Malaysia banks big on medical tourism with flagship hospital programme

Malaysia has created its first flagship medical tourism programme in a bid to reinforce its position as a trusted destination for healthcare.

Spearheaded by Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), the programme facilitates improvement of Malaysian hospitals, especially in increasing their commitment and effort in providing efficient end-to-end services for their patients.

Four finalists were shortlisted to partake in the programme, namely National Heart Institute, Island Hospital, Mahkota Medical Centre, and Subang Jaya Medical Centre. Selected through a qualifying process in 2022, the finalists will continue to be assessed on factors such as medical and service excellence, and international branding over a three-year period.

According to a statement to the press, this programme represents a significant step forward for Malaysia’s healthcare industry in achieving its goal of providing the best Malaysian healthcare experience by 2025.

Don't miss: Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council announces one-stop portal for healthcare travellers 

Zaliha Mustafa, Malaysia’s minister of health said that the progress witnessed with the flagship programme is a testament to the drive and focus of becoming the future torchbearer for Malaysia’s healthcare. He added that this is not only going to have a local impact but also an international one, significantly contributing to the country’s export service.

"I trust that the flagship programme will promote innovation and excellence in medical services and bring us closer to achieving a more resilient healthcare system for the country and establish Malaysia Healthcare as a world-renowned and credible global healthcare brand," he added.

"Fully endorsed by the government, the flagship medical tourism hospital programme is aimed at propelling the private healthcare sector into a future-forward paradigm," said MHTC's CEO, Mohd Daud Mohd Arif. He added that the outcome of this concerted effort between the public and private industry players will result in elevated private healthcare services to deliver seamless end-to-end patient experiences.

Malaysia seems to be making strides in revamping its healthcare tourism. In February this year, MHTC launched a one-stop portal to give international healthcare travellers easy access to anything related to healthcare travelling.  These initiatives aim to catalyse the growth of the country's healthcare travel industry, according to media reports. .

By 2025, it has been predicted that there will be half-a-billion seniors over the age of 65 in Asia—roughly 10% of the population, according to a McKinsey's podcast. This represents a huge demographic shift that is unprecedented - a 14% growth from today. The industry is indeed growing rapidly. 

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