Philippines eager to promote medical tourism as competition rises

With the medical tourism industry estimated to be worth $188 billion by 2013, Philippines is eager to levearage its cost effectiveness for medical surgery along with tourism potential to tap into the pie. A somewhat late entrant into the race, it faces stiff competition from other Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and India who have already stolen a march over it.

Coronary bypass surgery that costs an average of $50,000 in the US, costs between $10,000-25,000 in the Philippines. Lasik eye surgery which costs $3000 in the US comes for $1000 in the Philippines and breast augmentation costs $2000 while the same costs approximately $5,000 in the US.

Although larger hospitals are logging into medical tourism and modernizing their equipment and facilities, Philippines has a fair distance to cover and sort out the structural weaknesses of the health industry. Another problem is the growing flight of well qualified medical professionals to the West and the Middle East. Unless medical professionals see any value for themselves in staying back and having a good quality of life in the Philippines, brain drain will be irreversible and detrimental to the planned growth in medical tourism.