MEDICAL TOURISM IN HONG KONG
The practice of medical tourism is central on the outsourcing of medical/healthcare services to an area offshore. As people realize the benefits of health tourism, medical travel become more popular choice for people all over the world. The promotion of medical tourism is associated with boosting the economy of the nations that provides healthcare servicing such as India, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Greece, Jordan and South Africa. Hong Kong medical tourism may log behind in this aspect; nonetheless, the region has the necessary manpower resources and the capability to draw extra manning and the technical skills to meet the demands of the health travelers as well as the existence of state-of-the-art medical facilities.
Embedded on high quality, low cost medical care, the key purpose is to present and realize the overwhelming opportunities for medical institutions to tap the potentialities of the international patient market for the purpose of leveraging both business and clinical considerations. There are three elements to consider in investing in medical tourism such as the advancement in technologies, increased patient mobility and demand for immediate quality care entrenched in three equally important actions: medical quality, supporting services and marketing reforms.
As such, the new business shall purport a ‘holistic medical experience’ whereby wellness and health is the utmost priority and to provide outstanding international patient care is the core objective. The medical business shall envision itself as one of the Top 3 medical institutions in the region guide by its mission statement which is: “To deliver excellent healthcare services of highest ethical standards through highly competent healthcare providers”. Of highest ethical standards could at its simplest mean that the medical business shall comply with international standards as well as internal core values as corporate social responsibility; compassion for excellence; people-oriented and service-oriented; innovation; expertise and teamwork.
Business Strategies
There are many strategies that the business could employ such as the following:
- Marketing of TCM
Prior to the establishment of the medical business, there must be an initial assessment on the probability of marketing the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The role of the government must be positioned in providing health care services for its citizens and the foreigners while also promoting existing tourist attractions for the patients, low cost of living, expat-friendly locals and respectable quality of healthcare. In addition, there must be also the presence of analyzing and evaluating medical services pricing to optimize the quality health experience significantly because medical tourists are after the immense savings. As such, the quality of treatment must not be jeopardized since it will be a key price determinant that the healthcare providers might work with as well as the competent physicians and facilities.
- Adhering to medical tourism industry best-practices
The budding medical business should adhere into industry best practices; divided into medical and non-medical services. For non-medical services, there are four factors that include 1) specialties in specific clinical areas; 2) strong medical research; 3) excellent medical equipments; and 4) state-of-the-art technology. Logistics arrangements and hospitality services (e.g. on-site accommodations, or direct linkages with various hotels, hostels and B&Bs, etc.) as well as staff training are for non-medical services. Both services point to a sound business marketing stratagem.
- Total medical service through specializations and extensive staff trainings
To expound the limiting aspects of medical tourism, it is advisable that total medical service is offered through branching on various medical expertises towards super-specialization that builds credibility and buy-in for the purpose of proving patient care continuum. To support the endeavor, nursing teams must be thoroughly trained and that cross-fertilizations of medical teams must be available. There must be a separate team dedicated to meeting the needs and expectations of the patients and of the guests.
- Technological and corporate social investments
Technological investments – software and hardware – should be likewise prioritized such as cutting-edge technologies and intellectual output for example. The latter could be achieved through collaborating with universities and research centers. In addition, there must be a maintained relationship between the medical business with the local hospitals, doctors, embassies, sponsor corporations and insurers. To cultivate such relationships, the business shall partake in different events like trade shows, exhibitions, training seminars whereby sharing of medical expertise is possible.
- Patient marketing
Patient marketing, founded on the increasing awareness of patients to their illnesses and available treatment options, must be comprehensive and encompass various mediums. For instance, the medical business must have an informative website, transparent pricing schemas and/or advertising placements within in-flight magazines. Apart from Internet marketing and advertisement, the new business must invest in referral agencies, medical breakthroughs, premium mark-ups, payer marketing, fixed price surgery, tax treatments, visa and customs clearance for the purpose of continuously enticing foreign patients. Nonetheless, three to five years from the actual business operation, it is planned to have representative offices or agencies in various countries in order to penetrate more markets and audience.
To facilitate performance capability of the business, the strategies will be aligned to skills, systems, structures and strategies or the 4S process. The skills will be necessary for: population-level reasoning, formal Total Quality Management (TQM) methods, leadership and business literacy for the purpose of:
- Enabling people to identify opportunities
- Creating “bench strength”
- Preparing people to implement innovations.
