SYDNEY, 5 DEC –Malaysia Healthcare wraps up 2016 with a series of outreach activities in Australia including a breakout session on healthcare travel at the Malaysia Export Acceleration Mission (EAM) 2016 at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. EAM 2016 is held in partnership with the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA).
The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) hosted a session called “Healthcare Travel” at the Malaysia Business Forum as part of the EAM 2016 which serves as a platform for audiences to engage with MHTC and its member hospitals such as the Sunway Medical Centre and other healthcare facilities. It aims to promote Malaysian healthcare to the participants and Australian stakeholders present such as travel agents, medical facilitators, doctors, and other interested parties.
Themed “Australia-Malaysia Partnership for Greater Success in the Healthcare Travel Industry”, EAM 2016 intends to explore and identify trade opportunities for selected healthcare products and services. Apart from generating potential sales, these missions also create opportunities to establish business networks by focusing on individual business meetings, briefings on possible ventures and visits to related organisations and companies.
The four speakers present spoke on areas of the healthcare industry, as well as the different aspects and benefits of the various services available that support the industry. These include Ms Sherene Azli, Chief Executive Officer of MHTC; Ms Nadiah Wan, Chief Operations Officer, Sunway Medical Centre; Ms Jan Kelly, Managing Director, Recaptured Beauty; and Mr Richard Poi from Oze Travel Representative.
Presenting an overview on healthcare travel in Malaysia, Ms Sherene Azli commented, “Malaysia Healthcare seeks to build sustainable collaborations here in Australia to further strengthen our healthcare propositions and to create higher degrees of accessibility to our healthcare services for citizens of the world.”
In a bid to strengthen its ties with stakeholders in Australia, MHTC also entered into two MoUs with some of Australia’s leading travel agencies – Recaptured Beauty Pty Ltd and Corporate Focus PR Pty Ltd. The MoU aims to promote health and travel to Malaysia for Australian health seekers, as well as for joint marketing initiatives and the promotion of healthcare travel programs. In conjunction with this visit, Malaysia Healthcare also hosted a networking dinner session with medical doctors and healthcare specialists in Sydney and Melbourne.
Malaysia was recently crowned “Medical Travel Destination of the Year” by the International Medical Travel Journal Medical Travel Awards 2016 for the second consecutive year. The country is hailed for dedication to being highly competitive and affordable, and providing cutting-edge treatments that are on par with countries such as the US, the UK, Australia and Japan, at 60-80% of the cost.
MHTC is an agency under the purview of the Ministry of Health Malaysia that has been entrusted with the responsibility of curating the country’s healthcare travel scene. The agency is the touchpoint for the medical tourism industry in the country.
There are currently more than 250 private hospitals in Malaysia, where only the most well-equipped and service-ready facilities are approved and registered to be participating healthcare travel providers. Most doctors and healthcare professionals in Malaysia receive training from internationally-acclaimed institutions in Malaysia, USA, the UK, Australia and Europe. Malaysian private hospitals also possess accreditation from reputable institutions, such as the Joint Commission International (JCI), Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH), Australian Council of Healthcare Standards (ACHS) and the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua).
Additionally, Malaysia Healthcare recently launched the “Malaysia Loves You” campaign at the start of this year. The campaign aims to highlight Malaysia’s most unique qualities as a healthcare destination of choice. More details can be obtained at http://mylovesyou.com