MEDICAL TOURISM IN SINGAPORE

Medical tourism is the practice of traveling to another country to receive medical treatment. Depending on the nature of treatment and destination of travel, costs savings can be substantial, even after factoring in air fare, hotel stay, insurance, dining and shopping. For instance, a heart valve operation, which would cost over $200,000 in the United States, could cost under $10,000 in a country like India. It is for this reason, that an increasing number of patients in the West, where medical costs have sky-rocketed, are flocking to Asia to seek medical treatment.


Singapore has become one of the major destinations for foreign patients seeking medical treatment. Three agencies, the Economic Development Board, the Singapore Tourism Board and the International Enterprise Singapore, have come together to develop Singapore as one of Asia's leading health care destinations. Through their cooperative efforts, they successfully attract an average of 200,000 medical tourists to the tiny island state each year, bringing with them revenues of about US $3 billion annually.


Singapore prides itself with having world-class medical facilities, with 11 (Joint Commission International) JCI accredited hospitals. It has a fluent English-speaking population and is well known for its clean and green structured environment. Many of the doctors and staff are trained in major medical centres in the United States and Europe.


Whilst medical costs in Singapore are considerably lower than in the West, they are more expensive compared to some of the surrounding Asian countries, such as India and Thailand. However, Singapore has managed to successfully brand itself above the competition, offering a wide spectrum of health care services in every major field of medicine.


The Singapore Tourism Board works with the various health care providers and travel agents, to provide foreign patients with attractive and affordable packages. These include air-port transfers, appointment with specialists, hospital stays, sight-seeing arrangements etc.


The Parkway Group of Hospitals (Gleneagles, Mount Elizabeth and Parkway East Hospitals) is a major service provider in the field of medical travel. Together with Raffles Hospital, Mount Alvernia, Thomson Medical and the Government/Restructured Hospitals (Alexandra Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, National University Hospital, Changi General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital), they provide a comprehensive and competitive range of services to foreign patients. Most hospitals now have dedicated International Call Centres to cater to this growing demand.


Medical tourism is set to continue growing in the years to come. As the Baby Boomers reach their sunset years, and more medical issues present themselves, they represent a vast market for high quality, affordable health care. There are also up to 43 million Americans without health insurance and 120 million without dental coverage who will contribute to the growth of medical tourism in Asia.