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Thailand: One-stop shop finds favour with patients |
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In the past decade, Thailand has emerged as Asia's leading medical tourism hub, raising the benchmark for service standards and pioneering cutting-edge operational models with a million patients now travelling there each year. Nearly half of Thailand's international patients go to Bangkok's Bumrungrad International hospital, Asia's largest private medical facility that has taken medical tourism to the next level. The fully integrated hospital of 900 doctors provides patients with unrivalled support - from the reception centre and VIP pickup service at the airport, visa extension capabilities, translators, fully halal kitchen, and in-house travel agency, to dedicated multilingual e-mail messengers who respond to thousands of international e-mails every day. "Our model is not just based on the cheaper labour cost in Thailand," said Curtis Schroeder, the hospital's chief executive. "It is about the entire system and the way we work, from our computer software to the one-stop shop structure that allows everything to be done efficiently and quickly in one location and all on one bill." Thailand's broad-based appeal with a large facility such as Bumrungrad at its helm means that overseas patients do not gravitate towards any particular area of speciality. "Thailand is unusual as there is not one specific play unlike some other countries," Mr Schroeder said.
The hospital's
Doctor Golf programme, which examines golfers for common injuries and
tailors a programme of recovery, was particularly popular with Hong Kong
patients, he said. By far the fastest-growing group of patients is from
the Middle East, with the number doubling each year since 2000 to reach
98,000 last year, as travel to Europe and the United States became more
difficult after the events of September 11, 2001. |
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South China Morning Post, 30.06.2008 |
