A dermatology clinic may not be everyone's idea of a perfect holiday
destination.
But a growing number of overseas
Filipinos and foreigners these days travel to the Philippines for medical
treatment to save on money—combining a visit to the doctor with their tropical
island experience.
One of them is Gelo (not his real
name), a Filipino who migrated to the US and went on a so-called “medical
vacation” in Manila to get his acne scars removed.
“The procedure I had was a Fraxel
Laser Treatment, which is used to treat acne scars. It took place on May 2011
and again on April 2012,” he said in an
e-mail message to GMA News Online.
Gelo said price was major
motivation in getting treatment here instead of the US.
The procedure Gelo underwent
costs $200 (P8,200) in Manila, way below the $400 to $800 (P16,200 to P24,600)
he would have paid in the US.
“For that price I can go on
vacation to the Philippines and get the treatment done,” Gelo noted. “I also
looked at satisfaction reviews from patients both here and there, and found
that they were comparably favorable.
“More importantly, that treatment
is sometimes performed by nurses, medical assistants, or technicians here [in
the US], while it is performed by the actual doctor/dermatologist there,” he
added.
An industry in infancy
While many like Gelo travel to
the Philippines for medical treatment, the country's revenue share in the
world's medical tourism remains trifling compared to other emerging markets
like Thailand where services are also nominally inexpensive.
The world's medical tourism
industry is projected to rake in $70 billion this year.
The joint public-private
association Philippine Medical Tourism Program (PMTP) targets to attract $2
billion in revenues by 2015, according to global health management firm Health
Core.
Two years ago, Southeast Asian
neighbor Thailand— a rising medical tourism hub—earned $2 billion, mostly by
attracting 40 percent of the tourists seeking medical treatment in Asia, according
to data from Thailand's Bureau of Investments.
In an interview with GMA News
Online, Philippine Medical Association (PMA) president Modesto Llamas surmised
that the reason why the country is not attracting as much as it should is the
lack of medical tourism infrastructure.
While the country has a large
pool of world-class medical professionals, it does not have appropriate medical
tourism destinations, he said by phone.
“The overall situation has to be
improved. It's not only about hospital facilities or equipment, it's also about
amenities,” Llamas noted.
“Sa hospital ba natin may
dormitories where the patient or patient's family can live while seeking
treatment? Is there a decent cafeteria for them?” he said.
The Philippines does have a
medical tourism road map, which should have addressed these gaps.
Drafted in 2011 by the PMTP, the
road map sought to increase medical tourism competitiveness by complying with
international healthcare requirements and institutionalizing high level patient
safety standards.
While the Philippines' medical
tourism program appeared to remain in broad strokes, Thailand's went as far as
modernizing and institutionalizing research and development for Thai made
pharmaceuticals.
Thailand, likewise, granted
fiscal and non-tax incentives for import of medical equipment and active
ingredients for medicines.
Despite repeated requests, PMTP
officials did not grant a request for an interview with GMA News Online
regarding updates to the road map.
Banking on people
Still, the government remains
bullish on prospects for medical tourism, marketing the country's health
professionals as best in the region.
“Nakikita po natin na malakas ang
capability natin to position our country as a medical tourism
destination,” Benito Bengzon, Tourism
Assisant Secretary for international promotions, said in an interview with GMA
News' “News to Go.”
“We are very competitive. First
of all our doctors, nurses, medical staff are highly trained and are among the
best in the region,” he added.
PMA's Llamas noted, “Our selling
point is hospitality, it's always been that. The support staff, mas mababait at
mas magalang.”
However, Llamas maintains that
more needs to be done in order to fully seize the country's potential in
medical tourism, saying that at the end of the day the Philippines can catch up
with its Southeast Asian neighbors.
“Pero kailangan ng support from
the government and push from the private sector. Efforts have to be sustained,”
he added.
VS/HS, GMA News
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