Friday, June 27, 2008 Council wants Cebu to be Asia’s top medical tourism destination
SHORTLY after its creation to develop and promote the local health and wellness industry, the Cebu Health and Wellness Council (CHWC) plans to position the province as a “world-class destination for medical and wellness tourism in Asia by 2010.”
Members of CHWC, particularly those offering hospital and dental services, observed a “steady flow” of inquiries and walk-in patients long before they have formally organized themselves as a group. They said various nationalities have made different inquiries about various services, such as executive checkups, heart surgery, organ transplants and cosmetology.
Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital and Perpetual Succour Hospital reported having accommodated European, American and Japanese patients.
But Cebu will have to compete with long-established medical tourism areas in Asia, such as India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. CHCW said it will take the lead in positioning the province as the “ultimate destination for quality medical and wellness tourism.”
Revenues
Medical tourism involves people traveling to other places to obtain medical, dental and surgical care while enjoying the areas’ other attractions.
CHWC chairman Oscar Tuason, also administrator of Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital, said medical tourism revenues reached $40 billion in 2000 in Asia alone.
In 2006, Asia posted about $120 billion in revenues from medical tourism. The sector has a projected annual growth rate of 20 percent.
Tuason, in his presentation during the Tourism Congress at the Cebu International Convention Center, said Thailand recently earned $470 million from 600,000 nationalities from the United States, United Kingdom and the Middle East who underwent cosmetic surgery, dental treatment, eye surgery, kidney dialysis, and kidney transplants from various Thai medical
institutions.
He said foreign patients prefer medical treatment outside their home country due to lower costs.
He cited heart valve replacement as example. The procedure can cost a patient $120,000 in the US, compared to $9,000 in India, $10,500 in Thailand and $13,000 in Singapore.
Less costly
Tuason pointed out that foreigners can save much more if they come to Cebu. He said a coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), which treats the hardening of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, costs about $18,000 in Cebu but $100,000 in the US.
“Even if a patient pays about $3,000 for air travel, $625 for a five-day hotel accommodation, $500 for meals, $100 for ground transportation and another $100 for other needs, he will only spend about $22,325 in Cebu,” he said.
CHWC members said Cebu has good potentials to be a major player in medical tourism. Aside from lower costs, the country’s hospitals are well-equipped and have competent doctors while Filipinos are “excellent caregivers.”
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Medical tourists will find conditions in Cebu more favorable because of the province’s scenic sites and the Cebuanos’ proficiency in English.
Tuason said that while Cebu is not putting much emphasis on kidney transplants after the Department of Health passed a memorandum that limits the number of foreigners who can avail themselves of it, Cebu can still offer other medical services, such as cardiac surgery, angioplasty, angiogram, orthodontics, orthopedic surgery, cosmetic (reconstructive and curative) procedures, ophthalmology and executive checkups.
Officials of local hospitals said they want to establish a “healthy” competition with each other by being part of CHWC and in promoting medical tourism in Cebu.
Tuason disclosed that it is up to travelers to choose which hospital they would like to go to. The CHCW plans to launch its website, which will contain information about various hospitals.
CHCW is finalizing its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Once finalized, its members-hospitals, dental services, spas, travel and tour operators, Department of Health, Department of Tourism, and Department of Trade and Industry-will become part of the health and wellness cluster of the Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) Cebu. (NRC)
