topics meanwhile, include Healthcare Tourism Marketing,
Healthcare Tourism Management, Traditional and Complementary Medicine and
Wellness as well as Strategic Partnership.

Held together with an exhibition that is open to the public, the Congress is
expected to attract medical experts, healthcare developers, pharmaceutical
companies, insurance industry, travel agencies, government agencies, medical
tourism facilitators as well as healthcare/medical associations.

Healthcare packages will also be offered to visitors who sign up for
promotional offers.

Other key speakers are, Suresh Ponnudurai (Founder & Chief Executive Officer
of Malaysia Healthcare), Amir Firdaus Abd (Chief Executive Officer, Gleneagles
Hospital in Kuala Lumpur), Stuart D Rowley (Chief Executive Officer & Board
Director, Prince Court Medical Centre), Raymond Chong Chin Wah (Managing
Director & Chief Executive Officer of Samitivej Group of Hospitals in Thailand),
Dr Milton Lum Siew Wah (Director of Medical Defence Malaysia Berhad), Dr Ramli
Abd Ghani (Director, Traditional & Complementary Medicine Division, Ministry of
Health Malaysia), Catherine-Brillantes Turvill (Founder & President of the Spa
Association of Philippines).

The Congress is being organised by the Knowledge Group of Companies. For
more details, please log on to www.htcongress.com

-- BERNAMA