“Malaysia is known to many Middle Easterners as a popular tourist destination but some are still unaware of the high quality medical treatments that are available in our country,” Sherene Azli, the Chief Executive Officer of MHTC, who was in Bahrain on fact finding mission and held talks with top health officials, said.
“Malaysia’s medical facilities are top notch with various awards and accreditations that its medical establishments have garnered through the years. Winning the IMTJ 2015 Medical Travel Destination of the Year award is indeed a prestigious accomplishment for Malaysia. Its private hospitals also won accolades at the same 2015 IMTJ Medical Travel awards in various categories,” she explained.
“Our presence here is to share and provide in-depth knowledge about medical tourism in Malaysia which is highly regulated to ensure that the required safety and quality standards of our facilities are met. The treatment offered and services provided by our clinical professionals and personnel are of international standard,” Sherene Azli, whose visit was coincided with the Travel Mart 2015, said.
“We want medical tourists who come to our country for treatment to feel at ease and truly experience Malaysian hospitality. The halal factor is a strong concern, and we have the assurance that our halal standards will soothe worried minds,” she reiterated. Malaysia offers halal alternatives for medical treatments; for example, halal hospital food, halal sutures (manufactured locally) and products/ drugs that are gelatine and porcine free,” she explained.
Orthopaedic, diabetics, rehabilitation, cardiac and neurology are among the chosen treatments sought by Middle Easterners. Malaysia’s unique offering is in its high quality care, easily accessible medical care and competitive pricing with an advantage of having medical tourism supported by its government under the Ministry of Health.
“Malaysia continues to gain the confidence and acceptance in the Middle East countries having just won the International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ) 2015 “Destination of The Year” award in London last month. The team from Malaysia Healthcare is on a working official visit to Bahrain, UAE and Oman to strengthen relationships and enduring to gain popularity as a medical tourism destination amongst the GCC countries.”
The Ministry of Health Malaysia under its corporatized agency, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) is embarking on its mission to create better awareness by continuously promoting Malaysia Healthcare in its quest to be the preferred medical tourism destination in the region.
“Malaysia and the Middle East countries share many similarities mainly in terms of religious practices. Malaysia’s recent positioning as a Global Halal Hub gives it a niche and appeal to markets with predominantly Muslim consumers. The availability of halal eateries, prayer facilities, spas and salons for Muslim women are certainly a comfort point to note for medical tourists coming to Malaysia. Arabic speaking translators are made accessible at hospitals upon early request, but otherwise English is widely spoken, so there’s minimal language barrier here,” she said.
“Post-care services such as recuperation facilities are sufficiently made available and are considered to be just as important. Tourists seeking extensive post-care services have peace of mind as we provide visa extensions of up to six months for medical tourists. In addition to that, tourists seeking healthcare or medical support are given a seamless end-to-end patient service; with a Concierge and Lounge set up at two of its international airports in Kuala Lumpur and Penang to welcome patients wanting to rest while waiting for their pre-arranged transportation.”
Talking about the affordability she said that the doctors consultation fee etc. have been regulated by the authorities which keep the medical expense in certain bracket.