Thailand

2.3 Thailand

Medical tourism is becoming a strong selling point in Thailand’s tourism promotions strategy. This is because Thailand has maintained international standards of medical care and health services at a competitive price point in comparison with more expensive neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. As the rate of exchange in Thai baht against the U.S. dollar or to the euro remains relatively depressed, foreign health care seekers will be able to afford professional-level health care in Thailand. For example, the average costs for medical care visits were 5-20% less than those found in Singapore.

Incentives are numerous and include overall cost savings, convenient family accommodations for those who accompany patients and modern hospital facilities located in most large urban areas. In addition to directly seeking professional health care while in Thailand, tourists may also visit the many tourist attractions that have made this country famous. The place of medical tourism is not only concentrated in Bangkok, but also in other popular areas frequented by foreign tourists, such as Phattaya, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Ko Samui and Phuket. (Zadok-Lempert, 2010)

Milica & Karla states that Thailand receives approximately 400,000 foreign medical tourists every year, with 50,000 Americans going to the Bumrungrad hospital in Bangkok alone.

Similarly, there have been approximately 50,000 medical tourists originating in Great

Britain who traveled to Thailand, South Africa, India, and Cuba to seek low-cost health care.

Relatively speaking, invasive surgery in Thailand and South Africa costs about one-tenth of what it would cost in a U.S. or Western European operating theater. The cost savings can be a great incentive to go elsewhere. For example, heart valve replacement surgery might cost as much as $200,000 or more in the United States. By comparison, a knee replacement in Thailand, along with six days of physical therapy, costs about one-fifth of what it would in the United States.

Regarding quality, Joint Commission International (JCI), the chief international hospital accreditation organization now provides links to all the hospitals it has accredited. The site for the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok describes the amenities offered as well as surgery prices.

Currently leading the Asia-Pacific region, Thailand has six hospitals in Bangkok alone that cater for medical tourists. A full range of medical treatments is available along with cosmetic surgery, dentistry, and eye laser surgery (LASIK). The country is also a favorite destination for sex-change surgery. One of the pioneers of medical tourism in Asia is Bangkok’s Bumrungrad Hospital, which boasts a five-star hotel-like lobby, a Starbucks and over 200 surgeons who are board-certified in the US. (Llamas, 2006)

According to the Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health and Thailand’s Bureau of Tourism statistics for 2003, medical tourism in Thailand may include up to 73 million foreign visitors so far. Furthermore, medical tourism has created the economic output value of $488 million in 2005 alone. As evidence that Thailand is a significant international health care destination, Bumrungrad International hospital was considered in the October 2006 of Newsweek magazine to be one of the top ten international hospitals providing medical care in 2005. It received 400,000 foreign patients. This is more than any one hospital in the entire world.

According to New York Times, Bumrungrad Hospital in Thailand has built a culturally compatible, patient-friendly wing for its Middle Eastern patients to make them feel more comfortable during their stays. The hospital took the additional steps of hiring qualified Arabic interpreters, built a new kitchen to offer religiously- acceptable (halal) food, and purchased high-quality Muslim prayer rugs for patients and their families to use during their stays. Patients visiting hospitals in Thailand do not have to worry about language difficulties. The International Medical Centre, located in Bangkok, provides Japanese patients with a special wing, paying particular attention to religious, cultural, and dietary restrictions of its discerning clients. In addition, there are ten “sales” offices located abroad that offer services directly to foreign customers. Some hospitals even maintain representative offices or agencies in other countries to act as middle-men in obtaining ever-increasing numbers of patients seeking lower-cost health care in a modern, clean, and politically stable environment. In addition to direct efforts, these institutions establish and maintain links to local hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies. They are also associated with embassies in order to facilitate visa issues for their clients. Singapore’s hospitals have long maintained offices associated with health care provision in the Middle East and Indonesia with great success.

In the late 1990s, a tourism promotional campaign called “Amazing Thailand” was launched by Thai authorities, and health care was touted as one of the principal niches available to foreign travelers. As part of this campaign, the government of Thailand succeeded in developing for the first time health-care centers located in tourist spots outside of Bangkok, such as those in Phuket and Chiang Mai. (Milica & Karla, 2007)

Thailand is intent on developing their infrastructure because, as many development economists have already discovered, that the capital required for economic growth is not

just equipment and human capital, but also global access to public infrastructure.

Infrastructure is defined as “the underlying amount of physical and financial capital embodied in roads, railways, waterways, airways, and other forms of transportation and communications, plus financial institutions, public utilities, and public services, such as health and education.” (Chilisa, 1994)

In respect to private industry, Thailand has a market oriented health-care system that offers its population real choice in health care, as reported by International Trade in Health Services. But, it has not stopped there and plans to expand its business holdings beyond the borders of Thailand. As a primary example, the Bumrungrad, the largest hospital in Thailand, has already planned to invest in the off-shore Asian Hospital and Medical Center located in Manila, the Phillipines with a 40 percent stake in the hospital projected.

Medical tourists may wish to take advantage of sales promotion offered by the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok which included a basic round-trip airfare, airport transfer, 24 hours-a-day personal assistance, and a Bangkok orientation tour. Patients can schedule private excursions, trips to beaches, shopping expeditions, and visits to ancient sites prior to or during recovery. All of these are scheduled around medical appointments made in advance. Most importantly, the sales promotions extend to airline fees and schedules.

“Many Asian airlines offer additional frequent flyer miles to help patients return for follow-up visits.” (Becca, 2005) Significantly, it should be noted that, “The Bumrungrad is exploring ways of offering frequent flyer miles for their medical services.” (Milica & Karla, 2007) In order to promote medical tourism, the sales options available to international patients include room and board, and they are suited for all tastes, no matter how exacting.

If international patients choose not to stay in the congested capital city of Bangkok, the resorts on the coast sell beach holidays coupled with visits to clinics offering low-cost

cosmetic surgery. Tourists can fly directly to Phuket and check in at the Phuket International Hospital that advertises “Bright sun, blue sea, and the best cosmetic surgery anywhere!”