Malaysia announces increase in inbound medical travelers
23-May-17, The Malaymail Online
Malaysia's Health Ministry plans to launch the Malaysian Health Transformation Initiative which converges public and private health systems together rather than diverge them. Minister, Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the initiative was currently in the development phase.
Image: Yusof Mat Isa
“The aim is to have a sustainable and resilient health system that provides equitable, affordable and accessible high quality health service to the rakyat (people),” he said in the National Transformation Programme Annual Report.
The healthcare travel sector recorded a significant increase in revenue in 2016 and is targeted to reach MYR1.3 bn (USD300 mn) in 2017, with one million healthcare travellers, following various collaborations and engagements with target markets like Indonesia, China, Vietnam and Myanmar.
The pharmaceuticals industry recorded exports of MYR737 mn (USD172 mn), and the medical devices sector recorded MYR9.7 bn (USD2.3 bn) in exports in 2016.