Medical tourism is one of the few bright spots in the gloomy Philippine economic landscape. Government officials are hoping the medical tourism sector will help alleviate the poor investment climate, fall in tourism revenue and the deNewsed overseas employment market that has traditionally provided jobs to millions of Filipinos who send money home.
Since 2006, the Department of Tourism (DOT), in conjunction with the Department of Health (DOH), has been heavily promoting the country as Asia’s premier medical and wellness hub. The attraction is that officials say each medical and wellness tourist that comes to the Philippines spends $3500 during his or her stay.
The DOT will hold the biggest medical tourism and wellness summit in the Southeast Asian region at the end of October. Joyce Alumno, Philippine Health and Wellness Tourism Summit project director, says
“ We hope to showcase the Philippines as a provider of world-class, globalized health care, with excellent quality, patient safety and the uniquely Filipino culture of caring, kindness and compassion.”
Philippine medical tourism has some problems to solve. The Department of Health recently suspended kidney transplantations on foreign patients in the country after human rights groups exNewsed alarm over the increasing number of medical tourists who came to buy kidneys from poor Filipinos. In launching the summit, Alumno said one aim is to address the misconception that the Philippines has third world health care, “ This conjures up images of decrepit medical facilities, insufficiently trained doctors, nurses and medical professionals and an overall backward state of affairs, such a picture is false.”
Dr. Anthony Calibo, Medical Tourism Program manager of the DOH, notes that the Philippines established some of the earliest specialty hospitals in Asia; the Philippine Heart Center, the National Kidney Transplant Institute, the Lung Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.Calibo believes the Philippines, should concentrate on medical; hospital- surgical clinic services, and wellness; spa facilities, corporate wellness programs, and alternative lifestyles.
DOT Undersecretary Cynthia Carrion is in charge of wellness tourism and Wellness.She argues that the main attraction for foreigners to come to the Philippines is affordability of quality medical care in the country, at only a fraction of what they would pay in their home countries, “ The price comparison is really big. Cheap is not the word. It’s just that we do good value for the money. For example a rhinoplasty that would cost $8000 in the US would only be $1200 in the Philippines.” Carrion stresses that medical tourism is not only for foreigners. She is appealing to the millions of Filipinos living and working abroad to come home for their healthcare needs.
A dental clinic in Cebu wants to attract more tourists as the province tries to position itself as a preferred medical and wellness tourism destination. Bright Smiles Oral Care Center (BSOCC) has just begun offering dental packages to tourists, plans to partner with travel agencies, and intends to open another clinic in Cebu.The Cebu Health and Wellness Council (CHWC) is working on a marketing blueprint for growth of the health and wellness sector in Cebu in the next few years.
DAVAO CITY – Patients from Manado, Indonesia will soon benefit from Davao City’s well-developed medical facilities and well-trained medical practitioners, once the sisterhood agreement between the two cities is signed.
“This is possible because we have agreed to add health and wellness to the fields of cooperation between the two cities under the sisterhood agreement,” Councilor Rachel Zozobrado said.
Zozobrado, who chairs the council committee on international relations said the soon-to-be signed sisterhood agreement also includes other areas of cooperation including human resources, science and technology, trade and economic developments, education, youth and sports, environment and urban management as well as information and communication technology.
“We are very excited about the development of the terms of the sisterhood agreement and we are all hopeful that it will not only remain on paper, but will translate to actual programs and projects for both cities,” she said.
City Tourism chief Rizal Giovanni Aportadera recently visited Manado, which is the capital of the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. There, he was informed that cases which cannot be handled by the medical practitioners and facilities in Manado are being brought to Davao City for treatment.
“This would make the inclusion of health and wellness in the fields of cooperation for the Davao-Manado sisterhood agreement very viable,” he said.
This was confirmed by Indonesian consul Lalu Malik Partawana, who said this is also the case even for patients from Bitung, a city on the northern coast of Sulawesi island. He said there are a lot of possibilities with the inclusion of health in the sisterhood agreement.
Zozobrado said Davao City is very developed when it comes to its medical services and facilities. She said the health and wellness field extends even beyond the medical tourism field which is also being eyed for promotion by the city’s tourism sector.
“We have lots of well-trained medical personnel in the city and we are also proud of the medical facilities offered by government hospitals like the Davao Medical Center and private hospitals like Davao Doctors Hospital,” she added.
