Medical expo to feature spas and much more
The Public Health Ministry will hold its biggest medical expo next week to highlight Thailand's capacity and competitiveness in healthcare - and try to gain attention from foreign investors.
Somchai Pinyopornpanich, head of the Department of Health Service Support, said the ministry would invite healthcare providers, including state and private hospitals, to set up about 300 booths to show their services to investors and people who attend.
The exhibition, which will run from August 30 to September 2 at Impact Muang Thong Thani, will include Thai traditional medicine and spas.
“The ministry expects that there will be huge number of business matching among healthcare investors from this expo,” he said.
According to Department of Health Service Support records, about 2.5 million foreigners have visited Thailand for medical and dental treatment. This was worth billions of baht in revenue.
Most popular treatments were orthopedic, and for heart surgery, cosmetic surgery and dental work.
Norwegian health service providers were now interested in sending patients for treatment in Thailand, especially patients with psoriasis, as the sunlight in coastal provinces such as Phuket, Krabi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, and Chon Buri was good for treating this.
Meanwhile, healthcare providers in other European countries are also interested to send patients who suffer from osteo-arthritis of the knee to undergo treatment here because the cost of treatment in Thailand is half the price.
“It would be a good opportunity for local healthcare businesses to get a business partnership with European health service providers, as they could get full reimbursement for the cost of treatment from the government,” Somchai said.
At present, about 23 medical schools and private hospitals have certification for safety and quality of medical treatment from the Joint Commission on International Accreditation Standards for Hospitals.
The government has drawn a five-year medical hub master plan from 2012 to 2016, to try to become the medical hub of Asia. It expects the move could generate Bt850 billion. Under the plan, the department will promote medical treatment for foreign patients, plus spa businesses, Thai traditional medicine and herbal products.
The department has been drafting a law to promote the spa business. The law, currently being studied by the Council of State, will require spas to register as a healthcare business.
To date, the Interior Ministry has overseen spas and registered these businesses as “pubs and restaurants”. This was a legal loophole that opened the window for some spa owners to illegally provide sex services.
The department also plans to promote Thai spas in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan. It will encourage spa owners overseas to set up Thai spa business groups to leverage the service standard.
Meanwhile, the department will also give importance to licensing herbal medicinal products in enhance local wisdom and prevent traditional knowledge from “bio-piracy”.
The department also plans to break the Guinness World Record for Thai massage, by gathering over 600 pairs of service people to perform simultaneous massage at the expo – to promote Thai massage to the world.
