Medical Tourism is fast developing sector in health care industry. A number of developing and developed nations have their hopes in the system that can provide them some leverage to pay for their healthcare bills. Certainly increasing bills of healthcare in developed world is a reason of worry for the Governments, and they are eagerly looking forward if some one can bail them out, some one to share their problem. On the other hand developing world is relying on earning some quick buck out of this fast growing trend. The numbers are really amazing and every coming day, alarming reports are published, which is creating some hope and belief for one side and a business model to improve the standards of healthcare system for others.

Improving life expectancy resulting in growing number of old age patients, inception of newer technologies, increasing costs of medicine are few of the most important factors resulting in higher healthcare costs. Increasingly expensive healthcare costs, expensive healthcare insurance costs, long waiting time have made people to cross borders to get affordable and low cost healthcare provisions. Though this is an age old way of seeking treatment but for past one decade it is growing exponentially and for last two to three years, it has come up to expectations. . Internet is the main driver behind it and has made it successful. With clear and transparent healthcare provision and patient centered approach at all levels of delivery systems has cemented the success of medical tourism. More and more countries and healthcare providers are adopting it and certainly it is coming up, as one of the important sectors of revenue generation. Thus countries like India, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia have become the ideal destinations for Medical Tourism.
Medical Tourism is fast becoming a preferred method of seeking solutions for expensive procedure and other medical treatment options for people who are not able to pay for unavoidable health and wellness care.

FACTS

• Some 200,000 traveling patients left the USA last year to have their medical and surgical requests fulfilled in foreign countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.(publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Cheng, New York release date June 1, 2006).
• Deloitte's 2008 Survey of Health Care Consumers, estimates that by 2010 as many as 600,000 (Six Million) US people will be accessing care outside the USA--- an alarming rise of 700%.
• About 2 Million of this will travel to Asia Pacific Region alone, by 2010.
• According to the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia, the number of foreigners seeking healthcare services in Malaysia has grown from 75,210 patients in year 2001 to 296,687 patients in year 2006 which generated a total of RM203.66 million (USD 59 million) in revenue. From January to March 2007, Malaysia received 77,009 medical tourists.
• The number of foreign patients at private hospitals shot up to 341,288 last year, from 296,687 in 2006 and 232,161 the year before.
• The hospitals also reported a corresponding increase in revenue from this sector:

RM253.84 million in 2007, compared with RM203.6 million in 2006 and RM150.9 million in year 2005. Almost 80% increase in 3 years.

Medical Tourism, health tourism is expected to be valued at US$ 40 Billion annually in USA alone, by year 2010. On the other hand, more than 2.9 million patients visited Malaysia and neighboring countries to seek medical treatments in the past year. Deloitte a statistical consultant firm of international repute estimates the number to increase by 17% CAG, year by year and there will be 2 million patients/ tourists coming to Asia Pacific region from US/ Canadian region, alone. Thus, the facts and figures show strong market position for medical/ health tourism.

Consequently, between years 2000 to 2007, the increase of receipts from health tourism has been growing at 30 per cent a year and this is forecast to continue until year 2010. By then, it is expected that a total of RM584million in medical revenue will be generated. This is a constructive advantage reported by Association of Private Hospital Malaysia. Medical Tourism industry in Malaysia though seems to be growing, but it has yet to reach its full potential as resources are not used to the utmost. The industry is highly supported by the Health Ministry of Malaysia as an economic overview has stated that it will be a constructive one ahead of time. In nutshell, the industry is encouraged and expected to grow and prosper in the years ahead, thus allowing healthcare providers, facilitators, corporate players to leverage and prosper to provide much needed support to the healthcare sector.

Wellness Visit is a Malaysia based Medical Tourism Facilitator, aimed to create healthcare solutions for medical and health tourism industry, connecting overseas patients to reputable and reliable healthcare providers in Malaysia. The company believes in the importance of transparency and unification of services. Wellness Visit invests heavily to ensure quality is maintained at all levels of healthcare care delivery system.

Wellness Visit trusts in its vision, "To create an even stronger belief in this growing industry by setting examples at all levels of service delivery. Working to achieve best standards to satisfy the increasing demand and reducing the costs in healthcare. Creation of a new and a healthy culture in healthcare". Thus creating a borderless community and aspires to provide a platform where all healthcare providers, corporate firms, insurance agencies, tour providers, airline operators, domestic service facilitators, come together to promote Medical tourism. Consequently, it defines itself as a platform and a tool whereby a network is formed amongst strategic alliances to allow tourists/ patients from all around the world to seek treatment in Malaysia in atmosphere of convenience, transparency and unification.

Banking on patient centered approach Wellness Visit, puts its Tourists/ Patients First, at all levels of services delivery. It provides dynamic education on diseases, with animations, text/ illustrations and self assisted learning. Wellness Visit have also highlighted salient features about Hospitals and Doctors, for its tourists/ patients, to better understand and evaluate. Same goes with ancillary services, which are described in ample detail so that a clear and vivid picture is created. And all this is a proof of its belief in quality and creating a patient centered service. Furthermore Wellness Visit has created community on line, where tourists/ patients can express their self, their views will be freely published, making it responsible, eager to improve from the feedback through its visitors, and stands responsible for its services delivery.

Through the web portal, Wellness Visit, we aim to attract patients from all countries to seek health and wellness in Malaysia. Providing them with all the essential information and services in an integrated fashion, to gain a new Wellness and rejuvenation at Beautiful Destination Malaysia before returning home, healthy and safe.

The strategic alliances created will benefit the healthcare providers in a big way. As we know that there is scarce presence of our healthcare industry on internet/ world wide web (www). And this alliance will enhance Healthcare providers/ Hospitals to be recognized as premier providers of medical tourism solutions, through internet.

This alliance will also allow healthcare providers to bank on wellness visit by extending its invitation to all patients around the world to utilize the facilities available at their premises. And to experience the high degree of professionalism that Malaysia can offer. This will certainly open up platform of medical and healthcare service provision as means of global health for the whole world through medical tourism facilitator to a wider horizon or whole world.

We are positively looking forward to this Strategic Alliance by having Hospital on board with us as our Preferred Destination in the booming industry of medical and health tourism. As being a healthcare facilitator with a main focus of meeting the needs of international community of patients and medical tourism seekers. Wellness Visit is looking forward into a long term strategic relationship with its international medical tourism community by providing excellent services and a strong bondage with hospitals in Malaysia. Also keeping close ties with other important stake holders, like hotel and accommodation providers, tourist operators, allied services providers etc, to build a synergy to achieve a common goal of making Malaysia as the top destination of medical tourism and www.wellnessvisit.com as the preferred provider of medical tourism solutions.

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