Hospitals in Malaysia
Malaysia’s healthcare system consists of both public and
private sector hospitals. However, about 80 percent of the healthcare
facilities come under the domain of the public sector hospitals. The
public healthcare system is considered among the best in the region. The
government heavily subsidizes the public sector. The private sector in
Malaysian healthcare is a rapidly growing sector. It works mainly on a
fee for services provided basis.
The public hospitals in Malaysia are of the following three types: general
hospitals, district hospitals, and special medical institutions. There
is a general hospital in each of Malaysia’s sixteen state capitals,
which has an average of 600 to 700 beds each. These general hospitals
provide specialized medical care. The district hospitals are smaller and
provide more basic medical care.
The private hospitals account for 20 percent of Malaysia’s hospital beds,
but they employ about 54 percent of the doctors in Malaysia. The private
sector healthcare in Malaysia is a rapidly growing sector.
Medical Tourism in Malaysia
Malaysia has fast gained a reputation as one of the
major medical tourism destinations of Asia. Malaysian hospitals are
among the best in the region and most private hospitals have
internationally recognized quality standards, which include MS ISO9002.
Malaysia has become the chosen destination for medical travelers from
all across the world due to many reasons. The cheaper cost of treatment
in Malaysia, state-of-the-art hospitals and clinics, highly qualified
doctors, and picturesque tourist destinations. A normal cardiac bypass
surgery (CABG) would cost around US $6,000-7,000 in Malaysia. Most
private hospitals in Malaysia provide accommodation facilities to
tourists. Given Malaysia’s low cost of living, the accommodation does
not cost a lot to the medical tourists. Malaysia ranks as among the top
four centers of medical tourism in Asia with Thailand, India, and
Singapore. In 2003, about 100,000 foreign patients sought treatment in
Malaysia, bringing in RM60 millions in revenue.
Many hospitals in
Malaysia have set up international departments to cater especially to
the international patients. The Malaysian government is actively
promoting medical tourism in Malaysia. As a result the number of private
hospitals providing quality medical care to international patients has
increased over the years. Medical and surgical procedures in Malaysia
cost only 20 to 25 percent of the same in USA or UK. The official
language of Malaysia is Malay, but English is spoken and understood by a
majority of the doctors and health staff. The prices of medical and
surgical procedures are a fraction of those in developed countries. For
example, a breast enlargement procedure in Malaysia costs around £2,110,
whereas in UK it costs between £3,500 and £5,000. Thus, patients achieve
a full 50 percent saving. Patients seeking a full facelift including
upper and lower eye lid lift, brow lift and neck lift would have to pay
out about £2,900 in Malaysia. Whereas in the UK, this procedure would
cost between £4,000 and £6,000.
Visa to Malaysia
Citizens of the United States do not require a visa to visit Malaysia for social, business, or academic purposes. Nationals of all ASEAN countries do not require a visa for a stay of less than one month. For stays exceeding one month, the nationals of ASEAN countries, except Brunei and Singapore, require a visa. The nationals of the following countries require a visa at all times: Afghanistan, India, China, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, etc. The citizens of following countries require a visa for a stay exceeding three months: Argentina, Australia, Netherland, Norway, Qatar, France, Germany, Hungary, etc.