MHTC/ACTIVITY

An InTervIew wITH MOhd daud MOhd arif CEO Malaysia hEalthCarE travEl COunCil (MhtC) Malaysia thE PrEfErrEd ChOiCE fOr hEalthCarE

Santai Travel recently sat down with Mohd Daud Mohd Arif, CEO of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council to get the lowdown on their efforts to offer quality care for peace of mind to healthcare travellers.

The Malaysia healThcare

Travel council (MhTc) was launched in 2009 under the purview of the Ministry of Health Malaysia to curate the healthcare travel industry in Malaysia. Under the mandate, MHTC continues to raise Malaysia’s profile as a safe and trusted destination for healthcare travel in the region.

Malaysia is the top healthcare destination for many due to its worldclass quality, ease of accessibility and comparative affordability. Its attractiveness is also accentuated by other factors which include Malaysia’s position as an ever-growing wellness sanctuary, its position as a Muslimfriendly nation, its many travel sights and, a multilingual healthcare system that caters to the language preferences of patients across Asia and the world.

Healthcare travel has been earmarked as a key economic growth driver and in particular, for post-COVID economic recovery. The reopening of international borders for healthcare travellers is a positive indicator of the nation’s economic growth and a point of confidence for Malaysia’s healthcare infrastructure.

MHTC continues to forge industry resilience via stronger parity publicprivate partnerships with stakeholders and key industry players. MHTC then communicates the advantages that Malaysia has in terms of healthcare tourism in various overseas markets. Its messages are clear: Malaysia offers highquality medical care, it is affordable and the treatment can be immediate.

Additionally, MHTC is working closely with its member hospitals to determine other areas or markets on which to focus. This will be integral in spurring the growth in healthcare travel services in Malaysia’s post-COVID recovery.

MHTC continues to focus on reviving the healthcare travel sector in other markets such as Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand and Oman.

As a result of these activities, there has been tremendous growth in the number of patients travelling to Malaysia for treatment, and in the revenue generated since the inception of the council in 2009.

Despite a downturn during COVID, the overall increase has been 90% with 2019 revenue being RM1.7 billion. This figure only represents the revenue generated in hospitals and does not include associated areas such as airlines, hotels, and food and beverage outlets.

More recently, the number of patients has increased in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. This is testament that patients continue to place their trust in Malaysia’s healthcare system and there is a growing sense of confidence to travel to the country.

Over the many years of serving healthcare travellers, Malaysia has been recognised as ‘Destination of the Year’ from 2017-2020 at the International Medical Travel Journal Travel Awards. MHTC was also awarded the top ‘Country for Muslim Travel’ from 20112021 by the MasterCard CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index.

Success is measured by patients who are satisfied and happy because of their confidence in Malaysia’s healthcare. When patients feel safe and happy, they will continue to consider Malaysia as their continued and preferred choice for healthcare tourism.

Building the brand to ensure patients return to Malaysia for continued treatment has always been important for MHTC. The journey for MHTC since 2009 has not been without challenges and naturally, the pandemic was the biggest challenge to have confronted the healthcare services industry.

There were some patients who required continuous healthcare during the pandemic and the country, its hospitals and MHTC were very quick to adapt and accommodate them. Some

OvEr thE Many yEars Of sErving hEalthCarE travEllErs, Malaysia has bEEn rECOgnisEd as ‘dEstinatiOn Of thE yEar’ frOM 2017-2020 at thE intErnatiOnal MEdiCal travEl JOurnal travEl awards. MhtC was alsO awardEd thE tOP ‘COuntry fOr MusliM travEl’ frOM 2011-2021 by thE MastErCard CrEsCEntrating glObal MusliM travEl indEx.

of these patients were still allowed to remain in or visit the country via a dedicated travel bubble that was established. Malaysia recognised that they had a duty of care in providing continuous care and scheduled treatment to these patients.

MHTC worked with the government to establish this travel bubble to ensure smooth operations even during the lockdowns. It was important to ensure the safety of patients and also the safety of all Malaysians during this time. These challenges were successfully overcome.

Now that the world is slowly returning to normal, another challenge for the industry is airline connectivity between Malaysia and the rest of the world. Airline ticket prices are still high and this is a key challenge that needs to be overcome. MHTC also needs to work closely with other countries to ensure they open their borders in order for patients to travel to Malaysia. MHTC has ambitious plans to ensure that patients have a smooth journey from the time before they depart their overseas destination to the time they are treated here in Malaysia and even their posttreatment recuperation within the country.

Every step of this journey needs to be well thought-through and MHTC is expecting the return to pre-pandemic days by 2024 or 2025. MHTC needs to have several strategies in place now that people are happy to travel again for healthcare tourism procedures. People need to be confident in travelling and they need to have full trust that Malaysia is safe before they set off here for their healthcare.

MHTC appreciates that there has been a pent-up demand and many treatments have been put on hold. The industry needs to be prepared for the influx and have the technology and infrastructure in place.

Digitalisation is important in health care and the industry needs to use it to provide a better quality service. The industry needs to look at consumer behaviour and be aware of the changes and how best to respond to them and cater to the needs of the consumer. This also means being adequately equipped for elective surgery.

