By Nasuha Badrul Huzaini
SHAH ALAM, Jan 20 — Selangor has emerged as one of the most preferred destinations for medical tourism in Southeast Asia due to the world-class healthcare treatments provided by hospitals throughout the state.
Following good and encouraging responses from the industry, Tourism Selangor said the medical tourism segment is expanding, especially when it comes to quality of service, patient care, and safety procedures related to health and medical laws, which are deemed to be crucial.
“There are several reasons why medical tourism in Selangor is gaining more traction these days. Among the key factors are the efforts being carried out to expand it by the Malaysia Healthcare Tourism Council (MHTC).
“MHTC is an agency under the Health Ministry with a vision to strengthen the segmentation of medical tourism in Malaysia, including in Selangor. Currently, there are 46 hospitals in the state recognised by MHTC, including Sunway Medical Centre, Subang Jaya Medical Centre, Thomson Hospital, and many more.
“As of now, MHTC is actively focusing on establishing strong market ties in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
“Apart from that, medical treatments provided by healthcare centres in Selangor are on par developed countries. The medical fees are also relatively lower compared to those countries.
“Not to mention our medical practitioners are well-equipped and highly skilled in their specialities. As they have been trained in foreign hospitals, including in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States,” said Tourism Selangor in a statement today.
The organisation added that one advantage of patients opting for medical treatment in Selangor is familiarising themselves with local cultures.
“Like many other Asian countries, Malaysians are a hospitable people, which enables medical tourists to discover the uniqueness of the cultural diversity in Selangor.
“There are various tourist attractions in the state, including Sunway Pyramid, Sekinchan Town, the National Zoo, Batu Caves, and many more. These places will allow the patient to enjoy their moments outside of the hospital facility when getting treatment in Selangor,” it said.
Tourism Selangor had also reminded medical tourists to adhere to the standard operating procedures set by the authorities, including observing social distancing, wearing face masks at all times in public, and applying hand sanitiser regularly.
