Bumrungrad ready to tap overseas oppportunities

"Even though Bumrungrad is a recognised brand, we still need to develop trust and we know it will take time. There are two portals to achieve this – the first is check-up and the second is word-of-mouth," Dennis Brown, the corporate chief executive officer of the hospital, said at a conference in Bangkok recently.

He said doctors have been the main drivers behind the hospital’s success hence Bumrungrad continues to focus on recruiting the best doctors.

When asked what had prompted the hospital to take its business overseas, he said this was to ensure its long-term survival.

The hospital started offering its services to foreign patients in 1997 as the domestic market softened. Today, it offers many sub-specialised services that can tap a wider market.

He added that Bumrungrad’s largest market outside Thailand is Myanmar, which accounted for seven per cent of total revenue. Bumrungrad’s strategy is to improve channels so as to bring the business back to Bangkok. For example, the company made an investment in Mongolia for medical services not available there. In Mongolia, 8 per cent of Mongolian patients go overseas to South Korea for medical procedures while only 20 per cent come to Thailand.

Brown said Bumrungrad is trying to capture business in markets where players are leaving or considering leaving. In those markets, often there are wealthy people but not quality medical services and that provides an opportunity. For instance, Indonesia has large numbers of its population going abroad for medical services.

In North Africa and Kazakhstan, the hospital is utilising Thai expertise called "remote medical care" while using a different approach with real doctors in more mature markets like Vietnam.

In Asean, Thais can contribute towards helping run the business in other cities, he said.

He suggested that Turkey could become another hub. However, our main focus will be Bangkok, he said. The investors eventually decided to liquidate and refocus to Thailand and synergy referring back to Bangkok with changing strategy from replication to referral.

"Some markets have no infrastructure. It is easy to build hospitals and acquire the equipment but it’s difficult to develop doctors, for which good medical schools are needed. That would take 40-50 years to develop," he said.

Another key factor for success is understanding the payment system. In Thailand, a patient pays in cash but in other countries insurance companies drive how the operation works such as in the US where the healthcare system is more interested in interest groups than in the patients.

The key advantage the hospital has is the high quality of medical personnel and Thai hospitality. To compete with others, operators needed to have these capabilities.

Brown advised those seeking to spread their business outside to ensure they have the right partner and the right people to help understand local regulations.

Asked why Bumrungrad had quit management of a hospital in Abu Dhabi and pulled out of its joint venture in the Philippines, he said the strategic intent when entering those markets was to promote Bangkok’s Bumrungrad. However, now we believe this could be done from here, he said.