马来西亚推广医疗旅游 寻求新西兰病人

[Global Vision，Local Insight]—点击“医疗旅游”订阅！

马来西亚政府通过提供低成本的整形和牙科手术套餐寻求新西兰患者，以促进其作为一个医疗旅游目的地。

根据该国卫生部设立的机构——马来西亚医疗旅游协会（MHTC）介绍：去年大约2000新西兰人因医疗原因前往马来西亚。

2014年马来西亚吸引了近80万医疗游客，并于2015年被《国际医疗旅游》杂志的评选为顶级医疗旅游目的地。

MHTC首席执行官Sherene Azli表示，新西兰人对在马来西亚度假的同时进行医学治疗表示了浓厚的兴趣。

除了美容和牙科手术，减肥手术也很受新西兰人欢迎，还有胃旁路，抽脂和腹部整形。

“在新西兰这样有利益潜力的地区，我们采取了更加积极的营销，”Azli说。“我们正与新西兰的医疗设施和旅行社合作，开始创造一个马来西亚的医疗和高质量护理的形象，我们必须提供更多的认识。”

MHTC的目标是今年通过大力宣传推动和促销活动，以提高新西兰医疗旅游者的数量增长10％，Azli说。

2015年5月，MHTC在奥克兰EveryWoman博览会开设展位，提供与会者赢取免费整形假期的机会。但是新西兰整形外科协会主席莎莉兰利（Sally Langley），认为营销推广“道德上不可接受”。

因为医疗旅游安全问题不能在任何国家被纵容，长途飞行和手术前后连接太近，会把患者置于危险境地，她说。

相比于泰国，马来西亚仍然是新西兰医疗游客一个新的市场。他们很难知道其外科医生，麻醉师和护士是否注册达到合适的标准。

兰利说，新西兰公共卫生体系最终会因拙劣的海外工作而首先受到冲击。“如果一个手术感染者需要住院48小时，至少需$20,000。如果需要在医院呆上5到10天，新西兰纳税人可能要拿出$30,000到$50,000。”

2010至2014年间，ACC接收178例有海外治疗经历的新西兰人。A处理的定义是由注册的卫生专业人员提供治疗期间发生的伤害。被称为“医疗意外事故”。这些申请中有81人的说法被接受，花费纳税人约$542,000。

新西兰牙科协会也有类似的担忧，前主席John Boyens说，牙科治疗没有一样是“一次性”的。

“不是说你到那边去一次，就可以全部完成，一切都需要往复几次，”他说。“总有持续的东西需要做，不要再抱怨新西兰牙科过于昂贵以至于去外国牙齿修复”。

Boyens承认人们寻求便宜货，和发现世界各地高水平牙医是很自然的。“从我的角度来看，去海外寻找更便宜的牙科，简单地说它就像一种商品。这是他们的权利。”

位于奥克兰的服务机构“美丽出行（Beautiful Escapes）”的Jo Hueston，在两年其间安排美容与整形外科假期，开始为她的客户提供吉隆坡为目的地。

尽管泰国因其价格相当便宜更受新西兰人的欢迎，但马来西亚绝对是一个成长中的市场，她说。

“有一件事，马来西亚没有泰国那么多的流氓医生。马来西亚很规范。”最近研究新西兰人的医疗旅游体验的奥塔哥大学（University of Otago）副教授Brent Lovelock表示，西方世界人口老龄化把压力转加到公共卫生体系，迫使患者寻求境外选项。这已经体现在像印度，泰国，马来西亚等地的医疗市场巨大增长，医院供应如雨后春笋般出现。如果我来投资，我会投资于医疗旅游的医院。

译自tennistimes

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Malaysia courts New Zealand patients in push for medical tourism

Kiwi patients are being courted by the Malaysian government, which is offering low-cost cosmetic and dental surgery packages to promote itself as a medical tourism destination.

Around 2000 New Zealanders travelled to Malaysia for elective medical procedures last year, according to the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), an agency established by the country’s Ministry of Health.

Malaysia attracted almost 800,000 medical tourists in 2014, and was this year proclaimed the top medical travel destination by the International Medical Travel Journal.

MHTC chief executive Sherene Azli said there had been strong interest from Kiwis in getting medical treatment while on holiday in Malaysia.

As well as cosmetic and dental procedures, weight loss surgeries were also sought-after by New Zealanders, with patients undergoing gastric bypasses, liposuction and tummy tucks.

“Knowing that there is interest in these areas, we are now becoming more active in the New Zealand market,” Azli said.

“We are working with health facilitators and travel agents based in New Zealand to start creating more awareness about Malaysian healthcare and the quality care that we have to offer.”

MHTC is aiming to boost the number of Kiwi medical tourists by 10 per cent this year through ramping up its awareness campaigns and promotions, Azli said.

In May, MHTC set up shop at the EveryWoman Expo in Auckland, offering attendees the chance to win a free makeover holiday.

But Sally Langley, president of the New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons, has described the marketing push as “ethically unacceptable”.

Medical tourism could not be condoned in any country because of the safety issues, with patients putting themselves at risk by getting on long-haul flights immediately before and after the surgery, she said.

Compared to Thailand, Malaysia is still a new market for Kiwi medical tourists.

Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council Compared to Thailand, Malaysia is still a new market for Kiwi medical tourists.

It was also difficult to know if foreign surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses were registered to an appropriate standard.

Langley said the New Zealand public health system ended up bearing the brunt of botched overseas jobs.

“If you need 48 hours in hospital and one operation for an infection, that’s at least $20,000. If someone needs to be in hospital for five to 10 days, that’s probably $30,000 to $50,000 for the New Zealand taxpayer to come up with.”

Between 2010 and 2014, ACC received 178 treatment injury claims from New Zealanders who had procedures done overseas.

A treatment injury is defined as occurring during treatment provided by registered health professionals. The category used to be called “medical misadventure”.

Of those claims, 81 were accepted, costing taxpayers approximately $542,000.

The New Zealand Dental Association shared similar concerns. Former president John Boyens said there was no such thing as a “one-off” when it came to dental treatment.

“It’s not like you go over there once, have it all done and everything’s hunky dory,” he said.

“There’s always ongoing stuff that needs to be done. Don’t then complain about dentistry in New Zealand being too expensive to fix up the problems you might come back with.”

Boyens acknowledged it was natural for people to seek bargains, and high quality dentists could be found all over the world.

“From my perspective, people who go looking for cheaper dentistry overseas are simply treating it like a commodity. That’s fine, that’s their prerogative.

“I guess they’re the same kind of people who buy online rather than supporting the local industries.”

Jo Hueston of Auckland-based agency Beautiful Escapes, which arranges cosmetic and plastic surgery holidays, started offering Kuala Lumpur as a destination to her clients two years ago.

While Thailand was still more popular with New Zealanders as it was considerably cheaper, Malaysia was definitely a growing market, she said.

“One thing with Malaysia is they don’t have as many rogue surgeons as Thailand. Malaysia has gone, ‘we’re going to be very regulated’.”

The global market value for medical tourism is expected to reach US$32.5 billion (NZ$51.7b) by 2019, according to a report published by Transparency Market Research.

University of Otago associate professor of tourism Brent Lovelock, who recently researched the medical tourism experiences of New Zealanders, said demand was only expected to grow as aging populations in the western world put increased pressure on public health systems, forcing patients to seek offshore options.

This was already matched by a huge growth in supply, with hospitals “springing up overnight” in places like India, Thailand and Malaysia.”If I had to invest, I would invest in medical tourism hospitals.”