16-Mar-17 Malaysia’s medical tourism industry grew by almost 25% in 2016, raking in an estimated MYR1.15 bn (USD260 mn) in hospital revenue, revealed the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council. CEO Sherene Azli said medical tourists were the biggest spenders among tourists in the country. “Our medical tourists mostly come from Indonesia, China, India, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Middle East,” she said. [image: Free Malaysia Today]

16-Mar-17 N Health, a unit under Thailand's BDMS hospital group, has launched a medical laboratory in Yangon, Myanmar, with local partners, to tap growing opportunities there. Since the civilian government started in 2011, health expenditures have risen over 10 times and this is just the beginning," said Dr Win Zaw Aung, managing director of Sea Lion Group. [image: Bangkok Post]

12-Mar-17 Private healthcare institutions in emerging Asian economies are cutting costs to offer high-quality care at 50-70% the price of large private hospitals. QualiMed in the Philippines has kept labor costs down by hiring young doctors who cannot afford a hospital space. Columbia Asia keeps operating costs low by focusing on high-demand fields. [image: Nikkei Asian Review]

 Insights

10-Mar-17 Indonesia is likely the largest outbound medical travel market, according to Josef Woodman of Patients Beyond Borders. “Indonesia’s healthcare infrastructure is generally poor and about 1.5 to 2 mn Indonesian medical travelers go to Southeast Asia or Australia,” he said. China is also one of the largest medical tourism markets as many Chinese travelers look for better healthcare. [image: Skift]

09-Mar-17 With 9,000 workers needed over the next three years, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will invest an additional SGD24 mn to attract more Singaporeans, in particular mid-career professionals, to take up a job in healthcare. Among the 9,000 needed, about half are Professional, Manager, Executive and Technician (PMET) roles such as nurses, therapists, administrative executives and operations managers. [image: SGH]