Easing medical ad rules

Star: PORT DICKSON: Advertising guidelines for the healthcare sector may be further liberalised to promote medical tourism and ensure targets under the National Key Economic Area are achieved.
This will also allow the country to better compete with its neighbours as one of the health hubs in the region.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said health practitioners had appealed to the Government for a review of the guidelines because they were losing out on medical tourists.
“Although doctors and hospitals are now allowed to advertise their services, there are certain limitations,” he said. “We will review this and see how it can further boost the health industry.”
Currently, among others, health practitioners cannot claim to be the best providers of a particular treatment and are not allowed to use too many personal photographs to promote themselves.
Speaking to reporters after opening the Chief Executive Officer Summit for Malaysian Healthcare Travel here yesterday, Liow said a review was also timely because many healthcare services offered in the country were already of world-class standard.
“Since healthcare travel has been identified as one of the entry point projects to generate greater income and create new jobs, this will be considered,” he said.
He also added that nearly two million medical tourists bringing in some RM4bil to the country’s gross national income by 2020 was expected.
Liow said in the first nine months of the year, some 350,000 foreigners, most of whom were Indonesians, spent RM380mil for treatment in Malaysia.
“However, despite a 22% annual growth between 2004 and last year, Malaysia’s share of the healthcare pie is still very small, compared to Singapore and Thailand.
“We certainly can go further if we put in the right strategies and concerted efforts,” he said, adding that the revenue target was some RM430mil this year.
The ministry, he said, would also be setting up call centres in China and Indonesia next year to attract more medical tourists.