Health care in Malaysia is considered remarkably well by the standards of World Health Organization (WHO). It is one of the best and a role model for developing nations. It is estimated Malaysia healthcare industry to grow 8% in 2010. In Malaysia, medical hospital industry is a highly regulated industry. Prior to September 2010, healthcare advertising is restricted. Now, marketing via print, radio, television and digital channels is permitted. Total health care revenue in the region was estimated to grow from US$2.5 billion in 2006 to US$4.4 billion in 2012. In Malaysia, revenues from private health care rose from RM58.9 million in 2003 to RM299 million in 2009.
Healthcare travel is a global phenomenon with an anticipated 35% growth in the coming years. Taking this trend into consideration, Malaysia is aiming to attract more than 437,000 medical tourists this year with an estimated income of RM431 million. This is an increase from 392,956 healthcare travelers last year, with an income of RM379 million (New Straits Times, 2011). Private hospitals have been identified to be the driver of this transformation.
According to a source, Malaysia healthcare is in the stage of transformation to become more international in its outlook is well on its way. With government supports such as tax support, accreditations marketing activities, this transformation is said to well under way (Kok, 2009). In addition to these factors, medical costs in Malaysia, which have been known to be better than the neighboring countries, plus the good infrastructure and the widely spoken English language were all contributing factors of this transformation process. Another competitive factor would be the favorable exchange rate.
There are many other concerns that hospitals in Malaysia needs to address in understanding international patients perspectives. They have to be concerned with the patients’ motivation and expectation and whether