Politics and the flu hurt health sector more than recession

Political tension and the new flu pandemic - or type A (H1N1) virus - were the main factors undermining foreign visitors' confidence about coming here for medical treatment, it said.

Senior researcher Norachai Leukulwattanachai, from the Kasikorn Centre, said the global recession did not pose a severe threat to the medical hub policy as it didn't affect the the comparatively cheap prices or the quality of treatment and hospitable service.

Norachai spoke at a seminar entitled "Impact of the hamburger crisis on the medical hub of Asia policy", organised by Department of Health Service Support, which oversees the medical hub policy.

Thailand is estimated to have earned more than Bt180 billion from foreign patients in the five years since the medicalhub policy was implemented by the state and private sector.

But Norachai said the number of foreign patients coming here had dropped 20 to 30 per cent from last year, causing a drop in income. The reasons were the recession, political tension and the flu pandemic.

He said the recession hurt the medical sector because foreign patients who didn't have healthcare insurance and were unemployed could get treatment at other countries with quality service and cheap prices, such as India.

But Norachai said the glob¬al recession had also created opportunities for the health industry, as some insurance companies were seeking ways to cut costs and sending patients to get treatment at private hospitals in other countries, where costs were less.

Most foreign patients made plans one to three months before travelling to another country. So political stability was a factor in people's decisions to come here.

The flu pandemic had also scared foreign patients who feared catching the infection while travelling.

But the researcher said the outlook was bright for the medical hub policy as the economic crisis looked to be ending.

He said the number of foreign patients was likely to rise in the second half of this year during the "high season" for tourists from Europe and the United States.

He cited a study by the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), which estimated the number of foreign patients from 2009 to 2021, saying the number of for¬eign patients forecast to receive medical treatment in Thailand would rise to 1.35 million a year.

Thailand was expected to earn Bt59 billion from foreign patients by the end of this year, and the figure was likely to rise to Bt69 billion next year, then Bt83 billion in 2011, and Bt98 billion in 2012.

He said Singapore, Malaysia and India were Thailand's main competitors for healthcare.

To reach these sorts of levels, he said government must cut the shortage of medical workers and lower the Thai baht's exchange rate, so medical costs were relatively low.

Thailand should focus on treatment for children, as most people wanted small families. But when their kids got ill, parent would seek special care for them.

Elderly people were another target group for the healthcare industry in the future as the number of elderly people worldwide was rising, especially in Japan and Germany. Most elderly people had a lot of savings and were ready to spend it on maintaining their health.

Healthcare providers should increase their capacity to provide medical treatment to treat heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and surgery as these were expensive services and the number of patients needing these services was increasing.