For the systems, there should be the information systems infrastructure; performance measurement systems, communication systems and human resource management systems that purport:
· Individual creativity
· Strong championship
For structures, it shall deal with specialised staff function that supports the development of coordinating skills and the business needs for new standing committees allowing:
- Joint-priority setting
- Standardized processes that influence decision-making
- Chartering between the functions
For strategies, there should be proactive processes that direct on participative environment so as to:
· Build will
· Generate ideas
· Execute changes
[NOTE: The strategies will then be:
Strategies] – not yet completed
Explore adjacent expansion by utilizing existing internal capabilities
Building competitive advantages by collaborate and integrate with partners along the value chain
4S process]
Porter’s Generic Positioning Strategy
a) Overall Cost Leadership
Medical fees vary with the quality of healthcare services provided. A common knowledge though is that these cost differences are moderated by the level of competition and the value perception of the patients. As such, prices will be kept at 20-23% of the cost in the United States as it draws on the combination of Western and Chinese treatment approaches that will give value and quality to the healthcare services as well as the existence of competent and highly-ethical healthcare providers.
b) Differentiation
A wider range of services will be provided in an attempt to promote several specialties. This medical business will gamble on the seven key medical procedures as heart bypass, heart valve replacement, angioplasty, hip replacement, hysterectomy, knee replacement and spinal fusion. There will be also heart screening, dental services, complete check-up and LASIK eye surgery among others but minimal priority is given on cancer treatment since there is a facility in Hong Kong that provides free cancer treatments.
In terms of operation, the focus will be on ‘supplemental’ activities with the integration of health spa. More than the therapeutic initiatives, the business must converge with wellbeing of not just the patients but also the families, relatives or friends that accompanies them for relaxation and pampering. There will be programs tailored to individual needs; for instance embarking on a new fitness scheme at the most convenient schedules with patients and visitors. Spa treatments must be available for both men and women as whole body treatments and/or packages of treatments.
The differentiator would the range of services aforementioned. High-quality services will be accompanied by various modes of delivery of health care services. Consumer-driven healthcare views healthcare as private right and responsibility and that individuals are able to choose their healthcare providers at will leading to differentiated health services. The strategy is to position the business on the demand axis according to the chosen market strategy. Innovative service models will be adopted from the high-end down gearing to highly specialized, high quality services unique to the high end service segment.
Another differentiator would be the telematics of this high-end clientele market. Investing on technological advances, the business shall converge into three concepts: telematic techniques for medically-specialised services, third party services in medical imaging and compatibility layers. The first one deals with virtual reality type techniques such as MRI, PET, EEG or ECG, thoractic xrays that uses digital image processes for diagnosis. The second one is on the use of picture archiving systems (PACS) and the use of the Internet (e.g. HL7, XML) to respond to various compatibility issues.
Winning the trusts of the target markets means to comply with the standards unique to medical tourism businesses. Evidenced-based medicine and quality assurance are the key indicators. The Trent International Accreditation Scheme is the international institution that governs medical tourism in UK and Hong Kong.
[NOTE: I added three factors to broad differentiator in medical services.
Broad differentiator in medical services
Variety and flexibility in provide services with quality
State of the art technologies
Vast resources pool to support patient's requirement such as different doctor's opinion, equipment choice and type of treatment (Chinese and western medical treatment)
Consumer-driven healthcare
Utilisation of telematics
International healthcare accreditation]
c) Focus on a Particular Market Niche
The target customers of the medical business to be established are mid- and high-affluent members of Asian countries. The primary target is Asian rich people as they possess high accessibility to the business. Provided that the clientele is high-end, there will be extreme flexibility in the choice of healthcare services and accommodation as well as alternatives to the emerging customer requirements as the facilitation of last minute changes.
There will be also the presence of specialists, doctors, nurses, nursing assistant, caregivers and the same population whom will provide for the continuum of healthcare based on customized, differentiated service offerings. The servceis to be provided will be of high customization to suit the individual needs of the Asian rich people. A variety of cutting-edge facilities will be also in existence collated from all over the world. Promoting convenience, the access in getting advice and also booking and information exchange for this affluent market will be 24x7x31.
Financial Estimation
Building Cost 0, 000
Infrastructure Cost 0, 000
Medical Equipment Cost 0, 000
Salaries, Wages and Employee Benefits , 000
Supplies and Others 0, 000
Depreciation/Amortization $ 40, 000
Interest , 000
Other Expenses 0, 000
TOTAL , 250, 000
References
Adler, P. S., Riley, P., Seok-Woo, K. Signer, J. Lee, B. and Satrasala, R. (2002). Performance Improvement Capability: Keys to Accelerating Performance Improvement in Hospitals.
Marsh, A., Grandinetti, L. and Kauranne, K. (2000). Advanced Infrastructure for Future Healthcare. IOS Press.
Reference (for the last writing)
The, I. and Chu, C. (2005). Supplementing Growth with Medical Tourism. Special report of Synovate Business Consulting.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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