KUALA LUMUR, AUGUST 10, 2017 –Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) or better known as Malaysia Healthcare, today signed a partnership agreement with NCH Consumer Healthcare from Bangladesh, for patient referrals to Malaysia.
NCH Consumer Healthcare is an established pharmaceutical company in Bangladesh, and have been in operations in the country for more than 30 years. Hoping to expand their portfolio by venturing into healthcare travel, and after having seen Malaysia as the preferred destination for healthcare travellers, NCH is targeting Malaysia as a primary location for their new business venture.
MHTC Chief Executive Officer, Sherene Azli was delighted with this new venture, “We are proud and honoured to be chosen as the main country for NCH’s first foray into healthcare travel. Malaysia Healthcare world-class quality healthcare, easily accessible to all, and remains attractively affordable for all.”
NCH hopes to become a facilitator not only for hospitals in Bangladesh to refer patients to Malaysia, but also help other consumers and companies keen on establishing businesses along the healthcare value chain in Malaysia. MHTC is also eager to leverage on this vast network to expand our horizon and presence in Chittagong as well.
Chittagong, the second largest city in the country with more than 2.5 million population. It is a major coastal seaport city and financial centre in southeastern Bangladesh, home to many of Bangladesh’s oldest and largest companies. Through this partnership, MHTC is confident more healthcare travellers will come to Malaysia for medical treatment and present opportunities to companies for more business partnerships.
“Malaysia Healthcare seeks to establish a stronger brand presence, as well as build greater relationships with Bangladeshi consumers and industry stakeholders. The Asian market plays a key role in our development strategy, with Bangladesh being one of our strongest markets, and one we want to engage with more closely”, added Sherene.
The market of healthcare traveller spending from Bangladesh to Malaysia in 2016 has seen a growth of 34% from 2015, with oncology, fertility and cardiology being the top choice treatments (Source: MHTC Informatics). Malaysia caters well to the needs of healthcare travellers from Bangladesh from providing prayer facilities to offering halal food and understanding the Muslim culture. The ease of communication and cultural similarities provide a natural environment for Bangladeshi patients seeking treatment in Malaysia.
Recognising the importance of providing seamless end-to-end care, the Malaysian Immigration Department with the support from the High Commissioner’s office in Bangladesh implemented special considerations for registered medical travellers, where visa applications are fast-tracked from 5 working days to only 2, and within 12 hours for emergency medical cases.
Malaysia Healthcare has moved from strength to strength in the last few years. The country was named “Medical Travel Destination of the Year” at the International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ) Medical Travel Awards for three consecutive years from 2015 to 2017, and was also recognised as the “Best Country in the World for Healthcare” by International Living’s Annual Global Retirement Index from 2015 to 2017.
Malaysia Healthcare’s growth over the years has been encouraging with humble numbers of 643,000 healthcare travellers in 2011 to a high of more than 921,000 travellers in 2016 receiving treatment in Malaysia. Though faced with economic challenges in 2016, healthcare travel in Malaysia grew by 23% from 2015, collecting RM1.12 billion in hospital revenues.
Additionally, healthcare professionals in Malaysia are highly qualified, receiving medical training from renowned institutions in Malaysia, the UK, USA, Australia and Europe. Malaysia also enacts stringent regulations and standards for safety and quality healthcare set by its Ministry of Health (MOH), benchmarked against the highest standards in the world.
