Singapore Medical Travel

Singapore Embraces Medical Travel

“Medical Travel in Singapore is a biosphere of medical techniques and healthcare services culturally connected to travelers and technically reviewed by Singapore’s public or private hospital for the traveler’s preventive, aesthetic or curative needs”

Singapore is primed as Asia’s leading biomedical and science hubs.

The Economic Review Committee had announced Singapore’s goal of handling 1 Million international healthcare travelers per year by 2012.

In 2000, Singapore Government has re-structured its public hospitals into two clusters: Singapore Health Services (Examples: Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital), and National Healthcare Group Tan Tock Seng Hospital, National University Hospital. Affordable healthcare is catered to all Singaporeans through subsidised rates at public hospitals.

The primary healthcare backbone is challenged by the private clusters such as Raffles Medical Group and Parkway Group on the latest cutting-edge technologies treatment in cardio-, neuro-, endo-, oncology fields. Cord blood banks (Example: CordLife) are setup to complement the Obstetrics and Gynaecology services in Singapore.

The entire healthcare industry, functioning like a networking circulatory system, contains the re-structured public and the private sectors, and this drives further forward the Government’s initiative to support medical travel industry.

In 2003, the Government launched SingaporeMedicine to promote Singapore as a medical hub. It incorporates five supporting bodies: (i) Ministry of Health, (ii) Economic Development Board, (iii) International Enterprise Singapore, (iv) Singapore Tourism Board and (v) Medical Travel industry providers and agency players to greatly enhance the communications along the entire patient care continuum.

Singapore has a ready pool of international medical expertise. Leading physicians and surgeons undergo rigorous training at established medical institutions to upgrade their knowledge and skills. The integrated healthcare system has increased the efficiency for patients to receive quality healthcare services and reduce downtime in waiting periods.

International patients have placed their confidence in the well-managed Singapore healthcare system. Singapore healthcare management is timely and appropriate medical care is shown for victims of mass casualty incident with its specialty of emergency medicine in the Asia-pacific regions.

Factsheet:

Fact-1: According to the World Health Organisation Annual Report, Singapore is ranked sixth, (excluding Japan) to be best in Asia.

Fact-2: As dated Oct’2007, Novartis has located its largest manufacturing investment US$700 Million manufacturing capacity and biotechnology facility in Singapore. Norvatis investments in Singapore now span the entire value chain of activities, covering drug discovery, clinical research, manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and contact lenses, and regional headquarters for its pharmaceuticals, dengue vaccines and diagnostics, clinical trials, generics and consumer health businesses.

Fact-3: In 2006, 410,000 international patients came to Singapore for its medical services.

Fact-4: A new Yishun Hospital is slated to open in 2009 to cater to the growing demands of the local elderly population.

Fact-5: In 2004 and 2005, patients were evacuated to Singapore after the Bali bomb blasts and the Asian Tsunami respectively.

(Disclaimer: this article is written to give the reader the basic ideas and groundwork on Singapore Medical and Healthcare systems; it does not promote any of services mentioned or whatsoever.)

Text by Ai San Yip, Photographs Courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board. All Rights reserved.