With the cost of medical treatment skyrocketing in their home countries, more and more patients are travelling overseas for health care each year, a phenomenon now known as ‘medical tourism’.

And the most favoured destination is Asia where hospitals offer world-class medical services at just a fraction of the cost in the US or Europe with a vacation at an exotic resort as an inviting option.

Medical tourism has become a fast booming industry in Asia, fuelled by the relatively low-priced healthcare services available in the region, using the same Western technology and carried out by competent and foreign-trained specialists.

Heart bypass operations, liver transplants, hip and joint replacements and other complex surgical procedures that cost tens of thousands of dollars in a top US or British hospital can be done for a fraction of the cost but with the same level of skill in Asia.

A recent report, Asian Medical Tourism Analysis (2008-2012), said the region generated revenues worth US$3.4 billion from medical tourism in 2007, accounting for nearly 12.7 per cent of the global market. 

The Asian medical tourism market is expected to grow at an annual average of 17.6 per cent between 2007 and 2012, the report said.

The report identified the five biggest Asian medical tourism markets as Thailand, Singapore, India, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Key players in the Asian medical tourism markets are Thailand’s Bumrungrad International and Bangkok Hospital Medical Center, Singapore’s Parkway Health and the Raffles Medical Group, India’s Apollo Hospitals and the Philippines’ St Luke’s Medical Center and The Medical City.

The cost-effective treatment in Asian countries combined with almost nil waiting time makes Asia a lucrative destination for medical tourists.

In 2007, more than 2.9 million patients visited Thailand, Singapore, India, Malaysia and the Philippines for medical treatment.

With its huge potential revenues, these Asian countries are all vying for a bigger slice of the medical tourism pie.

With its low cost and scenic beach resorts, Thailand has emerged as the largest medical tourism market in Asia. However, its unstable political environment is restraining its growth.

More than one million tourists receive healthcare in Thailand each year.  It expects 1.54 million foreign patients and $1.1 billion revenues this year.

Singapore’s healthcare system is ranked as the best in Asia but its costs are considerably higher compared to other Asian destinations.

Singapore draws 400,000 overseas patients a year, mostly Indonesians and Malaysians.
It is targeting one million foreign patients and $3 billion revenues by 2012.

India has a low cost advantage and is the fastest growing market. It offers medical treatment along with alternate therapies like yoga, ayurveda, aromatherapy, and acupuncture.

In 2007, India treated 450,000 international patients. It expects to generate $1 billion in revenues by 2010.

India’s medical tourism business is growing at 30 per cent per year and is forecast to generate at least $2.2 billion a year by 2012. But perceptions on the country’s questionable sanitary conditions are a major roadblock for growth.

Malaysia and the Philippines are both relatively new players in medical tourism. However, both countries are expected to grow strongly in the next five years.

In 2007, more than 340,000 people visited Malaysia for medical treatment, most of them from Indonesia and Singapore. Malaysia expects the number of foreign patients to grow at a rate of about 25-30 per cent until 2010 and medical tourism receipts to reach $1 billion by 2010.

International patients treated in the Philippines come mainly from around Asia, Micronesia and the Middle East. The government is also hoping to attract patients from countries as far as the US and Europe. The Philippines received 200,000 foreign patients in 2007.

Its fabulous beaches are no longer the Philippines’ only attraction as the government seeks to transform the country into a legitimate destination for medical tourism by incorporating medical care into attractive holiday packages. 

Medical tourism has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing industries with annual revenues of $20 billion. The major forces driving growth of this emerging industry include the rising cost of healthcare and limited scope of insurance coverage, increasing waiting time for treatments, and low cost of treatments elsewhere.

A recent report entitled Opportunities in Asian Medical Tourism (2007-2010) said that medical travel is expected to be a $40-billion business by 2010, with over 780 million patients seeking care outside their country of residence.

In 2007, for example, 750,000 Americans sought cheaper treatment outside the US—a figure projected to reach 6 million by 2010 and 15.75 million by 2017, according to the latest research report by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. 

The Deloitte report, titled Medical Tourism: Consumers in Search of Value noted that “the safety and quality of care available in many offshore settings is no longer an issue.”
State-of-the-art equipment, specialist surgeons trained in North America, Europe, Japan or Australia, and the use of the latest techniques have helped overcome the traditional fear of an operation abroad.

“We buy the same technology as our counterparts in New York City, London or Melbourne. There is no gap in the professional environment, no compromise in our level of care,”  says one Asian doctor. “The only compromise for a US customer is the 18-hour plane journey.”