Singapore Healthcare Through Med Relief

Medical tourism involves availing medical procedure in a foreign country. Westerners form a large segment of medical tourists who are attracted to the concept of quality healthcare and large savings as compared to the medical costs in their own countries. The patients take a vacation in the host country after receiving their medical treatments.

Often patients cover their surgery expense , flight and resort charges for quarter of what they would have paid in their country (Puah, 2008).

Description of proposed venture

Med Relief will be a fully fledged medical tourism agency. It will primarily focus on assisting US patients to undergo surgeries and other treatments in Singapore at affordable prices and arrange for a relaxing recovery vacation. The company would have tie up with global medical agency in America, Medretreat with possible expansion in Singapore.

The agency would be an intermediary between the customers and Med Relief.

Mission

Our mission is to provide a safe, affordable, and timely health care option in world class health care in Singapore

Key to success

Our ClientsThe experience of our clients in medical tourism is of utmost importance to Med Relief with a commitment to excellence as a health care family.SafetyMed Relief has prioritized safety as number one focus. The health care providers & destinations would be scrutinized in order to provide our clients the safest health vacation possible.Attention to DetailThe service and medical providers involved with Med Relief are conscious of every minute of detail to ensure you a relaxing and professional health vacation.TransparencyPatients would be given to open access to the best doctors and surgeons through transparent and honest information availability on all aspects of Med Relief.

Services Offered By Med Relief

The company plans to make all the possible arrangements for the US medical tourists to undergo and avail world class medical treatments in Singapore.The company will do tie-ups with Hospitals, doctors, nurses and technicians for the required process. Patient's personal preferences frame the search for the best hospitals and doctors within our broad network. 

Hospital

Address

Telephone

Fax

Website

Alexandra Hospital378 Alexandra Road Singapore 159964+65.64722000+65.63793880www.alexhosp.com.sgEast Shore Hospital321 Joo Chiat Place Singapore 427990+65.6344.7588+65.6345.4966www.eastshore.com.sgGleneagles Hospital6A Napier Road, Singapore 258500+65.6473.7222+65.6470.5616www.gleneagles.com.sgKk Women's & Children's Hospital100 Bukit Timah Road Singapore 229899+65.62934044+65.62937933www.kkh.com.sgMount Alvernia Hospital820 Thomson Road (opposite MacRitchie Reservoir), Singapore 574623+65.6347 6688+65.6255 6303www.mtalvernia-hospital.orgMount Elizabeth Hospital Ltd3 Mount Elizabeth Singapore 228510+65.6737.2666+65.6734.0518www.mountelizabeth.com.sgRaffles Hospital585 North Bridge Road, Singapore 188770+65.6311 1666+65.6311 2333www.raffleshospital.com enquiries@raffleshospital.comThomson Medical Centre339 Thomson Road, Singapore 307677+65.6250 1965+65.6352 6551www.imh.com.sg enquiry@imh.com.sgWoodbridge Hospital/Institute Of Mental Health10 Buangkok View Singapore 539747+65.63892000+65.63851050www.imh.com.sg enquiry@imh.com.sgSource:Cost of Medical Treatment in SingaporeThe following are the medical procedures with which Med Relief would assist U.S patients.The $6000 Rule

 

If the procedure would cost $6000 in the U.S. financial savings might not be realized. If the same surgery costs 1500 in other country, by the time the airfare , accommodation and stay charges are covered a break-even scenario would be realized (Med Retreat, 2010). Hence with Careful consideration the following procedures would be offered by Med ReliefCost comparisons between Medical procedures in Singapore and equivalent procedures in the United States are provided below

USA Hospitals

Singapore

Average Savings

Cardiac Surgery

Heart Bypass$55,000 - $130,000$13,000 - $18,50070-80%Heart Valve Replacement$130,000 - $160,000$12,000 - 13,00090-92%Coronary Angioplasty$42,000 - $57,000$11,500 - $13,00070-77%Coronary Angiography$5,500 - $6,000$1,300 - $1,50070-75%

Orthopedic Surgery

Hip Replacement$24,000 - $43,000$12,000 - $16,00050-65%Hip Resurfacing$45,000 - $50,000$13,000 - $15,00070-75%Knee Replacement$38,000 - $42,000$12,000 - $13,50065-70%Spinal Fusion$60,000 - $63,000$8,000 - $10,00080-85%

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Face Lift (Rhytidectomy)$19,000 - $21,000$6,500 - $7,50060-65%Breast Augmentation/Reduction (Mammoplasty)$9,000 - $11,000$7,000 - $9,00018-20%Liposuction (Lipoplasty)$14,000 - $16,000$4,500 - $5,50060-65%

Other procedures

Stem Cell Transplant$200,000 - $250,000$72,000 - $90,00060-65%Source: http://www.health-tourism.com/singapore-medical-tourism/Med Relief will make arrangements for initial consultations between foreign doctors and the patients. To help patients make a confident decision, phone conference between patients and the surgeons will be arranged for. It will assist the client with schedule procedures and all the necessary travelling documents such as passports and visas, in order and arrange for payment, including financing if needed.Med relief would assist the patients to make all arrangements with the doctor and hospital, and coordinate travel itinerary.Once the clients have arrived Singapore, Med Relief will coordinate admission and all details during their stay. The clients will be closely monitored during recovery, and once the medical team has determined their discharge a relaxing recovery vacation will be arranged for.

