Health tourism revenue will not meet RM2b target: Chua

Business Times: MALAYSIA will not be able to achieve a target to raise RM2.2 billion of revenue from tourists who visit the country for healthcare services by 2010, says the Ministry of Health.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said that the 2010 projection is only based on theory.
“We can’t achieve this RM2.2 billion target. At RM105 million in revenue in 2004, we are not even talking about a quantum leap but geographical multiplication (by 2010),” Dr Chua told Business Times in an interview.
The projection, made by an independent consultancy firm, indicates that this year Malaysia will receive RM925 million in revenue from a sector now known as health tourism.
This would represent an eightfold increase from the RM105 million achieved in 2004.
The lack of data provided to the ministry does not help either.
“As far as medical tourism goes, the Government is for it, but ... it is the private sector which is the engine of growth for this segment. (The ministry) only provides the infrastructure. As for the promotion, it is up to them (private sector).
“(While) they are promoting, there is the sense (of) complacency among them because they can grow with the local patients,” he said.
According to him, there are more than 200 private hospitals but less than a fifth or just 30 private hospitals are involved in medical tourism.
“Although we are collecting the data, not all 30 hospitals are cooperative in providing data on the number of patients, charges, profile of patients,” he said.
This information was important to strategise marketing, developing niche area, identifying areas of deficiencies as well as area with growth potential.
“We do not have a clear picture,” he said, adding that Malaysian hospitals should also be looking at providing high-end treatment as opposed to just health screening, dental procedures or breast implants.
Of the total foreign patients that Malaysia receives, 55 per cent seek medical treatment in the Klang Valley, 30 per cent go to Malacca and about 15 per cent to Penang.