Thailand prepares for becoming medical hub in ASEAN

BANGKOK, May 11 (TNA) - The government is preparing Thailand to become a medical hub in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with an official target of increasing the number of foreigners visiting the Kingdom for medical services by about 10 per cent annually. Speaking during Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's weekly TV and radio broadcast Saturday, Public Health Minister Dr. Pradit Sintavanarong said about one million international visitors have visited Thailand yearly for medical purposes, earning the country some 14 billion baht annually. Dr. Pradit stressed that the government’s ASEAN medical hub plan will not affect medical services provided to Thai people, noting that, to achieve the target, the government plans to promote competition on high quality medical services among private hospitals; while improving medical services at public hospitals through research and development or R&D projects on advance medical technologies. The public health minister acknowledged that his ministry will also work with the Education Ministry on the medical R&D projects through workshops to help promote Thailand's medical strengths, namely Thai healthcare spa, Thai traditional massage, plastic surgery, bone treatment and cardiac bypass surgery, and will work with the Tourism and Sports Ministry to help promote successful Thai medical R&D projects on the international stage. According to the public health minister, the Thai government has extended periods of stay in Thailand, under medical visa, for visitors from six Arab countries, from 30 days to 90 days each, and the patients are each allowed to be accompanied by four individuals. The Thai health minister revealed that the measure will soon be expanded to cover visitors from Scandinavian countries. Earlier this week, the Thai prime minister expressed her appreciation to the integration of medical work between the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education for the first time in Thailand to pave the way for the Kingdom to become a medical hub in ASEAN and to solve the problem of overlapping budgets of the two ministries. (TNA)