Medical tourism creates opportunities

Thailand's largest private hospital operator is shopping for New Zealand health software and technology as it seeks to cater to the booming medical tourism market.Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS) operates 28 hospitals and is the second-largest private hospital group in Asia, after Australia's Ramsay Health Care.

Veerasak Kritsanapraphan, deputy managing director of the group's IT services subsidiary, said it already used business intelligence software from Auckland firm Cortell to get a picture of the profitability of procedures, and its 300-odd clinicians used digital dictation software from Auckland company Winscribe.

It was now on the hunt for innovative New Zealand health IT solutions, particularly electronic medical record software and technology that allows medical devices to communicate with patient record software.

Mr Kritsanapraphan, in New Zealand to window-shop for health IT solutions, said it was still early days but Orion's health software integration engine Rhapsody was "top of the list", as were Auckland firm Nexus6's smart inhalers.The group would also "do some more homework" on Adept Medical, which had developed a system for integrating medical devices with patient software.

"We can't find some of these solutions in Thailand so we are now trying to find them in other countries. The United States seems to provide all these applications but they are focused on their own market. That leaves the market open for New Zealand companies."About 30 per cent of the group's patients were medical tourists, coming to Thailand for elective surgery and often taking a holiday at the same time, he said.

"Most come from the Middle East, Myanmar, Britain and the United States. They come for the whole range – hip replacements, knee replacements, heart surgery, dental work and cosmetic work."Medical tourism was growing fast, and people could save up to 90 per cent on procedures, he said."Last year we had almost two million international patients. That will increase to close to five million by 2015."

Cortell Health chief executive Ernest Glad said the BDMS was consolidating different IT systems and that created opportunities for local firms. Its contract with BDMS had allowed it to test and prove its software in a very large and complex environment.

Mr Kritsanapraphan also met Wellington firms INR Online, which has developed a system for managing the anticoagulant warfarin, and Learning Media, which he said could provide online courses in English to educate patients about procedures.

Source = stuff.co.nz