Medical Tourism News
Singapore sees fewer medical tourists looking for health screening or simple procedures
Competition is fierce in the region , but overseas patients with complex conditions keep choosing Singapore
The number of people seeking routine screening and diagnostic procedures in Singapore has dropped due to rising medical costs and increasing competition from others in the region , experts told The Straits Times .
At IHH Healthcare Singapore , which operates some of the hospitals most popular among medical tourists , including Gleneagles Hospital and Mount �lizabeth Hospital , international patients made up just 15 percent of the total patient base in 2023 , while the figure stood at 20 percent in 201� , �effrey Law , the group ’ s chief commercial officer , told The Straits Times .
He added that the group mostly lost patients who used to come for health screenings and simple procedures like colonoscopies , while patients needing treatment continued to check in at the group ’ s facilities , with their conditions being more complex compared to the past . As a result , patients now tend to stay longer and have bigger medical expenses .
�xperts believe this drop is due to higher medical costs in Singapore compared to Malaysia and Thailand , two countries that are also popular medical tourism destinations and provide good quality care .
“ With rising affluence across the region , higher expectations and easier access , medical travel continues to expand . Malaysia , in particular , has really blossomed and has joined Singapore and Thailand as leading providers in the region ,” public health specialist Jeremy Lim told The Straits Times .
Thailand is planning to make surrogacy legal for foreigners
The move is likely to increase the number of medical tourists seeking fertility services in the country
The Thai government will legalise surrogacy by the end of the year in order to boost medical tourism and could also allow same-sex couples to use the service if a bill to legalise same-sex marriage , which passed the Thai Senate on �une 18 , is endorsed by the king later this year , according to media .
Surrogacy is the practice of giving birth to a baby for another person or couple who are unable to have babies . The country ’ s Health Ministry is planning to make an amendment to the surrogacy law , which currently bans foreigners from accessing it , as early as �uly , according to Arkhom Praditsuwan , deputy director-general for the ministry ’ s �epartment of Health Services Support . The ban was imposed in 2015 in response to public anger over an Australian couple who abandoned a baby born through surrogacy because the newborn had �own syndrome . �nder current law , at least one partner has to be Thai if a couple wants to make use of surrogacy services .
“ The revision is aimed to make it fair for all Thai couples , no matter what sexual preferences they have ,” Arkhom said , according to Bloomberg . “ The lifting of the ban also takes into account the rising demand for surrogacy services . This will support medical tourism , generating more income for the country .”
However , even if the law is passed , it may take some time before foreigners will be able to access the service because stringent rules to protect newborns will also have to be introduced .
“ It ’ s not an easy job to draft up rules for foreign couples as they involve a lot of complicated issues as well as laws in other countries that the babies will live in later ,” Arkhom said . “ The main objective of the law is to protect the babies . We can ’ t let them come to this world without any rights . They are human beings , not dolls for their parents .”
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