Malaysia plans to expand healthcare business in Bangladesh: Nik Yazmin

Malaysia plans to increase its healthcare market penetration in those countries while aggressively raising the country's profile in developmental markets in Bangladesh. In an interview with The Asian Age, Chief Commercial Officer of Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) Nik Yazmin Nik Azman talked details on Malaysia offers for affordability healthcare and better access of quality of care for travellers.

Taking about the infrastructure or facilities does MHTC offer he said, "Malaysia has over 300 private hospitals where they offer only the best quality healthcare services. They also have the cutting-edge technology, and facilities to welcome large numbers of international patients.

Referring the quality and safety standards in Malaysian private hospitals are among the best in the world he said that Malaysian private hospitals have been recognized by internationally recognized bodies such as Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH), Joint Commission International (JCI), Reproductive Technology Accredition Committee (RTAC) and other agencies under the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua).

In the reply of Malaysia's unique selling points for healthcare Malaysia Healthcare Chief Commercial Officer of MHTC Nik Yazmin Nik Azman said that Malaysia has several unique selling points which propels Malaysia as the destination of choice for healthcare travel globally. We also invite healthcare travellers to "Experience Malaysia Healthcare" as we provide "Quality Care for Your Peace of Mind."

He added that the unique selling points are Malaysia's world-class quality treatments, easy accessibility for appointments with specialists, and affordable healthcare services, where we are about 60% more affordable than Singapore and 20% more than Thailand.

Adding on the hospitality in Malaysia she said, Malaysia is world-famous as an exotic holiday destination as well as for its' people's warmth and hospitality. Malaysia's key strengths is that the country is largely Muslim-friendly, with all of our hospital serving only Halal menus and providing prayer facilities. Malaysia Healthcare is also proud to have our end-to-end service, with a dedicated call centre, and concierge and lounge services at Penang International Airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), and KLIA2, to provide a seamless healthcare travel journey for international patients.

Speaking on the economic impact she said, "Healthcare travel is one of the fastest growing industries in the sector, recording double digit growth, as compared to the 4% growth recorded by the tourism industry alone. The industry flourished from humble numbers of 643,000 health travellers in 2011, to a high of more than 1,200,000 in 2018. Answering on the question of government strategies and measures to promote Malaysia's medical tourism Nik Yazmin Nik Azman said, "The government has strongly supported the development and growth of Malaysia's healthcare travel industry, which has been branded as "Malaysia Healthcare".

And lastly talking about MHTC's future plan regarding Bangladesh, Nik Yazmin Nik Azman said, "Malaysia Healthcare intends to welcome even more healthcare travellers from Bangladesh to Malaysia. We also want to increase our visibility to Bangladesh nationals as a top-of-mind option for world-class healthcare, and to continuously engage with healthcare practitioners to ensure a seamless, end-to-end healthcare travel journey for Bangladeshi patients into Malaysia.