Medical Tourism Promoted

Healthcare industry players are bonding together to promote the Philippines as a major medical tourism and retirement destination by 2015.  This is forecast to grow, with US$3 billion in revenues, servicing over a million retirees over the next five years. At present, there are only 21,000 foreigners staying in the country, representing 5 percent of patients in major Metro Manila hospitals, according to a report by BusinessWorld.

“We are in the process of making sure that our health care institutions meet internationally-set standards and are cost-competitive; that there is a well-coordinated effort between public and private health care institutions; and that we embark on an aggressive marketing strategy," Dr. Joven  Cuanang, medical director of St. Luke’s Medical Centre, was quoted as saying.