21-Jan-16 Smart Health, more holistic lifestyles including wellness management, growing trust in digital health, and cross-vertical collaborations on the rise (eg. between healthcare providers and car-hailing service companies), are four trends predicted for Southeast Asia's healthcare landscape in 2016. Smart Health involves technologies that help to close the gap between care-givers/doctors and patients. [image: Yahoo News]

21-Jan-16 The Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) supports the the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which it expects to provide wider access for exports into TPP countries, especially the US with which Malaysia has no trade agreement. Malaysia's medical devices industry mainly produces disposables, but is moving up the value chain and producing more high value medical devices such as orthopaedics and dialysers. [image: Hafzi Mohamed / TMR]

19-Jan-16 Medical tourism facilitator Medigo has secured an additional EUR3.35 mn in capital after closing an extension round with CL Ventures, and now reports total funding at USD10 mn. MEDIGO opened its Australian office in late 2015, and is starting one in Singapore. “We are committed to supporting MEDIGO as it enters the Chinese market,” said CL Ventures CEO, Hong Zhou. [image: MEDIGO]

19-Jan-16 Philippines Vice President Jejomar Binay has criticized the government’s health program, saying its health policies had been an additional burden to the poor instead of helping them. Citing a report from IBON Foundation, a spokesman said PhilHealth members were still shelling out money for confinement, medicine and other medical needs, defeating the purpose of PhilHealth membership. [image: The Standard]

15-Jan-16 From 1-Jan-16 foreigners in Malaysia began bearing the full cost of medical treatment at government hospitals and clinics, a year ahead of initial plans. The Health Minister said the ministry revised its healthcare subsidy for foreigners as a cost-cutting measure to weather current economic challenges. [image: New Straits Times]