S'pore to give medical tourism a shot in the arm
S'pore to give medical tourism a shot in the arm
Lilian Karunungan,
Reuters/Singapore
When Indonesian Rismayanti Maulana's husband was diagnosed with
liver cancer, she had no hesitation in bringing him to Singapore
for an operation despite the city-state's higher medical costs.
Syahrul, a 36-year-old former civil servant, still travels to
Singapore for chemotherapy after being hospitalized for three
weeks following an operation.
"Many Indonesians go to Singapore for treatment because of its
medical sophistication. The doctors are well-trained and, in my
husband's case, there's no liver surgeon in Indonesia," said
Maulana.
Maulana's words are music to the ears of the Singapore
government, which is on a mission to re-establish the island as
the region's medical hub as it fights growing competition from
lower-cost countries Thailand and Malaysia.
In 2003, Singapore had about 230,000 medical visitors despite
the SARS outbreak, a nearly nine percent increase over the 2002
level of 211,600 visitors receiving medical treatment, according
to the Singapore Tourism Board.
Now Singapore aims to draw one million foreign patients to its
shores by 2012 and a government study showed the target could
potentially generate S$2.6 billion in expenditures, adding about
one percent to Singapore's gross domestic product.
"Our top markets are Indonesia and Malaysia which account for
more than 75 per cent of total. We are also seeing signs of good
growth, albeit starting from a small base, from the rest of ASEAN
and new markets such as the Middle East," said Dr Chan Tat Hon,
assistant chief executive at the Singapore Tourism Board.
The fight for the rich Asian patient covers a range of
services from simple health screening to plastic surgery, knee or
hip replacement and heart bypass surgery.
The push goes hand-in-hand with a goal to develop the
biomedical sciences sector into a second engine of growth for the
trade-dependent economy.
But since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, other countries in
the region have also been aggressively promoting themselves as
destinations for health tourism, with Thailand's Bumrungrad
Hospital leading the drive.
In a typical health tourism package, hospital staff arrange
airport transfers, book relatives into nearby hotels and even
organize local tours. More luxurious packages can include a
massage at a spa as well as dinner at an elegant restaurant.
In the face of the growing competition, Singapore's Parkway
Holdings Ltd, Southeast Asia's largest-listed private hospital
company, has decided to focus on the high-end of the market
involving complex cases.
"For Parkway and Singapore, we are looking at a tertiary
medical hub rather than those small surgical operations that
everybody is attracting," Tan-Hoong Chu Eng, group general
manager, told Reuters in a recent interview. Parkway, which
claims a 60 percent market share in private healthcare sector in
the city-state, lists organ transplants, cancer treatment, and
hip replacement as among the popular complex procedures being
sought by foreigners.
About 30 percent of the group's patient population is foreign,
or patients with overseas addresses.
Parkway, which also has hospitals in Malaysia, Indonesia,
India and Brunei, is even thriving on some of the expertise it
has passed on to neighboring countries as it gets referrals from
the more complex cases its overseas units cannot handle.
"That is why our market share continues to grow for the
international patient," Tan said.
Raffles Hospital, a privately owned Singapore hospital which
has earned an international reputation in the area of separating
conjoined twins, cut its fees for some common surgical procedures
in September to make them more competitive against Thailand.
Its fixed-price package of S$15,700 (US$9,235) for a heart
bypass operation is 25 percent lower now, and includes multiple-
arterial grafts, doctors' fees and eight days stay in hospital.
Bangkok's Bumrungrad advertises for the same treatment at
299,900 baht (US$7,315) but this offers only one arterial graft.
The cost is estimated to increase by another 25,000 baht for an
additional graft.
In Malaysia's historical city of Malacca, about three hours
drive north of Singapore, the 288-bed Mahkota Medical Center is
offering health and leisure packages ranging from 980 ringgit
(US$257) to 1,620 ringgit for two nights' stay at a nearby hotel
and health screening for one to two people.
"The response is very encouraging. One does not have to worry
about accommodation and pick-up. That's our strategy," said
Vincent Wan, senior business development manager at Mahkota,
which launched the packages in August 2003.
Raffles Hospital also offers health screening packages ranging
from S$228 (US$134) to S$1,443. Including hotel stay of about
three nights, the costs can range from S$390 to S$1,995.
Despite its higher prices, Singapore's greatest challenge is
to attract the Asian elite who still prefer to go to the United
States for treatment.
A government study said the wealthy island should style itself
on the United States' Mayo Clinic, whose enduring brand name for
cutting-edge medicine allows it to command a price premium.
Parkway charges S$260,000 for liver transplant that would
cover the costs for the recipient and the living donor, whereas
an American hospital offers this procedure at half a million
Singapore dollars, Parkway's Tan said.
"America has been known for the best, the latest treatment.
This is why Singapore is going to do it for the Asia Pacific,"
she said.