Future proofing is important and Malaysian practitioners are prepared as they learned from COVID. Now they are better prepared for the future and this means working with other countries to establish bubbles in the event of future pandemics.

future Plans There are several things that MHTC needs to implement in positioning Malaysia as the destination of choice with potential patients. l Malaysia is a key provider of quality healthcare and Malaysia offers opportunities that foreigners need to know about. l In order to achieve this, MHTC has developed a 2021-2025 Healthcare Travel Blueprint.

This blueprint has three specific pillars: a. Enhance the domestic ecosystem and identify touchpoints in order to appreciate how the industry can improve through initiatives such as telehealth, online payments, the use of apps and general digitisation.

b. Enhance the Malaysian healthcare brand: to reinforce that Malaysian healthcare services are of high quality, that they offer value for money and that they are readily accessible.

c. MHTC needs to identify how and where the industry can expand beyond its traditional markets. The key markets that have been identified include China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Middle East, East Asia and Northeast Asia.

l Malaysia is an important tourism destination. For example, Malaysia has islands, it is multicultural, its food is exciting and there are numerous ecotourism opportunities.

Activity & Event

United arab emirates: malaysia Healthcare excellence Week in expo dubai 2020 2 – 8 JAnuAry 2022

Starting the year with open hands and minds, we welcomed new partnerships at the Malaysian Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai with renowned players such as International Assistance Sdn Bhd (IASB) and HADID International Services (HADID). These partnerships allow the industry to gain new customer pipelines while building brand presence for Malaysia Healthcare in ASEAN and Middle Eastern markets.

indonesia: malaysia Healthcare expo (mHX) Jakarta 2022 & media Fam 23 – 27 Mar 2022

One of Malaysia Healthcare’s first touchpoints with the Indonesian market since the pandemic, this displays how the healthcare industry is moving forward to support the needs of global healthcare travellers especially for our neighbouring country.

indonesia: malaysia Healthcare expo (mHX) surabaya 30 June – 3 July 2022

Returning to Indonesia, this time in Surabaya, we received a hearty and spirited response from participants, visitors, and representatives who joined the many activities and exhibitions from various Malaysian panel hospitals planned throughout the 4-day event.

bangladesH: dhaka travel market 2022 2 - 4 June 2022

Together with GD Assist, Malaysia Healthcare participated as exhibitor in the Dhaka Travel Market. Visitors flocked to our booth try out tele-consultation sessions with Malaysian panel hospitals, which is a positive indicator that our Bangladeshi healthcare travellers are keen to explore healthcare services with Malaysia Healthcare.

Malaysia Healthcare Expo (MHX) Jakarta 2022 & Media FAM

Expo Dubai 2020

vietnam: strategic Partnership agreement with insmart 28 July 2022

In conjunction with World Hepatitis Day, MHTC held an exchange ceremony for a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Insmart Joint Stock Company (Insmart), the largest Third-Party Administrator (TPA) in Vietnam. With this collaboration, healthcare travellers from Vietnam with insurance policies within Insmart's network will be able to acquire seamless medical treatment coverage with direct billing model in selected Malaysia Healthcare private healthcare facilities, enquire about Hepatitis C and oncology treatments in Malaysia, make healthcare travel arrangements and more.

Memorandum of Understanding with CMDF

Launching of Malaysia International Referral Centre in Hangzhou

cHina: launching of malaysia international referral centre in Hangzhou 28 July 2022

MHTC launched the Malaysia International Referral Centre (MIRC) in Hangzhou, marking a salient point in our end-to-end healthcare travel ecosystem to provide a seamless experience for aspiring parents seeking assisted reproductive treatments in Malaysia.

cambodia: memorandum of Understanding with cmdF 28 August 2022

MHTC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cambodia Muslim Development Foundation (CMDF). This partnership with CMDF will provide healthcare travellers from Cambodia, a chance to experience seamless end-toend patient journey, as and when they seek treatment with Malaysia Healthcare. This partnership marks a step forward in growing the ecosystem of players, as opportunities are sought in establishing solid ties with Cambodian government stakeholders and various NGOs.

indonesia: malaysia Healthcare expo (mHX) medan 22 – 25 September 2022

Our next MHX will see Malaysia Healthcare returning to Indonesia, this time in Medan, where we will be showcasing the best Malaysia’s private healthcare institutions as well as tourism and wellness partners. We look forward to sharing more of Malaysia Healthcare's quality offerings with our Indonesian audiences at MHX Medan.

bangladesH: malaysia Healthcare business Forum at dhaka, bangladesh 4 October 2022

MHTC will be hosting the Malaysia Healthcare Business Forum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, gathering key healthcare travel industry players such as travel and tourism companies, insurance providers and financial institutions for a healthcare dialogue and sharing on what Malaysia Healthcare has to offer the healthcare travellers of Bangladesh.

malaysia: insigHt2023 13 – 16 March 2023

Malaysia’s biggest medical travel market intelligence conference will be back next year! Local and global thought leaders and partners gather at this annual conference for in-depth insights based on relevant knowledge and updated research on all things healthcare travel. Forerunning the advancement of the healthcare travel industry, insigHT presents itself as a platform to create opportunities from the ever-changing healthcare travel landscape.

Visit: www.mhtc.org.my