Transform your healthcare facility into a medical tourism destination

Dr. Chan Kok Ewe, of the Penang Health Association Malaysia, gave a speech at Glow 2010 in Kuala Lumpur recently. He made some interesting points-

One of the biggest challenges for healthcare professionals striving to expand their current business and market share is to reach out to new potential patients and customers. With faster, easier and cheaper communications, a treatment in another country does not seem so frightening to patients anymore.
The medical tourism and global healthcare trend has opened many doors for owners and managers of hospitals and clinics all over the world. But how do you actually turn your healthcare facility into a global destination?
Medical tourism and health tourism often get mixed up, even though there is a clear difference. Medical tourists travel to another country for medical treatment, while health tourists are more concerned with their general health and well-being.

So, what are the distinctive factors that all medical and healthcare facilities must achieve to be competitive on the global market?

Service factors
• Facilities must be more comprehensive. The patient care and equipment must be better than what the international patients could find at home.
• Better outcomes of treatment. The patient must be reassured that the result will be better than anticipated for the same treatment at home.
• Shorter waiting times. Treatments for urgent procedures must be available very fast
• Attractive comparative prices. The treatment, service and stay must be cost effective.
• Comfort of cultural and language factors
• Minimal personal adjustment. The hospital should adjust to the patient. The patient must not have to adjust too much as it might influence the healing process.
• Offer an almost like home environment.
• Easy setting for accompanying persons. The patients’ family or friends that come along for assistance and comfort should be able to stay with the patient during the visit.

Infrastructure convenience
• Ease of entry, stay and exit. It should be easy for the patient to get to and from the facility, as well as the country of care.
• Communication facilities to reach expectations .The means of pre and post communication with the patient must work well.
• Safe and clean environment.
• Simple payment. It should be easy and fast for the patient to make payments for their treatment.

Ready accessibility
• Direct convenient rapid access. The patient must be able to get to the facility fast and easily.
• Assistance in getting to treatment. Both airport collect and delivery, and transport to and from and within the facility each day.

Realistic targeting of potential
• Current and future economic development of target markets. Carefully investigate your target market.
• Keep an advantage.
• Ability to cater to demands. With the raised level of quality, patients will also have greater demands that need to be met or surpassed.
• Political alignment is not out.

Getting the buy-in
• In-country presence .The healthcare facilities must have an agent or office in the country that they cater to.
• Sharing of know-how in related areas.
• Cultivation of goodwill.

Total patient satisfaction
• Continual quality service upgrade.
• Language proficiency. The healthcare facility must speak the patient’s language to bridge any potential gaps in communication and understanding.
• Appropriate cultural responses through acquaintance. The healthcare provider must do its best to understand the patient’s culture.

According to Dr. Chan Kok Ewe, the effect of the economic downturn has hit all medical tourism markets during the last few years and growth is expected to be less than in many predictions. But this must not affect the service. Efficiency is always required, and there can be no compromise in patient safety. Instead, healthcare providers should use the time now to develop services, medical and other quality, or they will not benefit from future growth.