Singapore Medical Tourism

Singapore is one of the top medical tourism centers of the world. It attracts about 200,000 medical tourists every year. The hospitals in Singapore are extremely well equipped and are staffed by highly qualified doctors, many of them with international qualifications. The Singapore government is aiming to attract 2 million medical tourists to its country by the year 2010. Singapore is known for its cleanliness and is a close competitor of Thailand and India for medical tourists.

One well-known case demonstrating the expertise of Singapore doctors is when in April 2001 Singapore doctors successfully separated Nepalese twins, Ganga and Jamuna, who were joined at the head in a 90-hour operation. More than 200,000 international patients come to Singapore each year. Some of these patients seek heart surgery, some brain surgery, and yet others seek cancer treatment.

Whatever, type of treatment they seek, they are guaranteed world-class medical treatment in hospitals equipped with the latest equipments and maintaining cleanliness and safety standards, which are world-class. The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) maintains standards of excellence in healthcare. To cater specifically to the international patients, many hospitals in Singapore have established international departments. These departments assist international patients with appointments to top specialists, hospital transportation, accommodation, and services such as translation services, visa assistance, and currency exchange, etc.

Costs of medical treatment in Singapore are considerably cheaper than developed countries. For example, stem cell transplant would cost USD 72,000 to USD 90,000 per person, compared to USD 235,000 for the same procedure. Treatment in Singapore costs a fraction of the treatment expenses in the United States and other western countries. But, treatment costs in Singapore are higher than treatment costs in Thailand, India, or Malaysia. In order to improve their medical expertise, both private and government hospitals in Singapore regularly collaborate with reputed western hospitals such as John Hopkins University Hospital, Pennsylvania University Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Kaiser Permanente to keep up with the latest medical innovations and procedures.

In addition to providing world-class medical care in all branches of medicine, Singapore has developed expertise in procedures such as organ transport, reproductive and fertility issues, limb reattachment, and joint replacement.

Singapore is no longer just the leisure or business destination. With a population of 4.5 million, strong workforce of skilled doctors and some best state-of-the-art hospitals Singapore is fast positioning itself as a global medical tourism hub. Approximately 200,000 overseas patients visit Singapore every year and the hospitals are targetting to increase the numbers manifold, to serving one million foreign patients annually by 2012 and generate USD 3 billion in revenue.

Singapore Medical Tourism can be broadly defined as the service of providing of cost-effective private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry for patients requiring surgical and other forms of specialized treatment. Singapore’s healthcare services are built on a foundation of world class quality, safety and trustworthiness, coupled with advanced research and international accreditation, and is Asia's leading medical hub.

Singapore, another medical hub, is planning to be developed into a leading health care destination in Asia and with an average steady growth of 20 percent over the past few years they are quickly becoming a leader in the field.