Medical Tourism to Malaysia is Increasingly Popular, Here's the Reason

Photo: Dok. IHH Healthcare

JAKARTA - Medical tourism (medical tourism) in Malaysia is something that is loved by Indonesian citizens. Moreover, medical facilities in Malaysia also use advanced technology and have the right relaxation spots for healing for a moment.

In addition, Malaysia offers closeness and high accessibility for Indonesian people through short-distance flights, land routes, and direct ferry boats to cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Melaka, Sabah, and Sarawak, making Malaysia the main destination country for overseas treatment.

It is known that the Malaysian government began promoting medical tourism since 1998 in the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis to diversify the health and tourism sectors.

Since then, public and private sector actors have not only sought to attract their neighboring country, Indonesia, which has the characteristics of sustainable, high volume but low per capita spending, but also medical tourists who are willing to tolerate higher costs.

One of the destinations that is often visited is IHH Healthcare Malaysia. Which is a Hospital Group that has high standards for each of its Network Hospitals.

Said Head of Marketing IHH Healthcare Malaysia Khairul Annuar Yusof, his party is trying to provide quality health services through the continuum of care concept, which is a comprehensive approach that includes prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.

'More than Just a Treatment', every hospital in the IHH network applies the same high standard, ensuring that every patient receives consistent, integrated, and results-focused long-term health care.

"For three decades, the IHH Healthcare Group has been present as a leading hospital network and is committed to being the first choice for offering international-standard health services through a network of 10 hospitals spread across various regions of Malaysia. Each of our hospitals is equipped with modern facilities, the latest medical technology, and also experienced professional medical personnel," said Head of Marketing IHH Healthcare Malaysia Khairul Annuar Yusof, in a written statement.

"Our team works together wholeheartedly and prioritizes the comfort and safety of each patient. Like our vision, 'Patients-First', so that every treatment we provide will end with a smile," he continued.

Reasons for Indonesian Citizens to Choose IHH Healthcare

IHH Healthcare has been serving patients from Indonesia for almost 30 years. With a 'Patient-First' approach, IHH Healthcare provides a dedicated International Patient Centre (IPC) at each of its hospitals.

More than just a treatment, patients from all over the world, especially Indonesia, will receive warm and personal care supported by advanced medical technology to ensure satisfactory results.

The IPC facilities provided by IHH Healthcare manage everything from the arrival of patients to their return to their home country. IPC services offer convenience, ranging from pick-up from airports, ferry terminals to hospitals provided free of charge, comfortable lounges, doctor appointments, to cost estimates.

"This facility makes patients comfortable and does not have to worry, even if they go abroad for treatment," he said.

Apart from personal facilities, cultural and language similarities are also an advantage. IHH Healthcare has a multilingual team including Indonesian-speaking staff, while the commonality as a Muslim-majority country makes patients comfortable with the availability of halal food, prayer facilities, and culturally appropriate services. Typical Malaysian cuisine such as Nasi Lemak, Char Kway Teow, to Teh Tarik also adds appeal.

In fact, if the patient wants to do a health screening, their service is also fast, even for the results, it can be completed on the same day, this makes the patient's time and energy shorter and does not have to wait for a long time. While waiting, patients can walk to nearby tourist attractions, and pick it up in the afternoon.

In terms of cost, medical tourism in Malaysia is much more affordable than Singapore and Western countries, with global standards maintained and a transparent billing system through partners in Indonesia.

IHH Healthcare's reputation has been trusted for more than three decades by Indonesian families across generations. All of its hospitals are internationally accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH), and The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), guaranteeing world-class quality of care.

In addition, IHH Healthcare Malaysia has various advanced treatments and treatments supported by a multidisciplinary team of experts. Some of them are specialists in Cancer, Heart, Bone, Nerve, General Surgery, Maternal and Child Health, Post-operative Rehabilitation, 24-hour Emergency Unit to Health Screening services (medical checkup) which are the main attraction for Indonesian citizens to make a second option to Malaysia.

In terms of technology, the Hospital under the auspices of the IHH Healthcare Group also has the latest and cutting-edge technology. For example, for heart care, they have the Bi-plane Angiography Suite technology for precise heart imaging, Elekta Versa HD Linear Accelerator for radiation therapy including cancer-related tumors, and the Da Vinci Xi Surgical System which allows minimally invasive heart surgery with faster recovery time.

For cancer treatment, the IHH Healthcare Hospital network presents advanced cancer technology such as the Digital PET-CT Biograph Vision™ for accurate diagnostics, the Elekta Versa HD Linear Accelerator for precision radiotherapy (IMRT, VMAT, SRS, SBRT), the Leksell Gamma Knife® Icon for radiosurgery, and brachytherapy systems such as SagiNova HDR for targeted internal radiation therapy.

In fact, bone treatment technology has advanced robot assistance technologies such as CORI, ROSA and Mako, where treatment is more precise and handled by experienced specialists.

The IHH Healthcare Hospital is spread across 6 cities in Malaysia, some of which.

1. Gleneagles Hospital Penang2. Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur3. Gleneagles Hospital Johor4. Gleneagles Hospital Kota Kinabalu5. Island Hospital Penang6. Pantai Hospital Penang7. Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur8. Pantai Hospital Melaka9. Princecourt Medical Centre10. Timberland Medical Centre