Market Analysis

Singapore Market for Medical TourismSingapore is an eminent country for its strict rules and regulations especially involving areas of hygiene. These laws are passed on to Singapore's high quality levels in healthcare, making it an ideal destination for medical tourist who prefer modern infrastructure, ordered environment, and an English-speaking populace (Health Tourism, 2010)It is forecasted that by 2010 the market of medical tourism in Asia will grow to 40 million person-times, with a value of 40 billion USD. In Asia, Singapore provided medical care to 270,000 foreign patients in 2004, 400,000 in 2005, and this number will exceed the 1 million mark by 2012, with related income reaching 3 billion USD (The Internet Journal of healthcare Administration, 2010)US Medical Tourism MarketAccording to the Market indicators United States medical tourism has got good prospects in coming decade and beyond.

In the United States, medical surgeries are very expensive, and every year millions of Americans default to pay for the health care expenses they require they are either uninsured, uninsurable or underinsured. According to a study in 2007 50% of bankruptcies are related to medical crises (Star Health Vacations, 2010).There are four basic groups of North Americans who are most interested in medical travel and the cost savings it provides:47 Million Uninsured Americans250 Million Insured Americans with restricted coverage due to pre-existing conditions, resulting in out-of-pocket expenses34 Million Canadians receiving socialized medicine and enduring long wait lists for many popular surgeriesPotentially, 330 Million North Americans seeking elective cosmetic and/or dental surgery (Med Retreat, 2010).

Factors Impacting the future growth of Medical Tourism Sector

Several emerging U.S. health care industry trends could fuel the demand for medical tourism.Increased demand for outpatient surgeryFrom 1996 to 2006 the number of outpatient surgical procedures undertaken in the United States has tripled. In 2006, 35 million patients had undergone an outpatient surgery.

This growth has been influenced by enhanced technology allowing patients to discharge within hours of surgery rather than days of hospitalizationIncreased globalization of the U.S. workforceElective surgical procedures is seen to increase in the form of insurance plans as with the coupling of the planned visits home .More than half of the U.S. workforce will belong to the second-third foreign descent generation on the next 25 years .and so more the demand increases for them to return to their ancestral home where they seek care by clinicians in preference to their culture and values.Increased acceptance by employers and health plans targeting commercial populationsThe chief driver supporting medical tourism will be the support the concept receives from health plans and the employers. It is likely to be a more visible feature of benefits programs offered to enrollees through commercial insurance offerings and employer-sponsored plans.Potential growth for medical tourism in the US - Baby Boomers   With the aging of Baby Boomer generation there will be an extra burden on the US healthcare system, and many would prefer overseas orthopedic and cardiac treatments. Some facts about the Baby Boomer generation which would promote medical tourism areThe number of Americans aged 65 or over will double by 2050The number of people age 85 or over will quadruple by 2050By 2030 over half of U.S. adults will be over age 50More than six of every 10 Boomers will be managing more than one chronic condition.More than 1 out of every 3 Boomers - over 21 million - will be considered obese.One out of every four Boomers - 14 million - will be living with diabetes (Chakravarthy & K, 2008).

SWOT Analysis

StrengthsSingapore is ranked 6th in world for the quality of health care provided by the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)Medical tourists should not be able to witness chaotic events during their stay in comparison to the other Asian countries as it Singapore is urbanized and clean country.JCI-certified hospitals and healthcare facilities in are found in abundance throughout SingaporeEnglish is one of Singapore's official dialectsThough the cost of healthcare in Singapore is not as low as India or Thailand but they are still lower in comparison to Western Europe and the USA.WeaknessThe cost expenses in medical processes and treatments in Singapore are relatively high when compared to other Asian medical tourism countries like Thailand ,Malaysia and IndiaThe geographical location of Singapore is such that the climate is rather hot and humid which maybe a hindrance to most of the westerners especially during the post procedure and recovery stages.Accommodation, transportation and the cost of goods in Singapore is more expensive as compared to other Asian countriesThe travel times to Singapore are considerably very lengthy for the US medical patients.OpportunitiesHealthcare services from countries with aging population seeks increased formidable demandU.S. workforce is seen to be increasing more in context to globalizationLow-cost global transportation had made it all the more accessible for outbound patientsEmployers and health plans targeting commercial populations have become accepting of the various benefit of medical tourismGrowing demands for medical tourism by Baby Boomers.ThreatsThere is seen to be fierce competition posed by other Asian medical tourism countries like Malaysia ,India and Thailand

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