Asia's Top Destination for Healthcare Tourism

 

 

Thailand is leading Asia as a medical tourism destination. Medical tourism in Thailand is booming; pushing other nations down the list. The number of medical tourists that come in Thailand has been steadily increasing since the early 2000's. This has resulted in the country taking its place on the top of the global medical tourism market.

 

Private Care

 

There are over 1,000 hospitals in Thailand, of which over 470 are private facilities. The country takes pride in having the largest private hospital in Asia, as well as having the first Asian hospital to receive the ISO 9001 certification and JCI accreditation. To date, 37 hospitals in Thailand have been accredited by the JCI, all of them private.

 

Thailand’s Medical tourism industry is largely driven by private hospitals. Thai doctors are attracted to the international hospitals as they can earn as much as 70% more than in the public hospitals.

 

Foreigner Friendly Hospitals

 

Leading the list of private hospitals are the Bumrungrad International Hospital, Bangkok Hospital Group, and Samitivej Hospitals. These hospitals are widely becoming renowned globally. They are known to cater mostly to foreign patients and have been actively seeking medical tourists since the early 2000's. Around 30-50% of the patients in these hospitals are foreigners, due to the fact that, to a greater extent, they find the hospitals cheaper than their home countries. However, most Thais find the prices in these hospitals too high, as salaries in Thailand are low.