The transfer of patients across borders in search of medical treatment and health has become a key new aspect of a rising trade in healthcare, a phenomenon known as medical tourism. Over the last few decades, the global growth in the flow of patients and health professionals, as well as medical technology, capital funding, and regulatory regimes across borders have resulted in novel patterns of healthcare consumption and production.
When consumers choose to travel across international borders to receive medical treatment, it is known as medical tourism. This treatment can cover a wide range of medical treatments, although it is most usually associated with dental work, cosmetic surgery, elective surgery, and fertility treatment. Patients from richer, more developed countries are increasingly traveling to less developed countries to receive healthcare owing to the lower cost of treatments provided in the latter and the availability of inexpensive flights and online sources of information.
In 2020, Malaysia had high hopes for its medical tourism industry—until the pandemic struck. Between 2011 and 2018, the number of overseas tourists seeking medical treatment in Malaysia more than doubled, from 643,000 to 1.2 million, with visits from China, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A type of public-private partnership uncommon in healthcare tourism has been at the heart of this expansion.
Noting the sector’s rise in neighboring Thailand and Singapore, the Malaysian government introduced targeted tax breaks and incentives for private healthcare, resulting in a total investment of 10 billion ringgit (£1.9 billion, €2.10 billion) in the sector from 2011 to 2018. As the world slowly recovers from the pandemic, Malaysia’s medical tourism sector sees signs of growth when normalcy returns. A large part of this prediction is based on the performance of the country’s healthcare sector before the crisis, and assumes that most things will eventually return back to how things were.
Here are a few aspects that indicate Malaysia being a prime example of above average healthcare, before and after the pandemic.
1. Healthcare Services
Malaysia has huge potential in medical tourism and is regarded as one of the best places to go to for healthcare. The ways that the healthcare system in Malaysia is implemented means the country provides good public and private healthcare services at a very low cost when compared to developed countries, due to government subsidies, advantageous exchange rates, lower malpractice charges, and a reduced cost of living.
A normal heart bypass would cost USD6,000-7,000 in Malaysia, compared to USD130,000 in the United States. In addition, the National Heart Institute of Malaysia (IJN) has been able to attract international patients by providing modern healthcare at a fraction of the cost of medical tourism in the United States and Europe. An angioplasty surgery that would cost US$100,000 (RM305,741) in the United States is only US$13,000 (RM39,750) in Malaysia.
Malaysia caters to the budget-conscious middle class, and is especially well-known for cardiovascular and orthopedic surgeries, while it also sees patients for other treatments. Malaysian hospitals, according to the Medical Tourism Officer at the IJN, not only offer the newest medical technology, but also a suitable environment for treatment. Because of these, the number of visitors seeking medical care in Malaysia increased in 2015. (850,000).
2. High Quality And Recuperation Services Provided
Malaysia’s medical institutions serve as a one-stop shop for medical tourists, providing everything from pre-operative consultations to post-operative recuperation treatments and therapies. These facilities provide high-quality recovery and rehabilitation services by combining care, closeness, and technology. Although India’s medical treatments are less expensive in some operations than Malaysia’s, other features such as government assistance, infrastructure, shorter wait times, privacy, and a welcoming environment are what tourists deem important. This demonstrates why Malaysia is a popular healthcare destination, particularly among Indian middle-class travelers.
Malaysia is noted for having a high success rate in reproductive treatments, which include holistic care, therapeutic services, and the possibility of adopting traditional recuperative methods in addition to modern treatment.
3. Uncertain Future
All of this was true before the pandemic. International travel has been halted because of the uncertainties surrounding Covid-19, as well as lockdowns, border restrictions, and social distancing. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, the travel sector might decrease by 60% to 80% by the end of 2020, making it the “worst crisis in worldwide tourism since records began.” The report also stated that the Pacific and Asia regions were hit the hardest, losing approximately 33 million tourists in total.
Malaysia’s healthcare sector has shown potential for growth and is expected to bounce back from the crisis eventually, but nobody knows what the future holds for the nation or the world.
Even when the lockdown is eased, there is much ambiguity about when foreign travel will restart, with several countries retaining border bans or imposing 14-21-days quarantine on visitors. One idea a few countries have been discussing between each other is for those countries that have controlled or eliminated the virus to establish travel corridors amongst themselves, allowing visitors from such nations to avoid quarantine. Malaysia is said to be considering a deal with Indonesia, which is the country’s largest supplier of medical tourists.
Expect time to reveal how fast the recovery of the economy along with Malaysia’s healthcare sector could possibly grow in the coming years.
