HEALTH
Medical sector to tap niche market

2009/11/29

World-class medical services, competitive costs and a strategic location make Malaysia an attractive medical tourism destination. But with increasing competition from Singapore and Thailand, more specialised treatments must offered, writes B. SURESH RAM. THE burgeoning medical tourism sector should look at creating niche treatment areas for select group of patients.

This move will enable Malaysia to more than just compete with neighbours Thailand and Singapore for the medical tourism ringgit.

Thailand's selling point is its compartively low prices, while Singapore, a bit more expensive, banks on its credibility. Malaysia is centrally placed, both in terms of geography and the price of treatment.

International Specialist Eye Centre (ISEC) medical director Dr Wong Jun Shyan says the Malaysian medical tourism sector is largely untapped despite the strides it has made over the years.

Malaysia, he said, has become the de facto medical tourism destination for Indonesians.

"Indonesia, with a population of 230 million, is under served when it comes to specialised treatment and services."

Malaysia is also geographically and linguistically in a strategic position to serve China and India in specialised medical tourism products.

"These two countries with their huge population should be the markets to be tapped."

Dr Wong says stakeholders must take full advantage of the multi-billion dollar industry by making available every facility and service.

For example, the National Heart Institute has created a name for itself in the region in the field of cardiology.

Dr Wong says ISEC is similarly established as a centre of excellence in ophthalmology, specifically in clinical care, teaching and research.

The vision of establishing a world-class eye care facility has its roots in 2000, when a group of ophthalmologists wanted to build a centre of excellence in eye care delivery that is equal to the best in the world.

About RM10 million has been invested in the state-of-the-art facilities. These include 15 consultation rooms with diagnostic equipment, five suites for laser ophthalmic procedures and four operating theatres.

Located in Kuala Lumpur's Mid Valley City, the centre has conducted over 3,000 eye operations, with medical tourists making up 20 per cent of these patients.

ISEC provides a full range of ophthalmic services such as cornea and anterior segment service, cataract and intraocular lens implants, glaucoma service, paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus services, medical retinal service, vitreoretinal service, uveitis service, laser refractive surgery as well as optometry and orthoptic services.

ISEC is an ambulatory surgical centre or a day-care surgical centre.

The day-care surgical centre concept benefits patients in the form of affordable eye-care as patients pay less for procedures compared with a hospital setting.

ISEC's move towards being a centre of excellence was boosted when it received the Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation from a United States-based non-profit organisation in February.

This accreditation recognises safety and quality within an organisation.

Dr Wong says ISEC has been actively engaged in regular postgraduate educational programmes and collaborative research.

It has a technical collaboration agreement with the Singapore National Eye Centre, the leading eye-care facility in Singapore .

ISEC has also hosted numerous medical education presentations and conducted programmes for elective medical students from universities abroad, private optometry students and clinical attachment students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's optometry department.