Medical Tourism : Malaysian Context

The term ‘medical tourism’ dates back thousands of years to when the Greek pilgrims made arrangements for medical pilgrimages to the Eastern side of the Mediterranean.

These days, people travel to other countries  where the best doctors or surgeons are available to treat their various medical ailments. Some countries provide far better infrastructure and skillsets in the medical fraternity than others. Studies have shown that the United States of America (USA) has undoubtedly the best medical practitioners in the world, while the closest second country is Germany. Patients who are able to afford the expenses flock to these countries for the best services.

Medical tourism has never been a new term, as suggested by some quarters. Patients are willing to travel extensively for treatment and follow-ups to the countries which can provide quality healthcare systems, medical skill sets, optimum expert knowledge, state-of-art medical care and equipment, and easily accessible infrastructure.

Malaysia is one of the top medical tourism destinations in the world. According to an article published by the Medical Tourism Magazine, Malaysia ranks alongside India and Brazil for the top five (5) medical tourism spots.

Malaysia is not far behind in the medical tourism field as the country has won the International Medical Travel Journal’s Award for “Health and Medical Tourism Destination”.  The recognition is due to the country’s medical facilities such as medical charges, amenities, quality of healthcare, accommodation and the quality of doctors produced by the local medical universities. This includes accessibility with major world-class airports such as the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the Penang International Airport (PIA), both of which are equipped with superb quality facilities for medical tourists.

Doctors from various disciplines are available all across the country’s top healthcare centres, and patients can make their choices depending on their affordability. Besides that, the Health Ministry of Malaysia has stringent laws for healthcare (for both local and foreign patients) whereby the assurance of quality, safety standards and procedures and regulations are appropriately disseminated and enforced.

Medical tourists also have the convenience of staying in the country for up to ninety (90) days without the hassle of a travel visa, provided they are actually in the country receiving medical treatment and not otherwise.

In addition to these benefits, patients also have the choice to recuperate at various tourist destinations such as Penang, Langkawi, Pulau Redang and Pulau Tioman. All these locations have high-quality hotels and well-trained staff to handle medical tourists. In fact, some resorts at these destinations have special rooms to cater exclusively for medical tourists, akin to other developed countries. These amenities coupled with the strong support of the federal and state governments ensure that Malaysia is one of the medical sanctuaries of choice in the world.

Words by: Rosliza Abd Wahab