Playing catch-up in medical tourism

For decades some of our Asian neighbors and European countries have reaped whopping economic benefits from medical tourism. Although a bit late in the ballgame, the Philippine Medical Tourism Program (PMTP) was finally created through EO 372 and launched last year.

PMTP, according to its proponents, is a private-public initiative aimed at attracting foreign clients to the Philippines for needed medical care as well as health and wellness services coupled with sightseeing tours, vacation, and shopping packages.

Wishful thinking

PMTP claims that medical tourism will bring in projected revenues of $2 billion from expected 700,000 medical tourists in five years time. This sounds, to me, like wishful thinking.

If the Philippines wants to seriously compete against other countries for medical tourists and the billions of green bucks from this industry, it has to drastically improve its air travel facilities and arrangements, tourist destinations, hospitals and facilities (clinics are rare in many resort places), and, as we have repeatedly emphasized, must develop a culture of tourism.

What Thailand offers

Take the case of Thailand. Its medical tourism industry is now a multi-billion dollar enterprise simply because the country followed to a T the tenets of basic tourism while focusing on a niche market.

(While India is considered the top medical tourism destination at the moment, Thailand, together with Malaysia and Singapore are quickly gaining reputation as key destinations in the region.)

Medical tourism emphasizes on the integration of medical treatment and rest and recreation, especially for post-operative cases which need a significant amount of tranquility and relaxation to promote healing. Medical tourists are first and foremost patients who obviously need the least discomfort before and especially after a medical procedure.

When a medical tourist goes to Thailand, he can opt to fly directly from Europe and other parts of Asia to Phuket. Upon arrival at Phuket, there is a personal guide who will join him and assist him with all his medical appointments and procedures, including transfers to his chosen resort facility.

Now that’s truly promoting healing and relaxation. Indeed, all of these services are geared to making the medical tourist‚s short (but modestly priced) stay in Thailand as hassle-free and smooth as possible.

What we now have

On the other hand, if a medical tourist avails of the services of our highly competent doctors in Manila and would wish to spend time in key destinations such as Boracay, he would have to endure at least an hour or so in the lounge of a relic that is the Manila Domestic Terminal.

There is also that hour-long land trip to the Caticlan Port and a 20-minute banca ride (on choppy waters during monsoon season) to reach the famous island’s white sand beaches. Then, there is another short hike to where the resorts are. A recovering patient obviously will die if exposed to all these travel rigors.

Finding that niche

Let’s set aside, in the meantime, the need for basic infrastructure such as more comfortable airport facilities and modern, adequately furnished hospitals in key tourist destinations. Let’s assume that we can still attract some medical tourists with what we have. Still, it would do well for local medical tourism proponents to identify those market niches where they may be competitive in order to achieve realistic business growth in this sector.

Thailand, for instance, had chosen cosmetic surgery as the flagship of its multi-billion dollar medical tourism industry; this has no doubt propelled the country in its bid to get a generous chunk of the world’s market.

Other countries, like Israel for example, advertise their expertise in treating both male and female infertility as well as in-vitro fertilization and high risk pregnancies. In India, some health care networks actively involved in medical tourism have begun venturing into medical outsourcing "where subcontractors provide services to the overburdened medical care systems in western countries."

Some possibilities for us

We need not compete on the specializations that the Thais, Israelites and Indians have chosen. There are many other niches in medical tourism waiting to be developed. Take wellness, alternative and natural healing processes, for example.

The Philippine Institute of Traditional and Health Care has been conducting conferences on, among others, clinical findings and uses of the now very popular virgin coconut oil, electrotherapy to fight AIDS and reverse cancer, and herbal medicines and organic food production or other alternative procedures and approaches to health.

The Philippines can also position itself as the dental care capital of Asian medical tourism. Balikbayans, after making the rounds of shopping malls, often seek out their local hosts‚ dentists for various dental procedures. Apparently, dental services abroad are usually not covered by basic health insurance policies and very costly in many countries.

So, how about it? Marketing the country to medical tourists as an alternative medicine and healing center (anyone for spiritual healers?) or as a dental care hub are some of the niches we may have to look at as we play catch up in the medical tourism business.

Smuggling still rears ugly head

Smuggling and the Bureau of Customs have become synonymous terms as the lucrative business of smuggling remains unabated in the country, growing and expanding in scope. Rightly or wrongly, the bureau has the stigma of being the haven of corrupt practitioners.

A change in the leadership at the Bureau of Customs has again been made by the president, but still the challenges to cleanse its tarnished public image remain. The bureau is perceived as corrupt at its core with officials and customs examiners vulnerable to temptations and pressures from politicians and from more powerful government officials. Consequently, smuggling is flourishing throughout the country,

With the implementation of the new EVAT law and the increase in tax rates, there is bigger incentive to bring in goods without paying taxes, making the business of smuggling even more lucrative. Just look around and you will see why legitimate importers and retailers of consumer products are complaining. Even those in the automotive sector are reeling from the effects of uncontrolled inflow of smuggled vehicles.

It will be interesting to see how the new leadership at the bureau will cope with these issues. Is the bureau now shielded from politics, as promised? Or will the new commissioner continue to experience difficulty saying no to whom he owes his job?

Join us in "Breaking Barriers" on IBC-TV13 on Thursday (12 noon), 9th March 2006 and gain insights into the views of Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales on various issues related to the Bureau of Customs and the impact of its performance on the Philippine economy. Watch it.

Search for the Philippine Poker Champion

The search for the first Philippine Poker Champion, conducted by the Philippine Poker Tour (PPT) in partnership with Philippine Star, Solar Entertainment and Pagcor, continues as non-wager satellite tournaments are held weekly in various accredited sites. These are: Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig (Fridays and Saturdays), San Mig Alabang Town Center in Alabang (Wednesdays), Elbow Room at Metro Walk, Pasig (Wednesdays), El Pueblo at Ortigas Center, Pasig (Fridays) and Rajah Park Hotel, Cebu City (Fridays).

Winners of the non-wager satellite tournaments earn a seat in the Main Event scheduled on 8th and 9th April 2006 at the Airport Casino Filipino Parañaque.

One may also play at the main event by registering online and paying the full tournament fee at Philippine Poker Tour offices. Visit www.PhilippinePokerTour.com <http://www.philippinepokertour.com/> or call the secretariat (c/o Cindy) at 817-9092 or 812-0153 for more details.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 4th Floor, 156 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected] or at [email protected]. If you wish to view the previous columns, you may visit my website at http://bizlinks.linkedge.biz