Malaysia has potential to be regional healthcare hub, says Najib

The Star ^ | 09/17/2013 | Martin Carvalho

[TexGrill]

KUALA LUMPUR: Healthcare service providers are urged to tap the growing health tourism sector that could turn Malaysia into a regional healthcare hub.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this could be achieved through collaborations with their international counterparts.

"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 benefits the economy and country as a whole," he said when launching of the ParkCity Medical Centre and the unveiling of the Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare (RSDHC) logo here.

He said efforts to spur development of the health tourism sector via the National Key Economic Areas and the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) have shown positive results.

"Over the past three years Malaysia has seen more than 20% growth in health tourism, generating almost RM600mil in revenue last year," he added.

He said the positive growth was due to MHTC's role in providing technological platform for web-based medical and health-related information to a global audience.

"Among the countries fast becoming interested in Malaysia's medical tourism industry is Japan which registered a 20% growth," he said, adding that the Japanese who came here were under the Malaysia My Second Home programme or via word of mouth of friends and relatives.

[TexGrill]

Global business tip

[arthurus]

I predict that Maylasia will open MedTourist offices in the USA. At some point Malaysian Insurance companies might start offering good-in-Malaysia medical insurance to younger Americans. The Caribbean countries are gearing up for the American and Canadian medical trade. International medical insurance of what we call the catastrophic coverage variety is an indicated capitalist reaction to Obamacare.