She said this will add to the traffic between Davao and Manado, and will hopefully promote repeat visits for residents of both cities. (SP-Davao)
One of the renowned wellness and health service providers in Asia - Asian Medical Tourism – had empowered the medical tourism in the Philippines by introducing Stem cell treatment as well as presenting lists of certified and well-experienced surgeon and physicians specializing in cellular medicine using stem cells in treating 70 known human diseases including cancer and diabetes.
Stem cell treatments are a type of cell therapy that introduces new cells into damaged tissue in order to treat a disease or injury. The ability of stem cells to self-renew and multiply offers a large potential to culture tissues that can replace diseased and damaged tissues in the body, without the risk of rejection.
Some of the known diseases that can be alleviated by stem cell treatment; this includes cancer, diabetes, spinal cord injury, blindness, deafness, heart ailments, baldness, missing teeth, neural and behavioral birth defects.
With this medical breakthrough, many Filipino patients are hoping to undergo in this kind of procedure. However, there are only a few skilled, well-experienced and certified surgeons and physicians who are able to perform safe stem cell treatment in the Philippines.
Because of this reason, Asian Medical Tourism aims to guide and assist those hopeful patients in finding the right surgeons and doctors as well as in choosing the medical facility for stem cell treatment. This is to ensure that they will also have the opportunity to make an informed choice and be satisfied with the result of the treatment.
To know more of about stem cell treatment log on or visit http://www.asianmedicaltourism.com.
Stem cell treatment is just one of the health services featured by Asian Medical Tourism. Other medical procedures such as plastic surgery or cosmetic surgery, face lifts, hormone therapy, Gamma knife surgery and many more are also offered by the organization.
The Philippines can make use of the booming cosmetic surgery industry to bolster government’s campaign to make the country a hub for medical tourism.
Dr. Almond Derla, owner of La Estetica Clinic, says the government could tap the industry to spearhead the medical tourism campaign because of well-trained cosmetic surgeons, adequate facilities and quality services at competitive rates,” We have well-trained doctors who are experts in cosmetic surgery. We Filipinos are known for giving quality service and our rates are very competitive. The government can jump-start its medical tourism campaign using cosmetic surgery, which is gaining much popularity. Many Filipinos residing abroad come back to have medical procedures done in the Philippines because of cheap rates and the same quality of service.”
Derla adds,” I am in an expansion mode given the increased demand for my services. I have just opened my third clinic in Quezon City in addition to my clinics in Ortigas Center and in Davao City.”
Derla has been practicing cosmetic surgery for six years already and his new state-of-the-art clinic “La Estetica” in the Morato region of Quezon City. La Estetica offers clinical dermatology, general dermatologic surgery, aesthetic dermatology, treatment for hyper pigmentation, and acne, chicken fox scars, treatment for excessive sweating and body odour, ultrasonic facials, carboxytherapy treatment, cell regeneration treatments, radio frequency, cosmetic surgery and cosmetic tattoo.
One of the most renowned Wellness and Health services provider in Asia – Asian Medical Tourism - had currently dominated the Medical Tourism in the Philippines by introducing Gamma Knife Surgery health services and consultations as well as in presenting licensed and certified surgeons and physicians who specialize in brain surgery using gamma knife procedure.
Gamma Knife Surgery is recognized worldwide as the most preferred treatment for brain dysfunctions and brain tumors. It offers a non-invasive alternative for many patients whom traditional brain tumor surgery is not an option. Gamma Knife Surgery also erases the physical trauma and the majority of risks associated with the conventional brain surgery.
The uses of high radiation in Gamma Knife surgery to kill cancer cells and shrink brain tumorsare delivered precisely to avoid damaging healthy brain tissue. This procedure is able to accurately focus the beams of high-intensity gamma radiation to converge on the brain tumors. Each beam is relatively low energy, so the radiation has little effect on intervening or damaging healthy brain tissues and is only concentrated in the brain tumor.
Though Gamma Knife surgery is getting recognized in the Philippines, there are only a handful of skilled and certified nuero- surgeons who can expertly perform the procedure. Also, there are only few medical facilities that offer the needed equipment for Gamma Knife Surgery.
However with the help of Asian Medical Tourism, patients with brain tumors is presented with a better non-invasive brain tumor surgery as well as the opportunity to make informed choices through the organizations quality and affordable wellness and health services.
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