Medical tourism in Phillipines - INQ7.net editorial
Medical tourism - INQ7.net: The medical tourism program launched last week may yet help relieve the brain drain in the health professionals sector and at the same time earn a lot of dollars for the country. But the program has to be well managed to ensure that it does not adversely affect the health program for poor Filipinos and result in the exploitation of people ready to sell parts of their body for money.
Health Undersecretary Jade del Mundo has said that the program would put the Philippines on the world stage of medical tourism. India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are ahead of the Philippines in medical tourism, but it should not be difficult for the country to catch up, given the competent health professionals it has, its international image as a caring and compassionate nation and its very reasonable and competitive medical rates. Also a plus is the fact that most of our health professionals are proficient in English.
A heart bypass here costs only about P500,000, or about half the price abroad. A kidney transplant costs P3 million, or less than half the rate in other Asian or Western countries. Even cosmetic surgical procedures are cheaper here. For example, blepharoplasty, which widens the contours of Asian eyes, would cost about P500,000 in Japan and South Korea, but only P150,000 in the Philippines.
Medical tourism has a dual purpose: people would visit another country to get medical treatment and enjoy a vacation in the process. This new kind of tourism promises to be a lucrative dollar earner for the Philippines. Dr. Joseph James Joaquino, a plastic surgeon, said that in Thailand in 2004 the medical tourism industry drew 600,000 foreign tourists and earned nearly $500 million for the country.
Tourists would be ready to pay high professional fees, and so doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who are thinking of working abroad could be convinced to stay in the Philippines. Later they could pool their savings and set up clinics and hospitals of their own. Other doctors and nurses already working abroad could be enticed to return to the country if they could earn better pay so that they could be near their families at the same time.
The medical tourism program could also help promote indigenous medical and therapeutic practices, such as "hilot." This type of Filipino massage has therapeutic benefits and, properly promoted, could compete with the world-famous Thai massage.
There are certain caveats, however. The Alliance of Health Workers, through a spokesperson, said that the program, which would offer world-class health care to foreigners, could aggravate the neglect of poor Filipino patients. Millions of them now have to content themselves with substandard treatment and obsolete equipment in government hospitals and clinics.
Another danger is that the program could result in the “mutilation” of hundreds, if not thousands, of poor Filipinos who would sell kidneys and other vital organs for big sums of money. In 2003, 420 kidney transplants were done locally. About 250 of the kidneys came from donors not related to the recipients, and most of the donors were paid. The selling of kidneys is a booming business in Rizal Park, Bacood and Baseco compound in Manila, Novaliches in Quezon City and Addition Hills in Mandaluyong, according to Dr. Angeles Tan Alora, a bioethics expert.
What if the donors who are left with only one kidney each later suffer kidney failure? Would not the government and society spend more to solve the new problem?
What makes medical tourism an attractive program all over the world is the money. Del Mundo, citing figures from the International Trade Center Geneva, said that the global medical tourism industry earns about $20 billion a year. The Philippine government expects to earn $300 million in the first year of operation of the medical tourism program and $1 billion a year for the next five years.
If the program does stem the brain drain in the health professionals sector and brings in the tourist dollars, well and good. But safeguards have to be taken to ensure that it does not result in the neglect of poor Filipino patients and in the exploitation of poor people who might be enticed to give up some of their vital organs in exchange for dollars.
Health Undersecretary Jade del Mundo has said that the program would put the Philippines on the world stage of medical tourism. India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are ahead of the Philippines in medical tourism, but it should not be difficult for the country to catch up, given the competent health professionals it has, its international image as a caring and compassionate nation and its very reasonable and competitive medical rates. Also a plus is the fact that most of our health professionals are proficient in English.
A heart bypass here costs only about P500,000, or about half the price abroad. A kidney transplant costs P3 million, or less than half the rate in other Asian or Western countries. Even cosmetic surgical procedures are cheaper here. For example, blepharoplasty, which widens the contours of Asian eyes, would cost about P500,000 in Japan and South Korea, but only P150,000 in the Philippines.
Medical tourism has a dual purpose: people would visit another country to get medical treatment and enjoy a vacation in the process. This new kind of tourism promises to be a lucrative dollar earner for the Philippines. Dr. Joseph James Joaquino, a plastic surgeon, said that in Thailand in 2004 the medical tourism industry drew 600,000 foreign tourists and earned nearly $500 million for the country.
Tourists would be ready to pay high professional fees, and so doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who are thinking of working abroad could be convinced to stay in the Philippines. Later they could pool their savings and set up clinics and hospitals of their own. Other doctors and nurses already working abroad could be enticed to return to the country if they could earn better pay so that they could be near their families at the same time.
The medical tourism program could also help promote indigenous medical and therapeutic practices, such as "hilot." This type of Filipino massage has therapeutic benefits and, properly promoted, could compete with the world-famous Thai massage.
There are certain caveats, however. The Alliance of Health Workers, through a spokesperson, said that the program, which would offer world-class health care to foreigners, could aggravate the neglect of poor Filipino patients. Millions of them now have to content themselves with substandard treatment and obsolete equipment in government hospitals and clinics.
Another danger is that the program could result in the “mutilation” of hundreds, if not thousands, of poor Filipinos who would sell kidneys and other vital organs for big sums of money. In 2003, 420 kidney transplants were done locally. About 250 of the kidneys came from donors not related to the recipients, and most of the donors were paid. The selling of kidneys is a booming business in Rizal Park, Bacood and Baseco compound in Manila, Novaliches in Quezon City and Addition Hills in Mandaluyong, according to Dr. Angeles Tan Alora, a bioethics expert.
What if the donors who are left with only one kidney each later suffer kidney failure? Would not the government and society spend more to solve the new problem?
What makes medical tourism an attractive program all over the world is the money. Del Mundo, citing figures from the International Trade Center Geneva, said that the global medical tourism industry earns about $20 billion a year. The Philippine government expects to earn $300 million in the first year of operation of the medical tourism program and $1 billion a year for the next five years.
If the program does stem the brain drain in the health professionals sector and brings in the tourist dollars, well and good. But safeguards have to be taken to ensure that it does not result in the neglect of poor Filipino patients and in the exploitation of poor people who might be enticed to give up some of their vital organs in exchange for dollars.
<< Home