Medical Tourism in the Philippines

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 OUTLINE OF THE REPORT
• Introduction
• Medical Tourism Defined
• Forms of Medical Tourism
• History of Medical Tourism in the Philippines
• Overview of the Forms
• Its Potentials, Expectations & Developments

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 Introduction
• The Philippines has been growing as a tourist
destination of choice for health and vacation
because of our world class physicians, modern
technology, and our uniquely Filipino brand of
caring and compassion at great values for
money at a fraction of the cost in developed
countries.

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• We are home to some of the best hospitals in
the world, offering world-class expertise,
state-of-the-art facilities, and the distinct
warmth of the Filipino hospitality. We also
have some of the world's best spa retreat
resorts and tour destinations in this part of the
earth.

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 Medical tourism defined
• It is also called health tourism. It is a form of
travel where tourists from one country go to
another country to seek healing or relief from
adverse health conditions.

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 Forms of medical tourism
• medical tourism, where a formal medical
procedure is undertaken to diagnose and treat
illnesses or diseases;
• faith healing, usually done or applied to
tourists where science has failed; and
• spa treatment where travelers are given an
indigenous form of relaxation and
rejuvenation for their weary physical body.
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 History

• Before the advent of medical tourism as we

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• In the 1970s, the Philippine government
established Centers of Excellence like
Philippines Heart Center, National Lung
Center, National Kidney and Transplant
Institute with the intention of building the
country into a hub of medical expertise for
East Asia.

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• Leading doctors in the Philippines like Dr.
Francisco Lucero and Dr. Carlos Lasa were also
early adopters of the Internet, using it to
target cosmetic and plastic surgery patients
from Europe and the U.S.

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• In 2004, the government, realizing the
potential of medical tourism, launched a
Public-Private Partnership project by the name
of the Philippine Medical Tourism Program
(PMTP).

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• Medical tourism in the Philippines today is an
emerging cluster aiming to provide world class
medical facilities by developing partnerships with
leading hospitals of the world. While historical data
on medical tourism is limited, according to the
Philippine government, in 2006, there were 250,000
non-resident patients, generating revenues of US$
350 million, i.e. 14% of the Asian market.

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 Overview of the Forms
• Faith Healing
• Spa Treatment
• Medical Tourism

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• Faith Healing
Faith healing refers to
healing that is believed to
have occurred
supernaturally, as a result
of prayers or other forms,
rather than through the
use of medicines or the
involvement of
physicians.

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• In a country with its
cultures awash with
religiosity it is not
surprising to see the
influences of religion
and indigenous and
tribal spiritualities in its
healing modalities. And
in faith healing, these
are most obvious.

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• Referred to as the "international
mecca for spiritual healing" and
"the undisputed center of
psychic surgery," the Philippines
abounds in faith healers. And, in
the smoldering divisiveness
between mainstream medicine
and alternative medicine, with
its wall of divergent and
irreconcilable differences - of
science and mythologies, of
dogma and folklore - faith
healing widens this dividing wall.

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• Many of the ingredients
of faith healing are
generic to many of the
healing modalities in
Philippine alternative
medicine.

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• Spa Treatment
The Philippines is one of
Asia’s most popular health
spa destinations thanks to
its high number of spas,
innovative therapies and
beautiful tropical scenery.
Most travelers indulge in a
spa session while they are
on holiday to help aid
their relaxation.
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• The amazing beaches of the
Philippines have become
magnets for health spa
resorts. These hotel spas
offer all the usual beauty
and relaxation treatments
such as massage, facials, and
other body work. Cebu is a
major center for health spas,
with more than 200 of them.
The beaches of Boracay are
another popular site.

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• Alternative medicine in the
Philippines can also be added to the
mix, in the form of hilot, the
traditional healing philosophy that
dates back centuries, which treats
not only the physical body but also
the all-important mind and spirit. It is
a tradition that is still practiced, not
only in the villages where
conventional medicine is far away or
too comparative costs for selected
procedures with manghihilots as
important a part of the nation’s
wellness as any doctors.
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• No matter your medical issues, whether
already serious, or simply preventative, from
high-tech stem cell technology to luxury
destination spas and grass roots hilot
practitioners, the Philippines is on track to
take the medical world by storm.

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• Medical Tourism
When looking overseas for
surgeries and other medical
treatments a typical
patient’s checklist notes: ,
the latest technology and
facilities, English speaking
professionals and
procedures that are a
fraction of the cost at home.
In the Philippines it’s check,
check, check.

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• St Luke’s, Medical City, Makati
Medical and hospitals outside
Manila, like Chong Hua and Cebu
Doctors’ Hospital, are all carrying
the flag in the Philippines’ mission
to become Asia’s medical tourism
hub by 2015. Experienced doctors,
many with education and years of
practice gleaned from stints
overseas, often in the United States,
offer excellence in conventional
procedures like cardiology,
oncology, neurology and more, and
they all offer executive checkups.

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• Undersecretary Cynthia Carrion
of the DOT is really passionate
about their progress in stem cell
technology. “We want to be
considered the centre for the
storage of stem cells. It’s labour-
intensive but the Philippines has
the technology and one of Asia’s
cheapest labour forces,” she
says. “After all, medical tourism
today is really about prevention
and investing in your health.”

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• One of the country’s leading hospitals, and the
first to attain the all-important JCI
accreditation, St Luke’s is not only a leading
medical centre it is also embracing the
concept of merging hospital and hospitality,
becoming more like a hotel than a hospital.

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 ITS POTENTIALS,
EXPECTATIONS &
DEVELOPMENTS
• The Philippines recently became the first
country in Asia to host the prestigious World
Health Tourism Congress which had previously
only been held in Europe.

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• Philippines promotes spiritual tourism and
projects the country as ‘international Mecca
of spiritual tourism’.

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• A recognized certification program in the
world has been launched in the Philippines to
improve the quality of care among local health
providers and medical product development
and tourism in the country.

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• The Philippines have some advantage over
other countries, we have trained health
professionals who have brilliant
communication skills in English, and
hospitality and optimism is ideal for patients
to heal and recover.

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• The Philippines are renowned for stunning
beaches, warm weather and excellent scuba
diving and snorkelling. Health spas are a
perfect accompaniment to the beach.

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 “Medical tourism today is
really about prevention
and investing in your health”
Undersecretary Cynthia Carrion, DOT

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http://ezinearticles.com/?Medical-Tourism-in-th
e-Philippines&id=2693277
http://www.travelplaninfo.com/medical-tourism
-in-the-philippines-is-fast-becoming-the-growth-
with-the-launch-of-the-international-accreditati
on/

Nikoliena M. Diño
Tourism Business Management & Ethics 32